A pair of fifth year pupils from Kilkenny are creating a buzz with their award-winning cosmetics company which uses natural honey as its main ingredient.
Eva Marie Whelan and Katie Hobson Shaw are best friends and started their business 'Bee Lush' during transition year at the Presentation Secondary School in the city.
They have since gone on to represent Ireland at the YouthStart Entrepreneur Awards in Albania, which celebrates young innovators from around Europe. They earned their place in the competition after winning at the Foróige NFTE Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Awards earlier this year.
The main ingredient in their range of products is honey, which they collect from the bees Eva Marie's grandad keeps in his back garden.
"We never expected it to become this big thing or to win these awards. It's just really surprising. We're really proud of ourselves and we're really happy our hard work paid off," Eva Marie said.
"The aim would be to become a real business that's recognised and make a difference in this industry."
Eva Marie and Katie plan to continue to work on their business while studying and looking ahead to their Leaving Cert. After school, they plan to choose college courses that will help them to grow and develop it even further.
"We have a lot of exciting things coming up so we'll see how we get on and where it takes us," Katie said.
Watch the video to hear more from them.
