Richmount Cordial company, located in Carrickboy, Co. Longford is ran by David and Martina Burns. The flourishing company which was developed in 2013 is recognised by Bord Bia as an “award winning company”.
The people behind the brand
Married Couple, David and Martina Burns, are the faces behind the successful drink company. Mrs. Burns, was originally a primary school principal until 2009 and Mr. Burns was a farmer by trade. In 2012, he received an Euro-Toques Food Award for his produce of sweetcorn which was considered “a contribution to Irish food”.
When The Circular caught up with Mrs. Burns, she commented on how they had being making the elderflower cordial for years in their home. The elderflower cordial has no artificial sweeteners and its fresh ingredients are all natural. “When I began making the cordial at home, more people began tasting it and thankfully enjoyed it”.
During this time, Mr. Burns was nominated for the Euro-Toques Award and in appreciation of the award, Mr. Burns gave Gary O’Hanlon, a famous Irish chef, a bottle of their home produced cordial. “Within a month, Gary placed an order for thirty of our bottles . We both knew from this moment that we were on to something”.
After research and consideration, Mrs. Burns shortly realised that all the elderflower cordials that could be bought in Ireland were produced in the U.K. Mrs. Burns said: “I started to think, was there nobody else making this cordial in the country? Especially since Ireland in the summer months are white from elderflowers.”
How the business began
“We went to LEADER, to get funding for the business. However, the 2014 LEADER funding had just ended. We then said to ourselves, we could wait for the next funding which could have been for a couple of years or we could put our own money and savings into it”. Similar to any business, the beginning is always the trickiest.
Luckily, they both decided to take a leap of faith. “We then finally decided to jump at this particular time and corner the market before anybody else did and it was the best move we ever made”.
What started of with ninety trees, Mrs. Burns and her husband then began planting more. They also began to research ingredients to improve the cordial, invest in new equipment and by 2017, they planted 1,200 elder saplings for their company.
In the present day, the Burns family have 2,000 elder trees which is the largest elder orchard in Ireland.
The elderflower products
The elderflower cordial is now stocked in 150 nationwide stores, all located in Ireland. The light refreshing taste of the cordial is recommended to be added to water.
According to their Richmount Cordial website: ” It is intended as a treat to be enjoyed on special occasions or as a delicious alternative to alcohol”.
The Richmount sparkling elderflower drink is recalled as “the perfect refreshment on the go”. Its crisp taste and unique label was launched at the Euro-Toques award ceremony in may 2018.
To find out more
The passionate dedication, hard work and natural ingredients certainly make the cordial sound appealing, right? Perfect on a sunny day with gin, wine or sparking water.
If you are interested in tasting the product or want to find out more.
Visit: https://www.richmountcordials.ie/
Or, you can contact Martina or David Burns directly: martina@richmountcordials.ie
