Sinéad Crowther, founder and CEO of Soothing Solutions, has been named as the Enterprise Ireland High-Potential Start-Up (HPSU) founder of the Year for 2023 at an awards event in Dublin.
Founded in 2017, Co Louth-based healthcare firm Soothing Solutions manufactures a range of honey jelly pops called Tonstix aimed at providing a children's alternative to lozenges.
Ms Crowther had previously worked as a pharmaceutical technician and had noticed a gap in the market for products to help children suffering from sore throats and coughs.
While on Enterprise Ireland's New Frontiers programme in Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), she met her Soothing Solutions co-founder Denise Lauaki.
Tonstix products are now stocked in over 1,400 pharmacies across Ireland and recently launched on Amazon UK.
The Enterprise Ireland Founder of the Year Awards acknowledge the commitment that entrepreneurs and start-ups have made to build world-class companies of the future.
There were 11 nominees for the 2023 award, all of whom were voted for by their peers who have been taking part in Enterprise Ireland's High Potential Start-Up Founders Forum over the last 24 months.
Other finalists included Brendan Staunton of Amara Therapeutics, Brian Kenneally of Bundledocs, David Duffy of The Corporate Governance Institute, Patrick McDermott of DigiTally, Jonathan Bouchier-Hayes of Endowave, Darren Sexton of GuardYoo, Kate Scott of Holotoyz, Liam Dunne of Klearcom, Evelyn Kelly of Orphan Drug Consulting and Eamonn Costello of Patientmpower.
Joe Healy, Divisional Manager of Client Services at Enterprise Ireland, said that start-ups are a driving force of economic growth, new talent and innovation.
"Now in its fifth year, the Founder of the Year Awards promote Ireland’s ecosystem of entrepreneurs who have displayed the potential and commitment to building their businesses and realising their global ambition," he said.
He said that each of today's nominees have achieved so much within their own fields of work.
"Their success is an inspiration for the next generation of founders coming up behind them who have the determination and resilience required to get their enterprises up and running," Mr Healy added.
