Getting a foothold in the artisan food business is all about coming up with a product that meets a demand in an emerging niche. Goats, developed by Dubliner Gary Clarkin, is aimed at the growing band of busy, health conscious consumers who want a nutritious breakfast that’s good-to-go with no prep.
“I grew up in a sporty household with three brothers and the importance of fitness and nutrition was instilled in us from a young age,” Clarkin says. “I’ve always played rugby competitively and when I started work, I’d find myself doing long days, rushing straight to training and then arriving home late and starving. I began preparing overnight oats and taking them into work so they would fuel me for longer and I wouldn’t find myself snacking and still not feeling satisfied.
“My work colleagues started asking me how I made them and if I could bring some in for them too and then when Covid hit, and coffee trailers started popping up on every street corner, I noticed that their breakfast options were very limited and often not sustaining or convenient to eat on-the-go. I started offering samples of my overnight oats at these cafes and basically the business has grown steadily from there.”
Our main demographics are millennials and Gen Z who actively seek out brands that can help them live a healthier lifestyle
— Gary Clarkin
Clarkin says that the more he looked into the breakfast market the more he could see the potential to provide consumers with a healthier alternative. “I couldn’t find any cafes or gyms that had an overnight oats option. Their offerings were usually pastries and yoghurts so pretty outdated in the overall scheme of things,” he says. “I began developing a range of flavour combinations and started thinking about a brand name. Goats (greatest oats of all time) came to mind as a play on the popular sports phrase for the best in the business.
“We were the first overnight oats brand to launch here and while we are now beginning to see others coming into the space – which we see as positive as it will expand the market – we were the pioneers and will continue to innovate to retain our position as category leaders. Ours is a handmade product and our business is very much built on a sustainability model, so our plan is to grow organically over time. We use Irish suppliers wherever possible, so our oats and oat milk are locally sourced as is our packaging and our granola toppings for example,” Clarkin adds.
Goats now employs eight people between food preparation and delivery drivers and the company’s products are stocked in 150 outlets in the Greater Dublin Area and surrounding counties. The pots come in individual servings in five flavours, including a chocolate protein and two vegan options.
Clarkin has largely funded the start-up from his own resources, ploughing the revenue from sales straight back into developing the business. His biggest initial outlay was €15,000 which was spent on setting up a commercial kitchen once he was happy that the idea had legs.
“I subsequently received a priming grant from LEO [local enterprise office] South Dublin, which helped me to expand further and start employing staff,” he says. “We’ve since bought a trailer which we’ve fitted out to bring to festivals. We’ve just recorded our busiest month ever and have agreed a deal with Applegreen, which will see our products stocked in 17 forecourts around the country.
“Our main demographics are millennials and Gen Z who actively seek out brands that can help them live a healthier lifestyle, that fits in with their image and offers convenience. However, we know our appeal is much wider mainly because within the flavour range there’s something to appeal to all tastes from kids right up to older consumers. For the record our most popular flavour is Banana Biscoff,” Clarkin says.
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