Having kept her family’s The Rolling Donut business rolling through Covid-19, Lisa Quinlan is aiming for another sweet taste of success with Very Berry.
If you know O’Connell Street in Dublin then the waft of fresh donuts that used to greet you every day from The Rolling Donut kiosk would stir warm memories.
And so too for Lisa Quinlan whose father Michael Quinlan set up The Rolling Donut in 1978 and since 2012, Lisa has taken the business to new heights, dressing her donuts for success.
“The inspiration for Very Berry came a lifelong love of strawberries, a desire to support other Irish businesses and work with celebrated Irish ingredients”
She spotted the trend for filled donuts and created an imaginative range of handcrafted sourdough and vegan donuts.
Rolling with the changes
Quinlan was on a roll with multiple outlets and poised to go nationwide when Covid-19 shut everything down overnight.
Like many others, she had to reimagine her whole business and shift quickly into online deliveries to keep the business afloat.
It was during this time that Quinlan decided to take a leap of faith to set up a new sister company for The Rolling Donut and Very Berry was born.
“The inspiration for Very Berry came a lifelong love of strawberries, a desire to support other Irish businesses and work with celebrated Irish ingredients,” Quinlan said.
“The strawberries come from Pat Clarke of Clarkes Fresh Fruit in Stamullen, Co Meath, who stem pick their strawberries, ensuring superior quality and sustainability.!
In line with the Very Berry sustainability and zero waste plan, any strawberries that are not used will be made into strawberry jam and sold online as well as in Lisa’s Wildflower Café in Ratoath. T
“The chocolate ganache used on the strawberries has been perfected in-house by a team of confectioners. Adornments and ingredients come from Sweet Stamp and Sugar Sisters, both young dynamic Irish companies, as well as O’Brien’s Ingredients, another well-known Irish company,” Quinlan said.
The packaging is all made from recyclable materials and Very Berry is the only producer in the business offering next day delivery. To begin with there are four Very Berry options available.
The Very Berry LUXE range has beautiful embellishments, gold leaf, pearl chocolates and edible flowers with stunning pastel coloured chocolate ideal for summer occasions. The Very Berry Pastel Skies range with unicorns is luxurious, delicately handcrafted and carefully pieced together – perfect for children’s birthdays, Confirmations and Communions. The Very Berry Death by Chocolate range has popular favourites on top of the chocolate dipped strawberries like Kinder pieces, Terry’s chocolate pieces, Reeces pieces, Oreo, Malteser and many more.
“There is also a Corporate Very Berry offering which includes edible company logos on each strawberry with the option to customise each box for a great corporate gift, summer event or incentive,” Quinlan said.
Quinlan added that she and her team will customise for occasions like hen parties, baby showers, weddings and all occasions when restrictions lift.
By John Kennedy (john.kennedy3@boi.com)
Published: 28 April 2021
