Cork woman's hopes to expand business venture selling water kefir

NIAMH Hegarty has a talent for listening to her gut.

Hailing from East Cork, her family farm overlooks scenic Ballybrannigan beach, a unique location for her food truck, pairing great food with the great outdoors.

Niamh burst onto Cork’s food scene with her savvy lockdown project, Niamh’s Larder, offering picnic boxes as a family-friendly, nutritious, delicious alternative to a fish and chip supper. Since then, she has serenely laid the path for her food enterprise, expanding to encompass a food truck and her latest venture, BKultured Water Kefir.

In embracing a slower pace of natural and organic growth that feels right and aligned to her personal beliefs and ethos, Niamh is building a business that’s beautiful, sustainable, and of her own design.

Her passion for food was honed after completing the Ballymaloe course in summer, 2019. But her connection with food began long before on the family farm.

“I grew up, and still live, on our tillage farm in East Cork, so I’ve always had that connection between land and food. I always knew food was more than just function,” she said.

“One day, I was sitting on a beach in Dublin and overheard some kids asking their mum to get fish and chips on the way home, and I had this minute where I thought: Is that really the only option when you’re out and about? I thought there should be a different way for people to enjoy food when they’re on the go.”

The idea for establishing Niamh’s Larder was born, offering picnic boxes filled with local delights and a perfect solution for a time when, says Niamh, opportunities for spontaneous moments over food were sorely lacking, because of the pandemic.

“I was still making water kefir from my time in Ballymaloe. I included a bottle in each box, and people loved them. We look for catalysts for enjoyment and picnic boxes were a simple way for people to find theirs. It was a beautiful way to enter the food world,” she says.

Soon after, Niamh was approached by Jack Crotty of NeighbourFood, inviting her to set up a Midleton collection point.

“The picnic boxes were going well, but I knew I needed something else, so I jumped at the opportunity. It meant I could become a producer on the market, and I started selling my water kefir, granola and breads.”

In February, 2021, Niamh took some time out from creating picnic boxes to review what her next step might be. Requests for picnic boxes were turning into requests for catering events, something she wasn’t keen on.

“At that time, there was the explosion of food trucks and I thought that was a great way of selling food in a premises – a food truck – without the risk of a bricks and mortar place, and we had a unique location on the farm overlooking Ballybrannigan with direct access down to the beach.”

From picnic boxes to Midleton NeighbourFood and food producer, Niamh’s instinct for entrepreneurship was serving her well. In setting up the food truck, there was a ready-made community of supporters ready to support her. She opened for business in May, 2021, and was immediately approached by the producers of RTÉ TV series Battle of the Food Trucks.

“Like everything I do, I said yes without even thinking about it!” said Niamh, adding that she thought she wouldn’t make the final selection. But she did, going head-to-head with experienced food truck owners such as Kwanghi Chan’s Bites and Julia’s Lobster Truck.

“That was a really good experience because it boosted my confidence. I did well, and it made me think this was what I should be doing, that I am meant to be doing this, that I should be here.”

The food truck was a hit, hosting yoga and music events as well as garnering a reputation for dishing out great tasting food. Niamh continued to make her own water kefir, selling it through the food truck as a healthy alternative to fizzy drinks.

“I figured out what flavours worked, what language to use around people wanting to try it, and getting direct feedback. I knew it’s delicious and felt I could get people to drink it, even if they didn’t know what it was,” says Niamh.

She also recognised that while people loved the kefir because of its refreshing taste, some were taking it as functional food.

Water kefir is water fermented with kefir grains and sugar to produce a gut-friendly drink. It feeds microbiota in the gut, helping to improve immunity and digestive issues, and contains billions of live cultures of good bacteria. Sugar feeds the kefir grains, kicking off fermentation, resulting in a drink naturally low in sugar.

“For me it always comes back to the simplicity of the product - pretty much anyone can drink water kefir, there are almost no restrictions. It meant I could produce a drink that a broad spectrum of people could consume.”

There was a demand, and Niamh had a talent and passion for producing kefir – BKultured was born!

“I closed up for the winter in 2021 and took a moment to reflect,” says Niamh. “As good as the business is, if I was to expand Niamh’s Larder, maybe I would get ten more trailers.

“But I kept looking to the water kefir and how passionate I am about it. I realised it’s a business I could grow, scale, employ a lot of people, be homegrown, and something I could export. It had so much more potential than opening more food trailers.”

BKultured comes in two flavours, Sassy Berry and Jamin’ Ginger and Turmeric, sold in 330ml bottles. It’s recommended to drink at least 250ml daily to introduce as much beneficial live bacteria to the gut as possible.

“When you hear water kefir, you hear fermented drink, live bacteria, probiotic, good for your gut, etc. Everyone knows what mixed berry tastes like, so people are more likely to try that flavour.

“Ginger and Turmeric has the added benefit of being antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.”

For Niamh, hiving off BKultured from Niamh’s Larder meant she could grow her business without losing any of the magic.

“I love what I’ve created with Niamh’s Larder; there’s a community of people, we do yoga at weekends, live music events in the summer. I really don’t want to lose the magic of that, so I’m keeping the magic of Niamh’s Larder and using BKultured as the catalyst for growth and expansion.”

Niamh constantly reflects on her journey as a business owner to help her stay on a path she needs for being sustainable and successful in life as well as in business.

“Before all this, I worked in companies becoming part of an ethos or culture I didn’t believe in. Creating BKultured and Niamh’s Larder, I’m able to create my own culture with my own ethos and belief system that’s all about being organic and natural.”

Niamh officially launched BKultured last July, soon after scooping silver at Blas nah Eireann. In December, she took part in Lion’s Den, a live pitch competition in front of four experienced judges from across the Irish food industry. She didn’t win, but the experience was invaluable.

“It was a very good way for me to review the business, and, like competing in Battle Of The Food Trucks, made me realise this is where I want to be, and this is the right path to be following - that experience of reminding myself that BKultured is a good business.”

Niamh’s enthusiasm to say yes to initiatives like RTÉ and Lion’s Den presented opportunities to network with other small, young businesses, sharing information and experiences.

“Sometimes, bad things happen in business, but they’re not just happening to you, they happen to everyone. That’s what’s really beautiful from both those experiences, those connections you make with everyone and building that network.”

Connection is a core value of BKultured and Niamh’s Larder, and the communities she is building around both with her customers and other businesses.

“The Irish food network it’s so supportive. I’ve met so many people and everyone is so readily available to talk, give advice and answer questions, which I love.”

The food truck will return to Ballybrannigan beach again for the summer season, but the focus for Niamh for 2023 is most definitely BKultured.

“I’ll be driving every nook and cranny of Ireland to get BKultured in stores. The big goal is to get listed with a major retailer this year, and I’m in negotiations with one right now.”

“I’ll be attending as many festivals as possible with BKultured just to get out there and meet people and create that community. I’ll re-enter Blas nah Eireann again, but this year I’m hoping for Gold!”

In the meantime, BKultured Water Kefir is available to order online at www.bkultured.com and anywhere Niamh’s Larder food truck pitches up.

Keep an eye out for regular announcements on Instagram and Facebook for festivals, food truck hours and locations, and stockists for BKultured. It’s going to be a busy year!

Niamh has benefitted from the advice and support of others in her food network. What advice would she give anyone looking to start their own food business?

“Leverage off the community that exists, reach out to people. Give it a lash, and don’t be afraid of failure.”

See www.bkultured.com and @bkultured on Instagram.