The popularity of the glycemic index (GI) diet and the growth of so-called "super foods" has pushed sales at Flahavans, one of the Ireland's oldest companies, to almost €8 million for 2005.
The company based in Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford, produces Flahavans Progress Oatlets. Along with the firm's 14 other lines, it has given Flahavan's a 53 per cent share of the porridge market.
The firm has been trading since the late 1700s and, according to managing director John Flahavan, is Ireland's oldest privately-owned food company. Its products have been stocked for many years at Superquinn, Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Spar and Mace.
Since 2003, the brand has been on shelves with Tesco, Waitrose and Asda in the UK.
That is the route for expansion, said Mr Flahavan. While Government seemed to regard manufacturing as a "sunset industry", he said agencies like Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland were doing great work for food companies.
Porridge used to suffer from an austere reputation in Ireland, but the perception of the product has changed radically in recent years, said John Noonan, sales and marketing director. The popularity of the GI diet plan and other celebrity-endorsed programmes had inevitably helped.
What would really help Irish-owned food groups, and particularly those in what are known as the "hot cereals" sector, would be if the multiples opened up more shelf space to them, said Mr Noonan.
The results for 2005 show an operating profit of €758,506, up strongly from €257,719 the previous year. A dividend of €100,000 was paid out, up slightly from 2004.
The GI diet is an eating plan based around the glycemic index, a system for separating different types of dietary carbohydrates according to how rapidly they raise the body's blood-glucose (blood-sugar) levels.
Porridge is an important element of this plan and the diet has been endorsed by singer Kylie Minogue and model Jodie Kidd.
Many nutritionists and dieticians have championed porridge over recent years as a so-called "super food".
This is an umbrella term used to describe foods that have health-promoting benefits and/or disease-preventing properties over and above their usual nutritional value.
Mr Flahavan said that, while multinationals had "knocked on the door" over the years, he had no intention of selling. A purchaser might put more capital into the business but "there is no guarantee of success," he said.
The company continues to buy its oats locally from farmers and it processes some 12,000 tonnes a year.
The by-product of the oats is used to heat the firm's boilers, making the manufacturing process very energy efficient, he said.
The company's mill and packaging operations only require a staff of 40 people.
