The sweet smell of success is wafting from a unit at Rosslea Enterprise Centre, where local man James Connolly has built up a profitable business “from nothing”.

Having secured a turnover of £1 million in the last year, the target-driven entrepreneur has set himself the challenge of doubling that figure in the next year. At the minute, over 100,000 hand packed bags of sweets come from the Rosslea unit per month and are distributed to around 700 stores across the island of Ireland.

Brexit is a concern and, if a hard border is established, James will take drastic action and move his business into the Republic of Ireland.

Eight years ago, during a frank conversation with his then boss at GlaxoSmithKline, James realised there were limited opportunities for career advancement in his current role, therefore, he decided to move back to Fermanagh and set up his own business.

Initially operating from Manderwood Park in Lisnaskea, he distributed healthy nut products. When the recession started to bite, customers cut out luxury products like his and he saw sales decrease by 60 per cent.
“I needed to make a decision quick, so I decided on confectionery because people will always treat themselves to things like sweets or take-aways, no matter what the economy is,” he recalls.

He secured a deal with a company in Leeds and delivered their sweets into shops in Northern Ireland for one year. During that time he was approached by a packing company in Newry who suggested he start his own brand. His first brand ‘Sweet Supreme’ was born and he moved to Rosslea Enterprise Centre.

Typical days as a lone trader included working 12-14 hours; invoicing, ordering and deliveries; using his contacts; and pitching his brand to wholesalers. His hard work paid off and James soon secured deals with the Musgrave Group, which owns Spar, Mace and Supervalu stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and with the Henderson Group, which owns Spar, Eurospar and Vivo in Northern Ireland.

In response to demand for children’s sweets, last year, James developed a new brand called ‘Love Sweets’ and secured a lucrative contract with Ampersand, which supplies 3,500 stores across the Republic of Ireland. 
Whatever the outcome of Brexit, he is determined to maintain that contract, even if it means moving his business into the Republic.

“We had a good turnover and we passed it on to Ampersan, so they are 30-40 per cent of our total business. No matter what happens with Brexit, we need to make sure nothing happens to that contract,” says James.
“I am old enough to remember police stations around [Rosslea] and you’d sit at a police station for an hour with nobody there, thinking: ‘Why are we not getting through?’ Time is of the essence, there’s eight or nine selling hours in a day. If my boys are sitting at border patrols when they should be getting out as quick as possible to sell products in shop that would be too much of a time constraint.”

Operating a business from Rosslea means: “I have to look at the exchange rate twice a day because we buy some of our sweets in euro and sell them in sterling and we buy some sweets in sterling and buy them in euro. 
“At the minute we are trying to source as much as we can in sterling and sell it into the Republic because the rate is so good – but where the rate will be in six months time, nobody knows. If there’s a border going up, we will just move into Clones.”

Three years ago, he started taking on new staff. In January 2016, the company moved into a bigger unit at Rosslea Enterprise Centre, where eight full-time and four part-time staff are now employed. Roles include sweet packers, sales, deliveries and admin.

“In the last two years the business has really taken off. For the first three years we were running at 30 per cent growth but in the last year we had 100 per cent growth with a turnover of over £1 million. To try and get it from £1 million to £2 million is really hard but we now have the people on the ground to do it.”

Setting up at the start of the crash of the Celtic Tiger was “a big risk”. James could not get a bank loan so he borrowed £60,000 from his father and paid him back over three-four years. He then reinvested profits into the business each year.

“We have quite a big operation here – costs would be £20-30,000 per month before you break even: wages, rent, fuel for five-six vans. It all adds up.”
After six years, he finally caught the attention of Invest NI, who were impressed by his export credentials and agreed a financial package that allowed him to employ more people and purchase equipment for the business.

In addition, James and another man have established a business called Irish Food Packers Ltd. which has done a deal with BWG Foods, which owns Mace, Spar, Londis and XL, to allow them to use their own store brand on his Love Sweets bag. That deal is currently being rolled out.

Another arm of the business is the Action Cancer boxes. James supplies the boxes of sweets and, at the end of the year, he gives Action Cancer 50 per cent of the takings. In four years he has sent £50,000 to Action Cancer.
The purpose of this side-line is two-fold: to have a higher turnover of sweets (which strengthens their buying power and they get a better deal on sweets), and Corporate Social Responsibility. 

James explains: “It’s nice to do a good deed and give something back to charity. We are currently seeking charities to partner up with. We are ready to go.”

His advice to budding entrepreneurs is: “It’s a serious risk – you have to be brave. In my line of business it is so crucial to get in money you are owed. You can’t let customer take you for a fool.”

In his spare time, James enjoys spending time with his children Isabelle, Evie and James and his wife Alana.