Company Background:
Foyle Bubble Waffles are a street food business based in the North West of Ireland. They offer an array of sweet and savoury treats such as mini donuts, crepes, Dutch pancakes, bubble waffles, candy floss, popcorn sweets and much more.
Challenge:
The company wanted to create an artisan, hazelnut chocolate spread that is free of palm oil. They also wanted to be able to produce it in bulk in order to meet consumer demand and strengthen their brand on a local scale.
Solution:
In order to overcome this obstacle. Foyle Bubble Waffles made contact with North West Regional College (NWRC) Business Support Centre (BSC) who supported them through the InnovateUs programme which is funded by the Department for the Economy.
This provided 30 hours of 1:1 mentoring support from NWRC Culinary Technical Consultant, Rita O’Kane, who provided upskilling in new product develop (recipe standardisation) , ingredient sourcing, production methods and processes, labelling and packaging advice for the food service.
Impact:
On completion of the project, the company successfully developed a locally made chocolate hazelnut spread that is free of palm oil and is ready to produce all year round.
Testimonial from Foyle Bubble Waffles who described the benefits of working with NWRC’s Foodovation Centre via the InnovateUs programme:
‘‘We both had a great experience working with the team at NWRC’s Foodovation Centre. The results we achieved wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Rita and the team. The processes we learned from the college has helped us greatly and will allow us to further expand our range. The college also helped us with labelling and packaging. The journey was great and I’d highly recommend.’’
