Exciting expansion plans for Cork fudge company

THE unmistakable aroma of molten butter and sugar greets me as I push open the door to the home of Mella’s Fudge, wrapping me in an invisible blanket of comfort.

Things have moved on a bit since I last had a proper chat with founder, Mella McAuley. Back then, we sipped tea in a freezing room off the tiny production kitchen across the road from a dairy co-op.

The move into the new home of Ireland’s only all-butter fudge was close to two years ago. But, as the business of making fudge never stops, there’s no name above the door yet. You must be guided by your sense of smell to know you’re in the right place.

Mella’s Fudge was established in 2005; this year is its 18th birthday, but Mella has been making fudge for much longer than this. She learned how at her mother’s side, making batch after batch until the recipe was perfected, then boxing it up as gifts for friends and family, or selling trays of it into Mrs McAuliffe’s Sweet Shop in Bantry.

After living away for several years for college then work in Dublin, Mella rediscovered her mother’s fudge recipe on returning to West Cork in 2002.

She began making it again and selling it at local farmers’ markets, garnering a following for her unique crumbly all-butter fudge.

In 2011, her vanilla butter fudge won Gold at the Great Taste Awards, and from 2014 to 2021 she supplied fudge to Dunne’s Stores as part of their Simply Better range.

But while the business continued to grow, Mella never deviated from her mother’s original recipe.

“I couldn’t change it,” she says, “the USP is the taste and the crumbly buttery fudge.”

A NEW CHAPTER

At 18 years old, Mella’s Fudge is heading into something akin to a coming of age.

In March, 2024, a whole new line of fudge, rebranded and reimagined for the UK market, will hit the shelves.

“Earlier this year, I started meeting an English distributor. They wanted to have the fudge, but would I be interested in changing the packaging to appeal to millennials?” says Mella.

“To be honest, I’m delighted because it’s something new! I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time, so it’s the nudge I needed. It’s huge, and I’ve been so well supported by the Enterprise Board.”

What appeals to millennials is bright colours, funkier branding, cheeky or clever names, bold graphics, eye-catching... they are more interested in the aesthetic of something than its origin; more curated lifestyle than crafted and artisan.

Working with the distributor to identify a market niche, understanding what drives that niche to purchase, and learning about the buying habit of consumers in a different country means Mella’s Fudge – the UK version – will look and taste very different to the Irish offering. For now, at least!

“It’s great, to be honest; I can’t believe it’s happened to me. I’m up for anything because, why wouldn’t I? I’m not changing the product, but after that, it’s a question of what to go for.”

The UK launch will be heralded by five new flavours, and Mella has been busy working with a Cork-based chef to perfect her recipes and flavours. Marmalade, Sticky Toffee Pudding (made with dates and treacle), Flat White Coffee, Dark Chocolate Sour Cherry and Cocoa Nib, and Salted Toffee, are the likely candidates.

“Whether it stays that way...,” Mella muses. “We are keeping our existing flavours for the Irish market (Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Irish Cream Liqueur and Christmas Spice with Orange), but I haven’t decided yet if the new flavours will be available here!

“The new flavours will be very different to the jewel-coloured pouches and boxes we’ve gotten used to seeing. Instead, the fudge will come as a hefty 175g bar, wrapped and encased in the new millennial-attracting packaging. They will look different too; toppings are a new trend in food aesthetics – people want to eat with their eyes before they decide to buy and taste.

From back where it all started, making fudge with her mum and selling it into the local sweet shop, to a whole new chapter with enterprise funding, a UK distributor, rebranding and reimagining the fudge and its flavours – is there fear or excitement for what’s coming next?

“Oh god, it’s very exciting! It’s exactly what I was looking for. The UK market was the obvious choice really; it’s closer, and, this might sound like a funny thing to say, but they know fudge! It’s a no-brainer; the opportunity of a lifetime.

“It has the potential of doubling turnover in a year.

“We’re going to start with a pallet a week – that’s 1,400 175g bars, something like that! It’s a lot, but I keep moving forward in my head because there is a lot there and I just have to manage it.”

A REAL SUCCESS STORY

Mella admits the Irish market for a niche product like hers has hit peak, so finding new markets and expanding the range are the options for growth open to her.

For the past couple of years, she has been working with German and French distributors as well as making fudge under contract for the likes of Avoca and Achill Island Sea Salt, who sell the fudge flavoured with their own artisan salt through a network of retail outlets across Ireland.

Since the contract for Dunne’s Simply Better ended, Mella has chosen not to pursue the supermarket route except for a few outlets, including SuperValu Clonakilty and Skibbereen, using Odaios for food service outlets, and Musgraves, which included Mella’s Fudge with this year’s festive hamper selection.

Instead, Mella chooses to stay close to her artisan heart in Ireland. Working with her Irish distributor, her business has continued to grow steadily since the pandemic and she cherishes those retailers who have long championed Mella’s Fudge, such as The Roughty Foodie in The English Market.

A BUSY TIME OF YEAR

Christmas is a big time of year for Mella, and on the day of my visit her kitchen team of two are hard at work pouring freshly churned fudge into moulds for cooling, and deftly packing boxes for Christmas retail orders.

Between the Christmas rush, new flavours, new markets, new branding, and new packing machinery coming in the door, there’s a lot of fervent newness at hand. But take comfort, because the trusted and loved old dependables are still there!

“We have our Christmas Spice with Orange pouch, and our string-tied gift boxes in Salted Caramel and Vanilla flavours,” says Mella, who also now has a rather fetching line of Tote Bags – perfect for filling with lots of lovely fudge for gifting this Christmas.

“I think there’s universal appeal for our fudge - as long as you’ve a sweet tooth!”

Universal is an apt word: Mella’s name and her fudge is in thousands of homes but, she says laughing, “I don’t really stop and think about it so much!”

So how has Mella managed to keep herself motivated to keep making fudge and running her business, as she has done every day for the last 18 years?

“I was in Lisavaird [Mella’s first factory just outside Clonakilty] for 12 years, so moving into this new premises certainly got me much more excited again.

“There have always been small incremental steps that keep you going for a while - I never thought I’d still be here, to be honest.

“We’re a very hands-on business; it’s a very handmade product, so I genuinely thought when I started, I would do it for about seven years, sell it and move onto something else. I wouldn’t mind making a film at some stage (that’s what I did in college) and doing something completely different at some point in my life!

“But things just happen, and you get a boost from everything new, and that I can make money out of what I’m doing is still exciting.

“When you have less money, it’s all about the business. Now, I’m not as badly off as I was before Covid, but it’s hard to get out of something as well when you can feel there’s something around the corner – when you can feel the potential.”

HANDMADE ONLY

Mella has never compromised on quality and has stuck to her guns when it comes to red line items such as only using Irish butter. Even though swift expansion is coming, Mella’s Fudge will continue to be a handmade product with the genesis of her mum’s original recipe rippled into the core of every cube of buttery, crumbly fudge she makes.

“It is great to have something to look forward to; it’s so exciting. I know it will change the business completely, no question in my mind, because the opportunity is there - if I can just grab it. Fingers crossed!”

SECRET INGREDIENT

What makes Mella’s Fudge so enduring, so recognisable, and garners such long served and loyal fans?

“Try and have something different to whatever everyone else has, because if you’re the same it’s always going to be harder. I’m lucky that the type of fudge I make is a niche product and I’m the only one in Ireland making it in a dedicated kitchen. So, the more different you are, the easier it will be - or at the very least, make something that’s absolutely delicious!”

www.mellasfudge.com