Naas business duo wins small business award

Sweetspot Sourcing, a Naas based company owned by Fiona Craul and Susan Dempsey has won the National award for “Outstanding Small Business” at the SFA Awards 2017.

Sweetspot was set up in 2012, and offers their clients a managed service for the sourcing of products internationally.

Sweetspot manage the entire process, from the factory selection, sampling and prototyping, manufacturing of products for retail and promotion, quality control, logistics and importing.

Sweetspot won the award at the SFA Awards Gala night in the RDS on March 1, beating off stiff competition from the other finalists.

The awards ceremony was attended by small businesses from all over Ireland along with representatives from the sponsors, AIB, DHL Express, Energia, Bord Bia, 3, Enterprise Ireland,Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and IE Domain.

The Minister for Employment and Small Business, Pat Breen, TD who presented the Awards stated "It has been a pleasure to meet and listen to so many vibrant and innovative small businesses. All the nominees and category winners have shown great drive and pride in their business. Looking at the fantastic success of past winners and nominees, the future is very bright for tonight’s contestants and the Irish business environment."

While Sweetspot work with factories worldwide, they have particular expertise in Asia. “We like to think we make it easier for our clients to navigate this market and get the best out of it. Carefully selecting factories and working together in partnership is what we have found to work best” said Fiona.

"The win is timely as the ladies have just celebrated their fifth year in business, “we are absolutely delighted, and it’s a great milestone to mark our five years in business” said Susan.

"They are looking forward to the next five, with support from Intertrade Ireland, Sweetspot having been entering into Northern Ireland and the UK, which has been very successful and will continue to be a focus for the coming years. The business has shown steady growth, with sales increasing an average rate of 20-30% per year."