Company: Feed
Done deal: Dunnes Stores deal
The clincher:“Being listed with Dunnes Stores will enable the company to double its output straight away and provide an additional full-time job” – Shane Colgan, founder, Feed
Dublin start-up Feed has secured a contract to supply 30 Dunnes Stores outlets just three months after its May launch. The company’s plant-based meal pots are already stocked in 25 SuperValu stores in Dublin under the Food Academy programme run by the retailer in partnership with Bord Bia.
Feed is run by Shane Colgan who worked with chef Hilary Quinn and dietician Conor Kerley to develop two 400gm meal pots. Priced at €4.99 each, the pots contain 20g of protein and 300 calories. They are free from gluten, dairy, refined sugar, additives and preservatives. There are two flavours – Lemongrass and Turmeric Curry and Moroccan Spiced Tagine.
“Being listed with Dunnes Stores will enable the company to double its output straight away and provide an additional full-time job,” said Colgan. “Sitting on the shelf next to legacy brands that I’ve admired since I was young is exciting and scary, but I hope to prove that despite being a company in its infancy, we are a force to be reckoned with.”
Colgan set up Feed initially as a food delivery business before deciding to change direction earlier this year.
“I thought it would be the next thing, but it turned out there was no opportunity to scale and I’d made a big mistake,” he said. “The realisation that the business model wasn’t working was clear from early on, but it took a while for me to come to terms with it psychologically. I’m ultimately a stronger person, both personally and professionally, because of it and the business wouldn’t be where it is today without that initial business failure.”
Feed is working with the charity Mary’s Meals to provide one meal to a child in one of 12 developing countries for every pot sold. “I personally believe that people in business are uniquely placed to have an impact far beyond their principal business activity,” said Colgan.
“It’s important to attach myself to something bigger than me and for Feed to have a higher purpose.”