THE HAPPY PEAR

Healthy Entrepreneurs

Ericka Alejandra Alejos Ceballos

[email protected]
The Happy Pear
I consider that the creators of "The Happy Pear" are good examples of entrepreneurs since
they created the brand with the simple reason of helping more people to try more products
suitable for vegetarians and vegans or who simply want to eat healthier.

Introduction

The Happy Pear started out back in 2004 with the Flynn Brothers, Steve and Dave, a tiny
shop, and a dream of helping people to eat more vegetables.

Fast forward 15 years, The Happy Pear now consists of a cafe and shop in Greystones,
Wicklow, 60 products, 7 online courses, 5 cookbooks, a farm, a roastery, and a community of
over 1 million people living healthier. (David Flynn, 2023)

All that said, the mission is still the same, to help everyone to get healthier and be happier.

Entrepreneurial Characteristics

They started their project when they began their change to the plant-based diet and there were
not so many options for vegans and vegetarians, so they decided to open their first fruit and
vegetable store in 2004.

Two years later they opened their first vegetarian cafe right next door to their first store in
Greystones.

They know how important it is to have a balanced diet, and switching to a plant-based diet
helps improve health. Therefore, in 2008 they began a series of courses called "Happy Heart"
to raise awareness and teach others how to eat healthy and lower cholesterol levels.

In 2009, Established a sprout farm growing wheatgrass and healthy microgreens in indoor
grow rooms. Now they run a 4-acre organic, regenerative farm based in Kilcoole, Co
Wicklow just 10 mins south of Greystones, focused on minimum till or no dig practices
where we not only adhere to the current organic growing standards but also focus on
improving the soil microbe health and increasing the biodiversity around the farm through
planting a mix of different pollinator species.
These farms produce different products for their different projects, from packaged products
and also as ingredients for the different dishes they produce in their coffee shop.

In 2010, Commenced supply of retail & foodservice outlets in Leinster.

In 2011, they launched The Happy Pear range of Pesto – Green Basil Pesto and Red Tomato
Pesto. One year later they opened an embedded café in Shoreline, Greystones. In 2013 they
Commenced the distribution of Pesto & Sprouts through the Supervalu chain. Year after, they
Authored the BEST-SELLING FOOD BOOK IN IRELAND 2014 “The Happy Pear Book”
published by Penguin. Within a year, a Formal UK launch of the first Happy Pear book by
Penguin; awarded BEST SELLING FOOD BOOK IN IRELAND for the second year running

In 2016 David and Stephen Opened Pearville, a 14,000 sq/ft production facility in Kilcoole.
Released their second book – “The World of The Happy Pear” in May 2016. Won Ireland’s
“Cookbook of the Year” in 2016. And one year later the twins launched an additional 9
Happy Pear branded food products (2 hummus, 3 soups, 3 bakes, 1 healthy chocolate spread
nationwide.)

The brothers released their third book in 2018 “Recipes for Happiness” by Penguin, which
Launched into the UK Market with 6 products. Hosted our biggest-ever Swimrise community
event in aid of The Dublin Simon Community.

In 2019 they launched 2 new online courses The healthy gut in partnership with Dr. Alan
Desmond and The Ultimate 4-week Vegan Cooking Course

By 2020 Launched their 4th book "Vegan Cooking For Everyone" and two more online
courses; Happy Heart and Happy Skin. (David Flynn, 2023)

Business strategy
The business strategy they are using starts from creating awareness among consumers of the
importance of the daily diet for health to creating products and services which will help them
during this journey to a healthier life. As I mentioned before, they have different books,
online courses, and foods that together help the consumer to have better health.
Engagement with the marketplace, especially from a design, marketing, and financial
point of view

The way the Flynn brothers engage with their clientele is a way that you can feel like you are
part of a community or family with one purpose, to be healthy. they have used social
networks to give more impetus to their products and services.

The happy pear also has an ingenious marketing department that has succeeded in positioning
the products in the Irish and UK markets.

Products/Services

FOOD

DIPS

Hummus Variety Pack

Black Olive Tapenade
Spicy Red Pepper Pesto
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Reduced Fat Hummus
Happy Hummus
Sweet Beet Hummus
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Lovely Basil Pesto

SOUPS
Belly Hug Lentil Soup
Tomato, Red Pepper & Basil Soup
Country Veg Soup
Sweet Potato, Coconut & Ginger Soup
Carrot & Butternut Squash Soup

SAUCES
Tasty Tikka
Thai Tastic
Lovely Lentil Bolognese
Spicy Cherry Tomato
That’s Korma
The Happy Ragu

MEALS & BAKES

Tasty Thai Noodles
Sticky Soy Noodles
Broccoli & Leek Bake
Sweet Potato Pie
Chickpea Curry
Veggie Cannelloni
Shepherdless Pie
Veggie Lasagne
Veggie Lasagne 1Kg
Shepherdless Pie 1Kg

MEAL POTS
Mexican Style Chilli Meal Pot
Thai Red Curry Meal Pot
Lentil & Sweet Potato Dahl Meal Pot

BURGERS & SAUSAGES

Unbeetable Burgers
Smokin’ Spicy Sausages
Blissful Burgers

KETCHUPS
Chipotle Ketchup
Tomato Ketchup

PIZZAS & SIDES

Loaded Curry Wedges
Sourdough Margherita Pizza
Sourdough Spicy Veg Pizza

SPROUTS & SHOOTS

Living Microgreens
Organic Bean Mix
Organic Alfalfa Sprouts

OAT M*LKS
Organic Oat Barista (1L)
Organic Oat M*lk (1L)

GRANOLAS & SUPER MUESLI

Super Muesli May’s Original
Super Muesli Elsie’s Fruit & Nut
Dave’s Cocoa Crunch Granola
Steve’s Dreamy Granola
Cool Jims Granola

FRUIT BITES
Strawberry & Beetroot Fruit Bites (120g)
Strawberry & Beetroot Fruit Bites (30g)
Blueberry & Raspberry Fruit Bites 4 Pack (120g)
Blueberry & Raspberry Fruit Bites (30g)
SWEET TREATS
Mighty Millionaire
Coconut Bliss
Chocoluv Brownie

BOOKS

The Veg Box

The Happy Health Plan
The Happy Pear – Recipes and Stories from The Past 10 Years
The World of The Happy Pear
The Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness
The Happy Pear: Vegan Cooking for Everyone

COURSES

Alcohol-Free Challenge
The Gut Health Revolution Course
Happy Menopause
Ultimate Vegan Baking
Happy Heart
Happy Mind
Happy Shape
Happy Skin

Innovations

In 2009 they started to use certified organic seeds for their farm and in 2018, their Bean Mix
and Alfalfa sprouts have become certified organic products themselves.

Each sprout they grow has a range of different benefits - for example, their Organic Bean
Mix is high in protein and high in fibre and our Organic Alfalfa Sprouts are great for
stabilising blood sugar levels and are packed full of digestive enzymes making them easier to
digest and absorb. These sprouts are all fantastic in any salad, sandwich or used as a garnish
to top off any dish.

In March 2015, the twins began a journey into Speciality Coffee Roasting. After travelling to
many countries visiting cafes, roasteries and attending lots of inspiring coffee events, they
took off to Edinburgh to study Coffee Roasting with John Thompson of Coffee Nexus.
Today, The Flynn Brothers roast for their café in Greystones and for the Irish market, with
their retail coffee packs available in store and also for the Wholesale market.

Successes, losses, difficulties

David and Stephen Flynn are very active in The happy Pear Instagram account and one year
ago they had were in troubles after posting a video.

The Happy Pear twins Stephen and David Flynn have come under fire for posting a video
claiming changes to your diet can reduce your chances of breast cancer.

The spurious claims made in the video were dismissed as being 'factually wrong' by cancer
experts.

The short clip posted to their Instagram account focused on the breast cancer rates in women
in wealthy high income countries compared to China.

But Dr David Robert Grimes, whose work has included research on cancer and tumours  told
the Irish Independent diet plays a small role in the development of the disease.

The Greystones based brothers, who own the Happy Pear café, have become household
names through their vegetarian cookery books and healthy eating courses.

But in their video, which has since been removed, triggered a furious response online from
some cancer survivors who felt they should apologise for posting the misinformation.

One woman wrote: 'The article was insulting to women who have contacted breast cancer just
like me. Thankfully they took it down but they need to apologise for the hurt caused and stick
to what they know.'

In the clip a voiceover can be heard saying: 'One in seven women in the UK and other high
income countries will get a diagnosis of breast cancer in their lifetime, versus one in a
hundred in Hong Kong and one in a thousand in China.

'Some of the possible factors are excessive saturated fat intake, excessive dairy intake and
excessive animal products intake. (Murphy, 2022)

Conclusion
The way in which the Flynn brothers have grown their company has been in a very intelligent
way, since they have not only reinvented the way of eating healthy but have also created a
wide variety of products and at the same time support this lifestyle with many courses. to
learn more about the subject and they support you with recipes to use their own products and
with this their market is not closed only in the plant-based diet community but it is for the
whole family. and so far, they have shown what a great team they are and how much they
support the farming community in Ireland.
I am sure that throughout the years they will continue to surprise us with more and more
products and services. Because the way they are growing as a business tells us what a good
job they are doing as they have gone from having a small fruit and vegetable store to having a
whole large portfolio of products positioned in most supermarkets around Ireland and united
kingdom.

Works Cited
David Flynn, S. F., 2023. The Happy Pear. [Online]
Available at: https://thehappypear.ie/about/
[Accessed 6 March 2023].

Murphy, J., 2022. Extra.ie. [Online]

Available at: https://extra.ie/2022/04/24/news/happy-pear-twins-under-fire
[Accessed 6th March 2023].