Great Initiative by Young Irish Woman to Promote Irish Products Online

During the pandemic, consumers started to show real concern and urge to support Irish businesses. However, although the intention is there, consumers still struggle to source Irish products online, especially when there is the temptation to use the convenient platform ASOS. Croía Ireland’s mission is to solve this problem by making shopping local effortless. Croia Ireland is a new one-stop-shop for buying Irish brands and Irish made products, making it simple for consumers to buy Irish. The online trading platform is run by all young women and is a place where Irish businesses can connect with a targeted online community. Launching last November with one goal in mind- “to give back”. To date, the ladies have signed up over 100 Irish suppliers from small businesses to larger well-known brands and have over 700 products live on the site including gifts, jewellery, homeware and decor, beauty, food and drink, Irish designer clothing, artwork, and cards.

Founded by 25-year-old Ciara Hennebry during the Covid-19 lockdown in early 2020, the young entrepreneur saw a gap in the market to set up an online platform to support the growth of Irish brands and products. Now more than ever before, accelerated by the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, more consumers are choosing to shop online, and there is a growing sentiment across the Irish consumer-base to support local, buy Irish and in turn boost the wider Irish economy as a whole. The need for such a platform that supports Irish businesses is clearly reflected in Croía Ireland’s powerful social media presence, as the Croia ladies have already successfully and organically grown their Instagram following to over 16.5k followers.

Every €100 spent locally is worth €500 to the Irish economy. Yet, more than two-thirds of Irish expenditure is spent online and disappears overseas each year. Hence, losing the multiplier effect. However, Croia Ireland is the solution to this issue by offering access and convenience to a wide range of products all produced in Ireland.

Croía Ireland Founder, Ciara Hennebry said: “Shopping locally and supporting Irish talent has always been a huge passion of mine and so the Croía journey began in 2020 as I saw this as the perfect opportunity to give back to Irish businesses and provide to them not just a selling platform, but an empowering and encouraging community to become a part of. Our vision is to become the go-to online store for high-quality Irish goods that are fashionable and made with love. We want to promote longevity and durability in online purchases; a piece from Croía is something to have in your heart always. 2020 has been a tough year for us all, especially for our homegrown businesses, but we have been delighted to see the welcoming and positive reaction so far from both suppliers and potential consumers alike, so we cannot wait for the Croía journey to begin.”

For more information on Croía Ireland visit here https://croiaireland.com/