Green care keeps Galway company well in the black
One of Galway’s most successful family manufacturing businesses has seen revenue double since 2018 – thanks largely to the development of a pioneering organic garden care brand.
Hygeia Group – the Galway-based company that has been manufacturing garden care, agricultural, amenity, and animal care products for over 85 years – is reveling in the success of Nature Safe, its 100% natural and organic garden care brand.
Launched in 2019 with just four products, Nature Safe – which uses wild Atlantic seaweed as a key ingredient – has swiftly expanded to encompass sixteen offerings and is sold throughout Ireland and the UK, with sales to date valued at €1.2 million.
The Hygeia Group is one of the oldest family businesses in Ireland with son and grandson of the original founder Dr. Donny Coyle, John Coyle and David Coyle, Non-Executive Directors of the group.
Hygeia’s recent growth has taken place under the stewardship of CEO John Byrne who joined the company in 2017, having previously worked with Aurivo and Kerry Group, and has been a significant catalyst in the development of Nature Safe and the shift of the business to more sustainable practices and products.
“We’re delighted to report such strong growth over the past five years with the development of the Nature Safe brand,” he said. “Environmental concerns are top of our agenda, as they are for our customers.
“Seaweed is well-recognised as an ingredient in food and cosmetics and with Nature Safe we are now taking it to the next level, using nature to nurture nature, enriching the soil and the plants that we grow and eat with seaweed’s natural micronutrients.
“Our seaweed is hand-harvested on the local Connemara shoreline here in Galway, which ensures there is complete regrowth every three years, making it the most sustainable option for Nature Safe.
“We’re now actively reviewing how to adopt more sustainable practices throughout our business and the utilization of seaweed, in particular, in our other brands,” he added.
In addition to Nature Safe, Hygeia Group also manufactures household brands such as Mosgo, Lawn Gold, Goulding, GreenForce, Cara Bird Foods and Chirpy, as well as a wide range of brand leading agricultural and veterinary products.
Pictured: Success story… Hygeia CEO John Byrne (right) and Non-Executive Director John Coyle with some of their Nature Safe range.