Eight Irish start-ups given a taste of success in Coca-Cola mentorship initiative

Now in its third year, the innovative initiative offers start-ups a chance to undergo an accelerated learning programme with industry experts over six months. It’s part of a joint project by Coca-Cola and Enterprise Ireland that’s designed to support Ireland’s fastest-growing food and drinks start-ups.

This year’s participants include biscuit and cake makers, Brogan’s Bakery, artisan cheese producers, Cahill Farm Cheese, craft beer brewers, The White Hag, frozen dessert company, Couverture, high-protein yogurt makers, Pow-Cow, frozen foods company, Strong Roots, natural health supplement producer, Revive Active, and Walsh’s Bakehouse, who make the Waterford Blaa range of bread.

The chance to get insights, advice and ideas on branding, packaging and marketing from the drinks giant is obviously a dream come through for the eight lucky participants. The Thrive Project kicked off with an introductory session at the Coca-Cola offices. The entrepreneurs were then flown over to the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta for an intensive business boot camp.

Once there, they received a crash course in business strategy from the company’s senior executives. It was an invaluable chance to absorb strategic lessons from some of the industry’s leading figures and to get practical advice on how to boost their own business efforts. That was just the start of the process for the businesses, who will also get a package of supports from Enterprise Ireland.

The official launch of this year’s Thrive Project was welcomed by Petre Sandru, Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland.

“Coca-Cola is one of the world’s best loved brands and one of the most successful food and drink companies on the planet,” said Mr Sandru. “As a leader in the industry we want to share our experience and expertise with the next group of companies who all have the opportunity to become global brands.”

“I am delighted that we are in a position to partner with Enterprise Ireland to give these eight great start-up businesses a boost. Ireland plays a special role in Coca-Cola’s global system through manufacturing, R&D, sales, and corporate offices in Dublin, Ballina, Drogheda and Wexford. The Thrive Project allows us to leverage this special relationship between Ireland and Coca-Cola to help a new generation of local food and drink companies to grow.”

Enterprise Ireland will offer each of the eight participants access to a mentor and help them to develop a robust business plan that can help them to grow and expand as a company. Amanda Ward, Programme Manager, Food Division, Enterprise Ireland explained what the Thrive Project was designed to achieve.

“Enterprise Ireland’s strategy is to support Irish businesses to build scale and expand their reach into international markets. This is our third year working in partnership with Coca-Cola and we have received excellent feedback from the participating companies from the previous intake on how the programme encouraged them to innovate to compete and succeed in global markets. The programme combines Coca Cola’s market and global insights with Enterprise Ireland’s expertise in business development, allowing the entrepreneurs to gain invaluable knowledge on how to go about scaling businesses and operations.

“We wish all eight companies taking part in the programme the very best and look forward to learning more and supporting them throughout the project.”

The project is specifically designed to encourage fast-growing companies with plans for international expansion. This year’s participants are all strong brands with a unique selling point and the desire to bring their businesses to the next level. The programme will give them the necessary tools to achieve those goals, offering them mentorship and practical insights to help them expand and grow.

One of the participants from last year’s programme spoke at the launch and talked about how the Thrive Project helped her business.

“The Thrive Project for me last year was an incredible experience,” said Roisin Hogan, Thrive Project Graduate and CEO of HIRO. “There were really motivational and inspirational as well as tangible takeaways around the whole sampling and tasting process that I could easily apply to my small Irish business. I wish this year’s group starting out on their Thrive journey the best of luck.”

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