Our Story
Folláin is the Irish word for wholesome. We love sharing our passion for good food and eating well through our dedication to making delicious preserves. But who are the people behind this family business? Find out more about us and our journey from kitchen industry to nationwide production.
Our History
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1983
Folláin is Founded
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A recipe for success
When Mairin met Eithne Ui Shiadhail in the honey business in the early 80s, it turned out they both loved cooking and had a shared passion for preserving traditions. What better way to preserve tradition than to make a traditional preserve!
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The original recipe
Folláin was born using a 100-year-old grapefruit marmalade recipe that had been passed down through family generations. Using Eithne’s grandmother’s recipe, they whipped up their first batch of Grapefruit Marmalade in Peadar and Mairín’s West Cork kitchen and brought it to the market in 1983.
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Word spreads
Building on this modest beginning of hand preparing the fruit and cooking the jams & marmalades, word spread quickly about the delicious jams and marmalades being produced out of our family factory in Cuil Aodha, Co Cork.
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1985
Folláin’s First Big Break
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Our first big order!
Our first ‘big break’ came when Superquinn ordered 100 cases of our jams and marmalades to sell in their shops.
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Our first big kitchen
A few years after that initial success, and to keep up with the demand for the growing range of preserves and chutneys, we moved to a larger, purpose-built kitchen.
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Sweet success
In 1995 we won our very first Great Taste Award for Folláin Strawberry Jam - and we’ve been lucky to win a few more since then!
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1997
Folláin’s catering for export!
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Catering for Hospitality
Folláin teams up with local hotels and restaurants to produce a range of specially made catering products including jams, marmalades, relishes and chutneys.
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Exporting Irish
Partnering with Irish exporters, we sent our first few jars to the USA in 1997. Today you can find our full range there and in a number of other places including Germany, the U.K and Canada.
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2004
Folláin is all natural
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Sowing the seeds
In the spirit of sustainability and seasonality, we gave away a free packet of seeds with each jar. This was a big success and by the promotion’s end we had given away over 100,000 seeds for herbs such as basil, chives, parsley and thyme.
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A range with a difference
Our commitment to wholesome, healthier food led to the introduction of a No Added Sugar range in 2007 which is just as sweet as the traditional taste our customers come to expect. Today we have a Nothing but Fruit range of Jams, a No Added Sugar range of relishes to which we’re constantly adding new recipes.
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A wholesome environment
In 2009 we planted over 5000 trees and gave one community the chance to win 200 native trees for their local area. This was a small step toward our goal of creating a greener and more wholesome environment.
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2010
The Folláin Family Grows
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Putting the Family in Family Business
Mairin and Peader’s children spent many of their summer holidays surrounded by indulgently sticky jams and delightfully chunky chutneys learning the family business. Máirín and Peadar’s son Mícheál works in the kitchen developing new recipes for Folláin. While their daughter, Mairéad brings her knowledge and experience of working in horticulture to the selection of the best ingredients for their jams and preserves.
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2021
A Wholesome Future
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Good Food. Pure & Simple.
Folláin is wholesome by name and to us, that means good food pure and simple! In the almost 40 years we’ve been in business that commitment is just getting stronger! A wholesome, more sustainable future is what we want to assure and making good food in a sustainable way is how we intend to do it.
Explore our Range
Our love for home cooking is at the heart of our Folláin preserve ranges. We love sharing our passion for good food and eating well through our dedication to making delicious preserves.
OUR RANGE