Pitch perfect for retail entrepreneurs
Launching a new retail brand is a tough job in any market, and to do it as a new entrepreneur can be even more difficult. Over the last five years, Pitch has offered nothing short of a lifeline for new brands, offering incredible exposure through the prize of a spot in the Arnotts Christmas Market – one of the busiest retail events of the year. Now, Pitch is looking for more entrepreneurs with innovative products looking for the ultimate boost.
'Pitch '25 reflects our commitment to supporting new Irish businesses by offering them the platform, mentorship, and exposure needed to scale and succeed, said Ciara Crilly, Creative and Marketing Director at Brown Thomas Arnotts. 'We are excited to discover the next generation of exceptional brands through this year's competition."
Pitch '25 offers ambitious entrepreneurs and emerging brands across Ireland the opportunity to win a prize package valued at €70,000, which includes exclusive mentorship and brand-building support, as well as that precious spot at the Christmas Market.
'The exposure that the winner gets for their brand is the true prize,' said Crilly. 'It's an incredible opportunity for your brand to be seen by so many customers during the busiest time of the year for retailers. For instance, last year's winners, Wink with Mink, had an in-store lash bar, which attracted over 400 appointments during the Arnotts Christmas Market. The company, which brought a cruelty-free, reusable, and biodegradable lash system to market, continues to trade successfully in Planet Beauty.
'One of the biggest challenges that new brands have is getting in front of potential customers,' continued Crilly. 'It's extremely difficult to stand out in a crowded marketplace. With Pitch, not only does the winner get the opportunity to sell and showcase their product at the Arnotts Christmas Market, but they also receive a €10,000 business development fund from Brown Thomas Arnotts, financial mentoring from Pitch sponsor BKK Financial Advisors, and a media campaign fund courtesy of the Business Post, Newstalk, and PML Group.'
Applications for Pitch '25 are open to entrepreneurs based in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland working across fashion, beauty, jewellery, lifestyle, food and nutrition, circular products, or tech-driven goods. Applicants must have a developed product or service and demonstrate clear potential for scaling by peak retail season.
Pitch '25 reflects our commitment to supporting new Irish businesses by offering them the platform, mentorship, and exposure needed to scale and succeed
'The main consideration is that a business needs to be ready to trade,' said Crilly. 'We welcome entries from a wide variety of retail sectors – food, beauty, accessories, gifts and more. We do look for something that is different, that is innovative, and that is exciting. A great example of an innovative product is our Pitch '23 winner, KALO, a luxury accessories brand that uses apple leather to create sustainable, fashion-forward bags. Winning Pitch '23 helped the brand emerge as a standout success and the company continues to gain traction across the Irish fashion scene today.'
Not surprisingly, the competition attracts a high level of entries, which are then whittled down to finalists who pitch to the judges. This year the judges include Edel Woods, Head of Home & Lifestyle Buying at Brown Thomas Arnotts; Donnine Burness, Deputy General Manager at Arnotts; Ciara Crilly, Creative & Marketing Director at Brown Thomas Arnotts; and a special guest judge, Lauren McDonald, founder of Lynott Jewellery.
Particularly invaluable will be the insights provided by McDonald, who grew Lynott Jewellery from a digital-first start-up to a permanent in-store brand (she recently launched Lynott Jewellery into Brown Thomas Cork.
'I'm genuinely honoured to be a judge for Pitch '25,' said McDonald. 'As a founder, I understand first-hand how challenging and rewarding it is to grow a brand from the ground up. Opportunities like this – to receive expert guidance, retail exposure, and connect with a wider audience – can make all the difference in those early stages. I'm really looking forward to hearing the stories behind this year's businesses, and to supporting passionate entrepreneurs as they take the next step on their journey.'
This is the fifth year of Pitch, and the success of previous winners is testament to how valuable the prize is for emerging brands. To give an idea of the diversity of brands that have won Pitch in the past, as well as Wink with Mink (Pitch '24) and KALO (Pitch '23), previous winners have been Brush Doc (Pitch '22), an innovative beauty tool that cleans makeup brushes and sponges in seconds with advanced rotating technology; and Pure Clothing (Pitch '21), a producer of organic cotton apparel that continues to expand its reach thanks to the exposure and support received through the programme.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Plans unveiled seeking to turn Athlone into Ireland's first green city by 2040
DEVELOPER SEAN MULRYAN has published a blueprint plan to make Athlone, in Co Westmeath, Ireland's first green city by 2040. The CEO and chair of Ballymore first detailed the plan in an interview today with The Business Post . The plans have subsequently been announced by his firm. Included in the plan, which he says has been in the works for seven years, are blueprints for a 5,000-bed student accommodation village in order to grow the population of Athlone TU to 25,000 students. It also intends to revamp the Shannonside town centre, turning it into a riverfront city, and create a road network suitable for electric vehicles, driverless busses, cyclists and pedestrians. New health, educational, arts and sporting facilities are also included in the plan, which works under the estimate that the population of the town will grow to 100,000. A total of 20,000 zero-carbon homes are also included in the developer's vision. Alongside development works, Mulryan proposes that 5,000 hectares of surrounding land is allocated for rewilded wetlands, callows and rewetting of bogs. Advertisement The plan estimates that the town's population will reach the 100,000 mark by 2040. Ballymore hopes to secure private and public investment for its plan. It has also called for the adoption of the National Planning Framework to allow for the delivery of educational, residential, commercial and biodiverse infrastructure. Athlone and the surrounding areas must also be declared as nationally important strategic, enterprise and biodiversity zones, the firm said. It believes the blueprints are credible to address Ireland's demographic and environmental changes, as well as developing away from the East Coast. The firm said the plans have already been presented to 'senior policy makers' on a local and national level. Mulryan has also put together a steering committee for the project. The steering committee includes Mulryan, former Revenue boss Josephine Feehily, chair of Global Private Equity at Goldman Sachs Adrian Jones, founder of private equity firm Alchelyst Joan Kehoe, former president of DCU Brian MacCraith, CEO of Irish Rail Jim Meade and deputy managing director of Ballymore Linda Mulryan-Condron. 'We are sharing that vision now with wider Irish society, and we will do all we can to help it become a reality,' Mulryan said. 'But this plan needs to be driven from the top by government – by this administration and by the successor governments that take office in the years ahead – if it is to come to pass.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ballymore chief Sean Mulryan outlines plan to transform Athlone into green '15-minute city'
The founder of property firm Ballymore Sean Mulryan has proposed a plan to develop Athlone into a green '15-minute city' with a population of 100,000 in the next 15 years. Mr Mulryan has formed a steering group to look into the plan, which would see the TUS Athlone campus cater for up to 25,000 students as a centre of excellence in green technology and to construct 20,000 zero carbon homes in its first phases. It envisions road networks tailored for electric driverless buses, with 90% of Athlone's energy resources coming from renewable sources. "Our vision could drive genuine balanced distribution of the impending population growth in Ireland and offer a blueprint for sustainable, education-led, employment-driven, and environmentally focused urban development nationwide," said the Ballymore chair and chief executive, who is from Roscommon. 'We are sharing that vision now with wider Irish society, and we will do all we can to help it become a reality. But this plan needs to be driven from the top by government – by this administration and by the successor governments that take office in the years ahead – if it is to come to pass.' The new steering group for the plan sees Mr Mulryan joined by former chair of the Revenue Commissioners and chair of the governing body of Technological University of the Shannon, Josephine Feehily; Goldman Sachs private equity co-head and chair Adrian Jones, CAlchelyst chief Joan Kehoe, former DCU president Prof. Brian MacCraith,Iirhs Rail chief Jim Meade, and Ballymore deputy managing director Linda Mulryan-Condron, who is Mr Mulryan's daughter. Ballymore Group was established in 1982 by Mr Mulryan and has built 35,000 houses across Ireland, the UK, and Europe.
Business Post
6 hours ago
- Business Post
Evan Ferguson's agent on building a €5m academy — and why ‘there's a better return than Bitcoin' on some players
Business Post subscribers can read: • Why David Berber is planning to invest €5m in Irish football • How he spots players and negotiates big money deals for them • Why one of Ireland's best connected agents says 'we don't love football'
