Irish SMEs selling on Amazon recorded over €150 million in export sales in 2022, with over half of those (€75 million) coming from outside of Europe. In the same year, more than 200 of these businesses surpassed €100,000 in sales, with around 40 surpassing €1 million.
How EarthChamp uses Amazon to spread the word about plant-based products
Around ten years ago, Dave McGeady founded EarthChamp, a Dublin-based organic, vegan protein powder brand, to give consumers more plant-based products to choose from. Starting out as a small business selling mostly in Ireland, Dave explains how selling on Amazon has helped his business to reach customers in the UK, the EU and the US. Today, 90% of EarthChamp’s sales come from Amazon.
“One of the first challenges we had as a small business was finding new customers and exporting. We started selling through Amazon in the US, the UK and Germany and suddenly the world opened up to us,” said Dave.
Dave now encourages other small businesses to sell on Amazon as a gateway to reach new customers across Europe and beyond.
“The first thing that I’d say to any brand who’s considering selling on Amazon is have a look around and see the number of people who are buying things online - it’s increasing every day. From our research, people are looking for more plant-based products and the planet needs more as well, so it’s a really exciting opportunity for us to spread the word about plant-based products and to do that on Amazon.”
Reaching customers 24/7 through Amazon
Solvotrin Therapeutics is an award-winning brand that makes iron supplements called Active Iron. It is headquartered in Ireland and now sells to 14 countries around the world.
The business was founded in 2010 and spent its early days on research and development and conducting clinical studies. Their first sales were in 2017 and they started selling on Amazon in 2018.
“My wife had low iron and felt tired all of the time, but couldn’t tolerate oral iron, and then Active Iron was born,” said Pat O’Flynn, CEO at Solvotrin Therapeutics, reflecting on what inspired him to start the business. “We worked with Trinity College Dublin and the School of Medicine and Medical Science at University College Dublin to produce a ground-breaking technology that uniquely avoids the common side effects of oral iron, but is clinically proven to increase your iron levels in six weeks.”
“When you’re trying to put a product into high-street retail, it can take time. However, when you want to sell on Amazon, once it’s approved, you can get it up immediately. Our business has seen huge growth from Amazon, and Amazon now accounts for 25% of our UK volume, and growing year-on-year,” said Claire Lynch, Solvotrin Therapeutics’ Head of Marketing.
“This has changed our business by allowing us to be available to our consumers 24/7 and 365 days a year online.”
Amazon’s commitment to helping Irish SMEs expand globally
Thanks to Amazon's UK and European stores, we support Irish sellers to grow sales of their products internationally.
Leo Clancy, CEO at Enterprise Ireland, the government-backed economic development agency supporting Irish businesses said: “Enterprise Ireland supports Irish companies at every stage of their journey, to develop, grow and scale, and to achieve their global ambition. Irish SMEs are economic cornerstones in communities around the country, creating sustainable jobs and driving the Irish economy forward. Enterprise Ireland’s team here, and across our network of 39 international offices, are committed to supporting Irish owned companies on their exporting journey.”
Amazon continues to support brands which are looking to expand across Europe and beyond with the help of resources like Amazon Global Selling.
