Net Zero: Time for Irish companies in the UK to prioritise strategies to tackle climate change 

Net Zero

Irish companies operating in the UK have had quite a turbulent few years. Not only have they worked through the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected literally every part of the business world, but they have also come through the preparation and implementation of Brexit. But now there’s another issue that is becoming ever more urgent by the day – climate change – and it’s time now for Irish companies in the UK to start implementing strategies to make their business more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

While climate change is an urgent issue in every country, an even closer light has been cast on the changing environmental and sustainability conditions of the UK market. The UK was the first industrialised nation to enshrine its climate targets in law, pledging to cut carbon emissions from 1990 levels by 78% by 2035 and to reach net zero by 2050. This has been supplemented by recent UK government announcements including its ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution (published in December 2020), a new hydrogen strategy and an offshore wind sector deal. COP26 is taking place in Glasgow this autumn, and to coincide with its launch, the UK government is planning to publish a comprehensive cross-sectoral net zero roadmap, which should provide greater clarity for all sectors.

By and large, net zero been welcomed by the market, as businesses can see the opportunities that come with such a move, but the details still need to be sorted out,” explains Darragh Cotter, Senior Market Advisor, Industrial and Cleantech, at Enterprise Ireland. “The comprehensive roadmap to be published ahead of COP in November is expected to include all the important steps to take the UK to their net zero target, including the level of investment the government is willing to put into it.”

 

Already an urgent issue

With such ambitious targets, it’s clear that this will result in fundamental changes across the business community. Already, the UK net zero challenge is rapidly impacting government policy and legislation, influencing consumer preferences, impacting investor decision making and changing the way major corporates work with supply chain partners.

If you already have a presence in the UK, you must become conscious of the net zero ambitions of your customer base and the changing dynamics,” says Darragh. “For instance, already a lot of public procurement is building in environmental criteria into their tender assessments. That will be the same in the construction and agricultural sectors. So our message is that this is a critical issue for Irish businesses if they want to continue working in the UK because everything from procurement to the type of products and services will undergo fundamental change as we journey towards net zero.

“For us in the Enterprise Ireland London office, it’s the number one issue facing businesses today; we want to educate our clients on the issues facing them, find out what’s required by their customers and potential customers in the UK and relay that information to our client companies. For instance, we are seeing more and more UK corporates looking for their supply chain to have achieved environmental accreditation through certification such as ISO 50001 and ISO 14001. Our client companies need to be aware of the criteria they need to fulfil in order to continue doing business in the UK.”

To help, Enterprise Ireland has launched Net Zero UK: Ready for a Green Future, a proactive market intelligence and insights campaign that is designed to keep Irish business informed of the UK’s net zero plans and their impact on business. Through webinars, podcasts and reports, the campaign will highlight technologies and verticals that are likely to decline and those that will grow and emerge, along with the evolving expectations of major UK corporates. These insights can inform the strategic planning and R&D activities of Irish companies operating in the UK to both protect and to grow their business over the coming years.

Opportunities

Of course, with every change there’s opportunity, and working with Irish SMEs to identify new and relevant business opportunities is a key goal of Enterprise Ireland’s Net Zero UK campaign. “Net Zero will affect every sector, but some sectors would require different measures to others,” says Darragh. “For Irish companies, there are opportunities across all sectors related to net zero, not just in renewable energy – there are also opportunities in construction, engineering, manufacturing, local authorities, finance, business technology and more.”

Enterprise Ireland’s Net Zero UK campaign is complemented by the €10 million Climate Enterprise Action Fund, which provides a suite of products to help Irish companies assess their current carbon footprint and develop a concrete decarbonisation strategy to help future-proof their business. These financial aids work alongside the focused sector insights provided by the Net Zero UK campaign.

Despite Brexit, the UK remains one of Ireland’s most important export partners, and it’s vital that Irish companies take action now to address the opportunities and risks brought about by the growth of UK’s green economy. Enterprise Ireland’s Net Zero UK campaign aims to support Irish exporters and help them to emerge stronger, more successful and more sustainable than ever.

Net Zero UK is part of Enterprise Ireland’s Evolve UK campaign. Find out more here.

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the Finnish and Nordic markets

 

Finland adds appeal to Irish businesses who want to scale, and develop a presence within their sector overseas.

If you are considering doing business in Finland, the ten tips below will help aid you entering the market, as will our Nordics Team – located in both Stockholm & Copenhagen.

  • Finland has an increasingly elderly population and is constantly looking for healthcare solutions, new talent & the creation of new jobs.
  • The highest areas for growth and innovation in Finland are, Healthcare, marine industry, bioeconomy, energy, cleantech and environmental solutions
  • Finland is almost 1,200 km long and only contains 5.5 million people, most of whom are in the South. Most headquarters are in the capital city region of Helsinki, Espoo & Vantaa. Other business hubs are Tampere and Turku.
  • Finland has a high level of English, but don’t be fooled – this isn’t because Finnish is similar to English. Finnish is one of the hardest languages to learn in the world so if your product or service needs to be translated you may require a local partner or a team of translators. Swedish is the second official language of Finland, so certain products, such as food items, may require both.

The Nordics are a highly advanced region which rewards high quality and innovative solutions. These countries are familiar with collaboration and partnerships and often look globally to ensure that they have the best innovations on offer.

  1. Nordic business culture is based on equality, efficiency, modesty and punctuality.
  2. The Nordics are a hub for innovation – with more and more unicorns coming from the Nordics every year, the Nordics are home to some of the largest ICT & MedTech hubs in Europe.
  3. Business decisions take longer – generally, the Nordic countries operate on a consensus approach to business decisions and have flat organizational structures.
  4. If you plan on being in the Nordics long term, setting up an office in-market is necessary – as is localizing offerings (e.g. offering in local language)
  5. The Nordics are a detail-oriented market – make sure that you have the required accreditations & certificates and all specs of your product memorised, as you will need answers ready for highly-detailed questions (including any worst-case scenarios).
  6. Wait for an answer – People in the Nordics think carefully about what they are going to say before they say it, giving them their reputation as being ‘reserved’. They are comfortable with long silences and often speak only when there’s something worth saying, meaning you must give them a longer time to respond.
  7. References are required – having customer stories from within the Nordic region or from the U.S. will help gain trust and credibility from potential customers.
  8. Long-lasting Relationships – while it is a long process to build a trusting relationship, Nordic companies are usually in it for ‘the long-haul’ and are unlikely to change provider unless necessary.
  9. Highly Regulated – regulations across all sectors are among the strictest in Europe and often have higher expectations than the European Union in general.
  10. The environmental impact of business – the Nordics is a very environmentally aware market and environmental impact is something that many companies consider when entering new relationships and may set you apart from the competition.

Sweden

  • As the 5th largest country in Europe, Sweden is drastically different in the North and South with different innovation hubs scattered throughout the country. Where is best for your offering is something that should be considered.
  • Many Swedes go on an extended holiday during July, meaning that generally no new business is conducted from the 21st of June (‘Midsommar’) until the middle of August.
  • Planning is essential to Swedes, so make sure to plan to meet before your arrangements for travelling.

Denmark

  • Denmark is home to Medicon Valley the largest Lifesciences hub in Europe – second only to Silicon Valley in the world.
  • Denmark is a world leader in Life sciences, cleantech and digitalization.
  • Denmark is a rich, modern and design-focused country with a highly educated and critical population who are amongst the fastest to adopt new products/technologies
  • The Nordics are known for high levels of employee protection, however, in Denmark, they operate on a ‘flexicurity’ model, where it is relatively easy to hire or fire someone, but they have a high level of social protection.

Norway

  • Norway is not a member of the European Union but is part of the Inner Market through the EEA agreement
  • Norwegians often disregard titles and symbols of power as they operate with flat structures and informal communication.
  • Family comes first so afternoons and Fridays are very difficult to get a meeting as even senior management cuts their days short if they need to pick up children or be with their family.
  • Most of the population is in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim, with the North of Norway being sparsely populated.
  • Distributors and agents are the most popular entry method into Norway – one must be careful to ensure their distributor can give focus and dedication to your product/service.

Enterprise Ireland is committed to helping Irish firms succeed in global markets and have industry experts on hand, ready to help you access the Nordic markets.

Key questions to ask at your Belgian or Luxembourgian Market Advisor meeting

This is an open discussion between you and one of our trusted Market Advisers, to discuss your business and the export opportunities that lie for you in the region. Below are some suggestions of questions to ask your MA, to learn more about the Belgian and Luxembourgian markets, and the supports we can offer you.

  • What resources do you need? Enterprise Ireland can help entrepreneurs and businesses to scale and reach their potential, let it be from funding support, market insights, or finding the right contacts through international networks. Ask your MA what they can do to help you scale your business and enter the market prepared, confident and supported.
  • What are the opportunities in the market for your business? Ask your MA which opportunities lie within your sector, and how best to leverage these growth opportunities for your business.
  • What should the next steps be? Discuss forming a plan towards global exporting – have an open discussion and together plan objectives, goals and discuss what time frames to expect. Next steps may include further market research and discovery, funding applications or buyer introductions.

Set up a call with our team in Brussels today

For more be sure to read our Belgium Going Global Guide  and our Going Global Guide Luxembourg 

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the Belgian and Luxembourgian market can be viewed by clicking the graphic below.

UK Net Zero Construction Report

This report is a guide for Enterprise Ireland clients targeting or operating within the UK construction sector to inform and support their navigation to the start line of a journey that leads to net zero carbon emissions.

A key focus of this report is to prioritise the key factors that address the question of

  • Why focus on emissions? e.g making the business case.

  • What? e.g. what a decarbonisation journey could look like.

In addition, we feature interviews with some of the UK’s most influential property and construction companies including, British Land, Mercury Engineering, Mace Group, Arup and Willmott Dixon.

Click the below image to view or download the complete report.

 

Evolve UK report- Medtech manufacturing in the UK

A number of factors are driving demand for medtech – most notably our increasingly older global population, as well as an increasing prevalence of chronic conditions.

In parallel, new technologies can now facilitate continued innovation and improvement in design and manufacture of devices. However there are challenges to these advances becoming available, as public expenditure on healthcare is generally unable to increase at a pace to match the development of medtech advances.

This report examines the market from a variety of perspectives: discussing global trends in human health and technology which are impacting the industry, as well as the local UK market, in terms of manufacturing, supply, regulation and local characteristics.

Read the report here.

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the German market

Germany is Ireland’s second-largest market for services exports and its fourth-largest market for merchandise exports, offering the twin benefits of zero currency risk and close geographic proximity.

If you are considering doing business in Germany, please be sure to explore our ten tips to enter the market below and also be sure to reach out to our team in Düsseldorf

    • Expect 1-3 years’ timeline for market penetration in Germany
    • The transportation infrastructure in Germany is one of the best in the world and includes international freight arriving in the 3 biggest harbours, namely  Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven. Germany also boasts 16 international and 20 national airports, a well-established railway system, and a world-class road network.
    • “Me-too” products are difficult to get established in the German market. Innovative products are more likely to gain a market share
    • Innovative products with a focus on energy-saving and cost-saving for the automotive, life sciences, agri-tech, software and engineering services market will be attractive as Germany leads in these sectors.
    • Buyers in Germany tend to purchase goods and services from all over the world but prefer products offered in Germany; even if they are at a higher price. Customers trust homemade products and services more than those found abroad.
    • Import tax is “0” for goods imported from Ireland to Germany and sales taxes is at 19% on goods and services;  7% for food, hospitality etc.
      • (VAT will be reduced from 19 per cent to 16 per cent for six months starting in July as part of a stimulus package to speed up Germany’s recovery from the coronavirus shock. A lower VAT rate for hospitality would be cut by two points to 5 per cent over the same period.)
    • Germany is currently experiencing a shift in consumer demand for sustainable products, products from the region, health products.
    • Irish firms should invest in marketing, staff, legal and tax consultancy, language localization before entering the market
    • Meeting in person is important in Germany but you must first establish a formal exchange in writing. There are a range of social norms you should know about, always keeping in mind “the client is king”: 1) find out if the client contact is comfortable to hold the meeting in English or prefers  German (if needed have a German translator at side). 2) Use the formal salutation -3) Business first then if time allows and desired by the customer – small talk (but not too intimate).
    • 500 Irish firms are already active in the German market thanks to EI assistance, contact the local Manager Manus Rooney who will lead you to the sectoral market advisors in Germany.

    Enterprise Ireland is committed to helping Irish firms succeed in global markets and have industry experts on hand, ready to help you access the German market.

    Our Market Advisors are always available to support you and provide business expertise and on-the-ground knowledge.

    For more, download our Going Global Guide 

     

    If you would like to know what to prepare ahead of your first MA call, click the graphic below

    A person gathering market intelligence by analysing graphs and statistics on a sheet of paper

    Using market intelligence to inform your export plan

    The saying that ‘knowledge is power’ is certainly true of successful exporting. Companies must use market intelligence to understand their customers’ requirements, cultural considerations, market trends and what competitors are doing, in order to succeed.

    Insights gained from high-quality market research are essential for good business decisions for companies with the ambition to grow, export and, indeed, survive. While successful products and services are built on sound market research, a continual process of keeping up-to-date with business intelligence is required, which can be time-consuming and costly.

     

    Market Research Centre

    That is one reason Enterprise Ireland’s Market Research Centre is such a valuable resource. It is the largest repository of business intelligence in Ireland and contains thousands of world-class market research insights, available to Enterprise Ireland supported companies.

    Reports include company, sector, market and country information, which help businesses to explore opportunities and compete in international markets. We use databases from blue-chip information providers such as GartnerFrost & Sullivan, Mintel and others, which provide authoritative, verified information that is independent and reliable. Some of these reports cost tens of thousands of euro individually, so the value of accessing the service is immense.

     

    Using market intelligence to assess new markets

    The Market Research Centre is staffed by information specialists who help clients locate the most appropriate sources of knowledge for their requirements. The specialists can track down niche market intelligence that is not available through internet research and can also facilitate access to industry analysts to provide bespoke briefings that deep-dive into subject areas.

    While the UK and European markets remain vitally important for exporters, increasingly diversification into more distant markets is a strategic option. Critical to all such business decisions is access to authoritative market research.

     

    Using insights to make an impact

    An example of how the centre helps companies to explore opportunities in overseas markets is workforce travel company Roomex. Over the last two years, the company has targeted the UK and Germany and is now looking at the huge potential of the US market. Information specialists helped the company gain valuable insights by providing access to global company, country, market and sector data which helped the Roomex to analyse their target customer and competitor base.

    Enterprise Ireland’s research hub offers access to extensive predictive research on future trends, which is invaluable for companies interested in innovation. Knowledge of what might impact a market next provides an opportunity to develop new products or solutions. There are huge opportunities arising from disruptive technologies, such as driver-less cars, but also risks to companies which are not looking ahead.

     

    Growing your business using market intelligence

    Companies which are serious about exporting, growing and future-proofing their business should put continuous research at the heart of their strategy.

    If your company is considering expanding into new markets the Market Research Centre’s extensive resources and expertise should be your first port of call.

    Contact the Market Research Centre today.

    Sustainability – Sisk Talks Success with GreenPlus

    The relationship between the construction industry and the built environment and consumption of natural resources on the one hand and sustainable development on the other is both complex and significant.

    Established back in 1859, John Sisk & Son – Building and Civil Engineering Design and Construction Services is one of Ireland’s most recognisable companies in the sector.  Headquartered in Ireland, with operations across the UK and Europe, the company places a strong emphasis on performance, quality, teamwork and a ‘hands-on’ management approach.

    Sisk were the first contractors / builders in Ireland and the UK to achieve ISO 50001 certification in energy management. Their decision to become involved with the Enterprise Ireland GreenPlus scheme “really opened our eyes to the whole scope of energy management in our industry which until then had been very much overlooked,” explains Sisk Group Energy Manager, Ian O’Connor, who is recognised as an international leader in construction sustainability and was named ‘Private Sector Energy Manager 2020 at the EMA (Energy Managers Association) awards.

     

    “It was very enlightening”

    “It started with ISO 50001 but we took our initial learnings from this, developed them further and expanded our scope to take a more forensic approach to monitoring our energy use.  This identified areas of significant energy savings.  We started to measure but realised we needed to know more. We needed to analyse our energy use – when it was used, how much was being used and which processes were using the energy.  It was very enlightening”.

     

    21 Targets Linked to the SDGs

    Last year Sisk launched their 2030 Sustainability Roadmap ‘Building Today, Caring for Tomorrow’.  Within that there are 21 clear and ambitious targets linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. “Industry collaboration is an important part of this. While we set these targets, we alone can’t achieve them.  We need the supply chain and our suppliers to come along on this journey with us. A rising tide lifts all boats and by doing this we hope to lead the way and we want people to join us on the journey.”

    Ian O’Connor is adamant that visibility and clear messaging of the Sisk vision is the way forward.  “We are very keen to demonstrate to all stakeholders of our business – clients, our employees, subcontractors, communities – what we are going to do to care for the environment in which we work.  We plan to be fully carbon neutral by 2030. By 2024 50% of our fleet will be electric and by 2030 there will be no combustion engines within the fleet”.

    The company also has some exciting and innovative ideas around digital technology, innovation and biodiversity.  In 2029 the business celebrates 170 years and to celebrate plans to plant a massive 1.7 million trees by 2030 in Ireland and the UK.  The first of those trees was planted in April this year.

    Advising other companies of the benefits of getting involved with the Enterprise Ireland GreenPlus programme he states:

    “I would say it’s really important to know where you are at the moment. Get a baseline and measure your impact on the environment, on energy use and on carbon emissions.  Set targets and then develop an action plan to start achieving those targets,” he recommends.

    Ian O’Connor acknowledges that in addition to the help from Enterprise Ireland GreenPlus, the achievements to date wouldn’t have been possible without everybody at Sisk.  “We wouldn’t have had the launch of our roadmap if support hadn’t come from the very top – from our shareholders to our forward thinking management team and the ‘boots on the ground’ and staff in the office.  Ultimately, most of the people that work at Sisk are based on construction sites these are the people that will have a huge contribution to our efforts” he said.  “We know that our targets are ambitious but there is a climate emergency and we hope Sisk can play a significant part in overcoming this challenge.”

     

    To get your business ready for a green future visit Climate Enterprise Action Fund or contact the Climate Action Team

    Evolve UK Webinar – HS2, Reset, Recover, Deliver

    The UK Government’s Notification to Proceed with the detailed design and construction of the main civil engineering packages for HS2 was a significant boost to the long-term health of the construction sector.

    This webinar considers the impact of Covid-19 on the construction sector and examines the evolving opportunities to engage with Europe’s largest infrastructure project with expert insights provided by: 

     

    Nicky Wright – Supply Chain Manager, HS2

    Simon Poulter – Head of Procurement and Supply Chain, Align JV

    Anthony Boulic – Senior Procurement & Supply Chain Manager, Align JV

    Howard Mitchell – Head of Innovation, HS2

    John Hunt – Senior Advisor, Construction, Enterprise Ireland

    UK packaging webinar title

    The UK Packaging Sector Webinar – Opportunities and Challenges

    Few sectors have been affected greater by the COVID-19 pandemic than the packaging sector. The increased demand on food packaging with the upsurge of people eating at home and companies forced to rethink their packaging as minimalism made way for health and safety, the packaging sector was forced to change quickly to the ‘new normal’.

    Now as a post-pandemic world looks somewhat in sight, it’s time to reassess the UK market and re-evaluate how Irish packaging suppliers can take advantage of the £11 billion UK packaging sector.

    In this webinar, Andrew Finch, UK Packaging Consultant examines the UK packaging sector and discusses:

    • State of the UK market post-COVID-19 and post-Brexit

    • Opportunities for Irish packaging providers in the market

    • Latest demands from UK multiples and key industry stakeholders

    • Sustainability outlook in the UK

    • How to best engage UK packaging buyers

    Gain key business insights with our on-demand UK webinar series.

      Life Scientific: Partnerships powering success in a highly-regulated sector

      The story of Life Scientific is one of perseverance in a complex industry, ingenious methods to prove a novel concept, and a leader with the utmost respect for the process and the people involved.

      Nicola Mitchell is the founder and CEO of Life Scientific: a company that develops high-quality, off-patent crop protection products, giving farmers a speedier, cost-effective option.

      We spoke with her shortly after she was announced as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist to learn about the woman at the helm, the remarkable story of Life Scientific, and how Enterprise Ireland supports helped the company along the way.

      “Samantha Power is actually my first cousin,” Mitchell says as she describes the strong women in her family as her major influences. “Samantha’s mother really influenced me when I was younger. She went to the States, and was the first woman in Ireland to get a high court ruling that she was allowed to bring her children with her.” Vera Delaney, the Irish-American academic, author and Democratic Party member’s mother was a nephrologist who, after tenaciously climbing the ranks in a male-dominated sector during the 1970’s and 1980’s, refused a top job in a Manhattan hospital because it would mean giving up the face time she had with her patients. Mitchell cites this integrity as powerfully influencing decisions she made throughout her career.

      She credits her collegiate and later employment choices to her father, whose footsteps she followed by studying chemistry. He cautioned her not to accept a post in a large multinational corporation, but instead get a job in which she could learn and eventually build her own business. “In Ireland, for chemists, it’s all about multinationals, you’re doing manufacturing but have no sight of warranty or business aspects; you don’t do global stuff.” Her father had been what she describes as ‘a cog in a wheel’ in large multinationals, and Mitchell decided that she didn’t want to miss out on being global. “Why can’t we build a multinational in Ireland where we get to be global, where we get to do the R&D, where we get to build the brands?” With Life Scientific, Mitchell would go on to disrupt the regulatory landscape for off-patent agrochemicals from the unique R&D base she had built in Ireland.

      After spending 10 years working in a generic agrochemical manufacturing company, absorbing everything she could, Mitchell set her sights on starting her business, knowing that it needed to manufacture something of true value. “I started Life Scientific in 1995 and from the get-go knew it couldn’t be a service business. If you really want to be big, you have to have products, that’s how you’ll scale, that’s how you’ll be exponential.”

      Building a company with an expert offering

      Two decades of learning the tricks of the trade from leading multinationals allowed Life Scientific to pinpoint precisely where it was strong, and where it could add the most value. “We knew that if we’d built the capability around regulation — a new field at the time — we could not just understand it, but know more than anyone else about a very complex, strategic area of the industry.”

      Mitchell was always drawn to complexity. It’s what led her to challenge her team to reverse engineer the Coca-Cola recipe; to prove that they could not only take apart and recreate it but that they could take a fresh view with their product offering. In proving the point, they showed that they could offer farmers an identical product at a lower cost, and get it to them sooner being first to market.

      Mitchell is quick to point out that it wasn’t just about capability; it was also about humility. “There’s a phenomenal level of innovation and professionalism in our industry, and it’s a privilege to be in it. So why would we think we could do anything better than the multinationals?”

      Changing the rule book

      Challenging the status quo meant more than having an impressive story to tell, it meant calling for the rules of the game to be changed, rules that to date, had been largely written by and for the big multinationals. The world is new; we have capabilities here we didn’t have before. We have an LC-MS [liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry] system that wouldn’t fit a room when I was growing up, that was almost prohibitive for a multinational or a university to have. Now, they sit on benchtops, and we can’t keep up with the capability. We had to take a fresh view.”

      With a value proposition that was impossible to contest, doors that were to-date slammed shut began to open. The multinationals could no longer deny the science or the methods, and the business side of things started to make sense. “They could see we were much more nimble, flexible, fast, and entrepreneurial. So we’ve got some very good contracts, and that allowed me to pivot the model.”

      Yet even with new contracts in place, Life Scientific felt the squeeze from the regulators. With the weight of a global brand and status behind them, the multinationals would attempt to get Life Scientific’s products withdrawn. “Multinationals are very clever, and they don’t want us really, we’re competitors.”

      With an identical product and a transparent business came a sort of freedom; an ability to operate by different rules. “Regulatory submissions are complex. Knowing how to communicate, giving them a sense of who you are, your integrity, that you want the best, that you believe in your role as being a competitive choice for the farmer. So we thought if we put in the identical product, they don’t have to do any evaluation. If we can get them to accept an identical item molecularly, aren’t we simplifying things?”

      Life Scientific ended its beginnings as a contract research organisation, offering services in product development and regulation, becoming an independent product company. “We got our first product authorised in France in 2012 and have gone from €2 million in revenue to €60 million today.”

      Not the average day-to-day

      Mitchell is proud of her EY Entrepreneur of the Year nomination and hopes that in entering the competition, she can raise the profile of Life Scientific and the innovative science they have developed.

      During these turbulent times, the company is lucky to be mostly unaffected by COVID-19. They are operating in a space with one selling season, and thankfully, that had come and gone by the time the pandemic hit. Mitchell tells us that it has given companies like Life Scientific the opportunity to be appreciated once again. “The link between science and nutritious, sustainable food got lost. But now it’s becoming valued again.” But she feels that culturally, the company is suffering and will continue to suffer until they can operate together again. “Normally, I just look at somebody, and we have 10 ideas. Now I can’t see them, and for the new people coming in, who would normally absorb the energy and mimic what they’re seeing, that’s gone.”

      Partnering for a successful future

      Mitchell continues to look confidently towards the future. Her focus is on nurturing close relationships with company partners: the customers, suppliers and regulators with whom she speaks daily. Keeping these relationships blooming allows her to set and realise big goals, work with the best, move fast and scale.

      “In the next five years, we’ll be at €250 million. We’ll be building capability, relationships and new markets. It’s quite a visible roadmap.”

      Life Scientific will build important relationships in the area of big distribution to open up new markets; specifically, North and South America, though with different strategic approaches.

      “We work with the best which will allow us to realise South America, which is rapidly growing and hugely exciting for us.”

      For distribution companies in the already-established North American region, Life Scientific is offering the technology and putting the choice of operating or failing in the distributor’s hands. “We’re offering mirror images of the multinationals’ latest and greatest products to do with them what they will, working on their side to empower them in the face of big multinational suppliers.”

      Supported by Enterprise Ireland at each step

      Along the road to success, Mitchell says that the support she received from EI has been indispensable. “They gave us our first R&D grant, they’ve helped us and believed in us since 2006.”

      As well as financial grants, Mitchell took part in EI’s Leadership 4 Growth Programme and International Selling Programme, which she says equipped her with the knowledge she needed at the time. “The programmes have been hugely influential, connecting with people who are at the top of their game can set you upright.”

      Currently, as well as working towards adopting Enterprise Ireland’s Agile Lean approach, Mitchell is thinking about what winning the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award would mean. She tells us that it would provide visibility for Life Scientific and for anyone like her who had no expectations at a young age. “I’d be an ambassador for girls like I was: if you see it, you can be it.”

      Click here to watch the opening of Enterprise Ireland’s International Markets Week 2020, featuring Nicola Mitchell.

      Evolve UK – Construction Business Risk in Ireland & the UK post Brexit

       

      Enterprise Ireland, Blake Morgan and LK Shields invite you to this unique Brexit webinar which will discuss the legal ramifications of Brexit for the UK and Irish construction markets.

      The discussion will also include the economic and legal impacts of a “no deal” Brexit on the construction sector as well as commentary on the current state of negotiations.

      The event will feature

      Anne Corr, Construction Market Advisor for Enterprise Ireland.

      Richard Wade, Partner & Head of Construction at UK law firm Blake Morgan

      Jamie Ritchie, Partner in the Projects and Construction Team at Irish law firm LK Shields