Healthy boost in Republic for juice producer

Healthy juice producer Skinny Malinkys in Northern Ireland has won a major award that could boost business in the Republic of Ireland, a target market for the small business.

Based in Belfast, Skinny Malinkys won the unique VidPitch, an online competition that invited the general public to vote for a business on the basis of a video pitch. Skinny Malinkys was the only food business and the sole contender from Northern Ireland.

The company receives around £5,000 and access to office space in the heart of Dublin for 12 months.

Paula Heaney, the managing director and founder of Skinny Malinkys in 2013, commenting on her success in the digital competition, says: "Winning this competition will make a massive difference to us and could really help grow and scale up our business and get us to the next level. It will enable us, in particular, to launch an innovative product in the Republic."

The competition was sponsored by Microfinance Ireland, a specialist in small business loans, the Local Enterprise Office and Space@DublinBIC.

Paula founded the business to cold-press a range of fruits and vegetables for premium and nourishing drinks. The juices are raw, unpasteurised and unadulterated, packed with live enzymes, vitamins, trace minerals and other vital elements for health.

While initially the company only delivered fresh juices within a three mile radius of its base in Titanic Quarter in Belfast, it now delivers to Britain and Ireland. Today the company is Northern Ireland's leading cold-pressed juice processor.