Oh My Goodness Wexford!

This weekend I was chatting to lovely Allie, business owner of Oh My Goodness in County Wexford. Allie makes delicious homemade snacks for kids and adults which don’t contain any refined sugar!

Tell me about Oh My Goodness Wexford / How / Why did you get started?

My name is Allie O’Leary and I’m from Kent in England. I met my now husband in Australia 12 years ago and I moved over to Ireland 7 years ago. Our son was born in 2015 and when he started on solids, I started doing Baby Led Weaning with him and I became interested in nutrition and what is and isn’t good for your body. The main thing I found is that a lot of the food aimed at kids in the supermarkets is full of sugar, and actually, even as an adult, I found it hard to find snacks that were a healthier option. I started researching healthier snack recipes and started baking for us. We all found the snacks so tasty that I continued when my daughter was born in 2017 and then started thinking about how other people weren’t as lucky as I was and wouldn’t have the time to be baking healthy alternatives. So in 2020, I decided to start up Oh My Goodness Wexford and it’s going great so far.

What areas do you serve? Delivery? Collection?

I cater to anyone who is within meeting distance. Unfortunately I don’t deliver but I am happy to do drop offs in designated places in the surrounding areas of Wexford. Collection from my house is also an option.

Who are your customers?

I get a lot of parents who want their kids to eat healthier. My bakes all freeze really well so they are great for freezing and then just taking one out for a child’s lunchbox to defrost during the morning. I also have a lot of adults who just want something to snack on during the day.

What is different about your snacks?

I guess what’s different about my snacks is the ingredients that I use. For a start they are all homemade so you will always know exactly what you are eating. I have an ingredients list that anyone can look at. I also never put refined sugar into any of my snacks. I try to sweeten with other ingredients like banana, coconut, vanilla extract, dates, maple syrup, cinnamon, sweet potato, the list is endless. I do occasionally use unrefined brown sugar but I make sure I use the minimal amount.

How do you promote your business?

Social media mainly. I’m on Facebook and Instagram as @ohmygoodnesswexford and my following on both is growing every day.

How has covid impacted your business?

I only started my business last October so the beginning of the Covid lockdowns didn’t affect me but the lockdown which started after Christmas definitely affected me. I stopped trading, mainly because I felt the amount of people coming to the house for collections wasn’t safe for them or for me. So I’ve only recently started back baking again and it’s been difficult basically starting from scratch.

Which of your treats is your all time favourite? 🙂

Difficult question. I think my favourite is either the Oat Cookie or the Sweet Potato Chocolate Mini Muffin. If you asked my son or daughter, they would probably choose completely different ones so it really is a matter of taste.