At MyKidsTime, we love hearing from parents who’ve built their own businesses — especially mums who’ve made it work alongside raising kids, because we all know what a juggle that can be. Here we meet Irene Queally, founder of Pip & Pear.
The Seed of an Idea
Irene Queally’s family have always loved good food.
So when she had her own children, she found it frustrating — and near impossible — to find a healthy alternative to home cooking for baby food.
Everything on the shelves seemed to be over-processed and built for a long shelf life, a million miles from anything she’d make herself at home.
And so the idea of Pip & Pear was born.
Irene started small, making batches in her restaurant, No.9 in Waterford City. Customers loved it, and soon people were travelling from far and wide to stock up on dishes for their little ones. Encouraged by the response, Pip & Pear entered the Blas na hÉireann awards — and won the baby food category outright.
We asked Irene a few questions about starting out in business with Pip & Pear
What has been the biggest challenge so far?
There have been so many, it’s hard to choose just one.
I decided one day that I wanted to bring a chilled baby food range to market. I had a pretty good idea of what the technical challenges would be, but I totally underestimated them. What we’ve done is as technically challenging as food science and food technology gets — it turns out the simpler and more natural the product, the harder it is to make well. Finding people with the knowledge to do it properly has been key to our success.
Believing in what I’m doing, having real passion for what I was trying to create, and being able to communicate that passion has helped me find solutions along the way. I started Pip & Pear without a clue about ingredient sourcing, factory standards, design, packaging, national marketing and distribution — and I’ve learned so much since.
What advice do you have for other parents thinking of starting a business?
Having your partner behind you, backing you all the way, is vital. My husband believes in me and in Pip & Pear, and he’s helped enormously — preparing presentations, helping with research, doing the heavy lifting, and most importantly, picking up the slack at home. Like every mum, I carry constant guilt, but knowing their dad is spending time with the kids when I can’t eases that pressure a little.
When I am with the kids, I try to be fully present — no phone, no emails — so I’m properly tuned into them and hearing about their day. I’ve realised the work will still be there after they go to bed, and that’s when I go back to it, sometimes late into the night with the help of a babysitter.
What supports did you find helpful along the way?
There are plenty of supports out there, and it’s worth exploring all of them — you might not fit the criteria for one, but it can often point you toward another.
Enterprise Ireland were very enthusiastic, and our Local Enterprise Office were hugely supportive, helping in any way they could. Entering the Blas na hÉireann awards was one of the best supports for our brand — it validated us as a quality product and gave us real credibility.
What were the challenges of getting your product distributed?
It can be very difficult to get in the door with supermarkets, but Pip & Pear was well received, and it was easier than expected to get supermarket buyers’ attention. Turning that interest into a firm contract, though, took a lot more work. Every supermarket wants to know you can really deliver on what you promise, so we put a lot of effort into understanding what we could realistically manage and what scaling up would involve. It’s far better to be realistic than to promise the world and fall flat.
ALDI came on board right at the start and gave us an amazing amount of support. They believed in what we were trying to achieve and gave us a lot of time and attention, backing the launch with honest, direct feedback throughout. Working with them was one of the easiest and most pleasant parts of the whole process.
My biggest learning over that first year was realising how genuinely glad people are to help when they can. I’ve had people take the time to walk me through parts of the business I didn’t understand, patiently and generously. It stopped feeling like I wanted this business to succeed just for me — I wanted it to succeed for everyone who’d put their faith and support behind it.
The Launch
Pip & Pear launched into supermarkets across Ireland, bringing Irene’s chilled baby food range to shelves nationwide for the first time.
As Irene put it at the time: “We are delighted to be offering all parents the chance to avail of a guilt-free alternative to home cooking. Although we are now doing larger volumes, the process is still the same as I was doing at home, whilst adhering to the safest health and safety controls. It’s been a great journey to this point, and we are looking forward to growing along with your little one!”
You can find Pip & Pear on Facebook and at www.pipandpear.ie.
FAQ
Who founded Pip & Pear?
Pip & Pear was founded by Irene Queally, who started out making baby food batches in her Waterford restaurant, No.9, before growing it into a nationally stocked brand.
What makes Pip & Pear different from other baby food brands?
Irene set out to create a chilled, minimally processed alternative to shelf-stable jarred baby food, aiming for something closer to fresh home cooking.
What award did Pip & Pear win?
Pip & Pear won the baby food category outright at the Blas na hÉireann awards, which helped validate the brand’s quality early on.
What support is available for parents starting a food business in Ireland?
Irene found Enterprise Ireland and her Local Enterprise Office helpful starting points, along with industry awards like Blas na hÉireann for building credibility.
Related Articles
- Meet the Business Owner: More Parent Founders on MyKidsTime
- Starting a Business as a Parent: Real Stories from Irish Mums and Dads
- Healthy Baby Food Ideas for Busy Parents
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