Happy Pear posts losses of €581,000 for ‘challenging’ 2022

The company that operates the Flynn brothers’ Wicklow-based Happy Pear business last year recorded losses of €581,003 in “a challenging year for the business”.

Accounts for Flynn and Flynn Global Trading Ltd show the loss of €581,003 followed a post-tax profit of €175,993 in 2021.

Twins Stephen and David Flynn are two of the best-known names in the Irish food industry. Their plant-based cooking and lifestyle business recorded the losses after revenues declined by 9 per cent from €5.5 million to €5 million for 2022.

Finance director Paul Murphy said that during the year the Happy Pear reopened a cafe at the Shoreline Leisure Centre in Greystones, “but regrettably we were forced to close this later in the year as it was not viable”.

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“Within our wholesale production business, we encountered cost inflation in our ingredients cost base which put significant pressure on our margins.”

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Mr Murphy said “there was a fall-off in digital sales in 2022 as the Covid boom in online courses tapered off. The business is not expected to return to profit in 2023.”

The company – which includes the Happy Pear cafe and shop at Church Road, Greystones – employs 74 people, the same number as last year.

[ Jennifer O’Connell: The Happy Pears’ expertise is in marketing themselves ]

The loss takes account of combined non-cash amortisation and depreciation costs of €261,322. It also takes account of €142,033 in operating lease costs. The business received €65,817 in Covid-19 wage subsidy payments.

However, despite the 2022 loss, Mr Murphy was upbeat about the Happy Pear’s prospects after raising €2.59 million from a crowd investment fundraising round earlier this year.

The new funds will finance the brand’s expansion of Happy Pear products into the UK and beyond and allow for growth and improvement to the Happy Pear App and digital business, he said.

[ Happy Pear loses 39% of workforce due to pandemic shutdown ]

“The company is very excited about the future and the ability of the business to utilise the fundraise to deliver strong growth in 2024 and beyond.”

Mr Murphy said the €2.59 million raised represented 19.68 per cent of the company.

He said the directors “were delighted to welcome 1,068 new shareholders to the company”. He noted this includes six new shareholders who invested between €50,000 and €250,000, while the majority of them, 734, are small investors who acquired shares to the value of up to €1,000.

Mr Murphy also said “the majority of the new shareholders are female”.