Name: Sid Flynn
Company: Sid’s Equine Seaweed
Owner: Sid Flynn
What’s your equestrian background? I have been involved with horses and ponies all my life, but got more serious about them when my daughters, Niamh and Aoife, started to ride and hunt. They later progressed into show jumping, working hunter and showing Connemara ponies. We travelled all around Ireland going to shows where I was nominated their ‘groom in charge’ but from there, I developed and established a lot of industry contacts which stood in great stead for my business.
Tell us about your business? My business is the sales of a blend of Irish seaweeds which I formulated. I started off in a small way in Galway and when horsey people saw the benefits, word spread throughout Ireland and when Irish show jumping star Bertram Allen started to use it, sales went through the roof. I am lucky to have a lot of clients supporting my business from international riders to racehorse trainers and breeders to the people who are purely horse fanatics. I have been in in business for six years. I started this business because I was always interested in the power of seaweed.
As a young lad in Salthill, I listened to the older generation when they said that seaweed was great for their joints. This fascinated me! After an illness with cancer and sepsis, I was too old to get a job but too young to retire so I studied and read up about the different seaweeds. After a lot of trial and error, I came up with Sid’s Garlic Seaweed.
Operations: I run the business with my wife Deirdre from our kitchen table, using couriers to ship all over Europe. I have received no grants or support except for 2K I borrowed from a friend at the start. At the start, I put the Sid’s Garlic Seaweed into a sandbag and tied it with a cable-tie. People didn’t mind the packaging as the blend did what it said on the tin and it wasn’t long before some of the world’s leading riders and breeders were using it.
What do you love about your job? I love what I do! It’s not like work for me at all and it’s great to get messages from customers telling me how well their horses are doing since they started using Sid’s Garlic Seaweed. It is also great to be able to help and give advice to my customers – it gives me great pleasure.
The only downside to what I do is sometimes it gets very busy and I struggle to get the product out. I’m nearly 66 and don’t move as fast as I used to but it’s great to get up every morning doing something you love and help people with their horsey problems.
How is the current situation affecting your business? Business is not too bad but not as good as it was before this virus. I have no great problem getting product in or out and I had Sid’s Garlic Seaweed delivered this past week to The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the UK. I have very small overheads so I don’t foresee any great problems. Regarding suppliers, everything is Irish-made so there are no problems as long as the rules in place are adhered to.
As this is an evolving situation, people should follow our Facebook page – Equine Seaweed - Sid Flynn, for any updates or just to tune into my stories!
Sid Flynn was in conversation
with Emer Bermingham