Gráinne Mullins Is Redefining Luxury Chocolate, One Edible Masterpiece At A Time

In the village of Kilchreest, County Galway, Gráinne Mullins has built something remarkable from the ground up. What began as childhood memories of family cooking has evolved into Grá Chocolates, a business that exemplifies the potential of Irish artisan food production.

Gráinne took an unconventional route to startup life. She left a science degree to work in France, spending two years at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Aix-en-Provence. Back in Ireland, she worked her way through leading pastry kitchens and won the Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year in 2019. In 2020, she launched Grá Chocolates from the family home.

The business model is deliberately intensive. Each chocolate requires three days to create, produced in small batches with hand-polished moulds and hand-painted decoration. The ingredient list reads like a luxury goods manifest: ethically sourced Valrhona chocolate, Casa Luker cocoa butter, and Irish dairy products. Seasonal ingredients drawn from Ireland’s native larder ensure the product remains connected to place and time.

This is manufacturing with significant labour input, where production speed is secondary to finished product. It’s a business approach that knows customers will pay for the difference. Gráinne’s long-term ambition for Grá Chocolates is to be recognised as the number one luxury chocolate brand in the world.

Interview with New Frontiers alumna Gráinne Mullins

How did the idea for Grá Chocolates come about?

I’d been working as a pastry chef for around 10 years, in fine dining restaurants. During the Covid lockdown, while I was keeping busy and figuring out what to do next, I started making hand-painted Easter eggs as gifts for friends and family. When I posted about them on social media, people reached out to ask where they could buy them. There was a lot of engagement because people found the product genuinely unusual.

The response made me realise there was a market for what I was doing, and it inspired me to consider starting my own business. I decided to approach it properly, and that meant taking courses and learning how to run a business. I had nothing to lose by researching the idea thoroughly and seeing whether there was a viable business there.

What support did you get during those early stages?

I reached out to the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) very early on and they gave good guidance on which courses to look at and which steps to take. They were very supportive. I heard about the New Frontiers programme at one of the ‘lunch and learns’ I was attending. As restaurants stayed shut and I was still off work, it felt like an ideal opportunity to delve deeper into the business, even though I had already launched at that point.

The bonds I formed with other participants on the programme is something I’m very thankful for. In those early stages, you’re dealing with countless issues every day, and having people to share the challenges and victories with made an enormous difference.

What did the early days of Grá Chocolates look like?

The demand came quickly, which was encouraging. What worked well with customers was the attention to detail and making people feel special – thinking outside the box and focusing on the customer experience from the very beginning. We have a strong base of repeat customers, while new ones came mainly through social media and word of mouth. Because the products are often bought as gifts, recipients frequently become customers themselves.

I’m always looking at new markets and how to tap into them. With social media, I’m always analysing what works well and trying to improve wherever possible. Initially it was just me handling everything, but last year I brought someone on specifically for marketing.

How important is storytelling and social media to the business?

If you have a direct-to-customer product, it’s really important to share the story of the day-to-day of the business. Otherwise, you won’t get that traction, which is essentially free advertising. I know so much about my business that nobody else knows, and I think the trick is getting that information out and educating people about what we do.

Originally, I just documented our day-to-day. The simple behind-the-scenes action. Imagine yourself as the viewer – what would you be interested in? Often that’s the small things, the nuance. Now we have a marketing person who digs into what works and makes sure that the new content reflects that. I have less hands-on involvement, but I always make time to be available for the parts I’m needed for.

As your the team has grown, how have you maintained your company culture?

Growing a team will always present challenges because you want them to embrace what you do with the same passion you have, and to want the business to grow as much as you do. It’s important to establish that expectation from day one, but equally important to ensure you’re being the kind of person you want them to look up to and emulate.

The team follows a seasonal employment pattern. There is a core team of 10 or 11 people which goes up to around 18 people during the Christmas period. One priority at the moment is streamlining operations within the business, ensuring everyone understands their responsibilities and standardising our processes so we’re prepared for significant growth. We know we can experience viral moments and demand spikes, and we want to handle those well.

So where can readers buy their Grá Chocolates today?

We operate across multiple channels – our website, retail partnerships, and social media. Through our e-commerce site, we ship across Europe, the UK, and the US. On the retail side, we’ve grown from starting with Brown Thomas to working with 55 premium retailers, including Avoca, Donnybrook Fair, and Fallon & Byrne. We also handle corporate sales and we’re now exploring export opportunities.

What would you tell someone starting out on their own founder journey?

I’d say take every opportunity that comes your way. Learn from everyone you possibly can; absorb and embrace it all. Even if you think something isn’t relevant or doesn’t apply to you at the time, it might prove valuable later. Listen, learn, and communicate with as many people as possible. Believe in your story, but be very clear about where you want to be and how you see yourself getting there. You’ll work long hours, but if you don’t see it as work – if you enjoy it and embrace both the great moments and the challenges – that makes all the difference. Try to be solution-focused in everything you do.

Learn more and shop the chocolates at grachocolates.com.