Trudie Power of Trudies Kitchen describes her business journey – and how Peninsula have been an invaluable partner.
Trudie Power’s business emerged from necessity.
“I was a shop assistant in a grocery store, and I had three young children,” she says. “Childcare was so expensive – so, I had to try and do something from home.”
Trudie started Trudies Catering Kitchen in a purpose-built unit at the back of her house in New Ross, Wexford in September 2000, with her husband Michael.
“I dropped the kids off to school one morning, put the baby in the highchair, and said, ‘Right, I’m starting my business today, what’ll I do?’”
Trudie was already famous locally for her coleslaw – a much-requested hit at parties and gatherings.
“I made a bucket of coleslaw and went over to SuperValu on the quay. I spoke to the manager and said, ‘Here, have it as a trial’ – and within two days I was being audited to supply the store.”
With hard work and a commitment to quality, Trudies Catering Kitchen – now just Trudies Kitchen – continued to expand. By 2003 the business had outgrown Trudie’s house and moved to its current building in Waterford Road Business Park, New Ross.
Today, Trudie’s fresh, handmade, prepack salads are available in multiple varieties and stocked in chains across Munster and Leinster – including SuperValu, Centra, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Eurospar and Londis. The company has won numerous awards, most notably EIQA National Hygiene Awards and SFA National Producer Awards.
“We are still very much a family business,” says Trudie. “Our children, Shauna, Richard and Siobhan – who were all so young when Michael and I started – now work with us.
“We’re very proud that we support the economy in the Wexford area. All our ingredients are sourced locally. We’ve a staff of 26 now and we’re proud of having created those jobs.”
Partnership
As her business grew rapidly, Trudie had to educate herself about areas like employment law, hygiene and safety regulations – no easy task when the requirements are often shifting.
Eventually, Trudie found she needed a partner in these areas – and she turned to Peninsula Business Services.
Peninsula specialise in human resources, employment law, and health and safety regulations. They aim to take these worries out of a business-owner’s hands, so he or she can focus on the core business.
Trudie attended a number of seminars hosted by Peninsula before becoming a client, and found them highly beneficial.
“I just found it so enlightening. They had great speakers, and made me consider so many issues.
“I didn’t know if I could afford Peninsula, but now I wish I‘d got them sooner – you save so much in the long run, the way they make the process of running a business easier.”
Trudie has found the peace of mind Peninsula provide invaluable.
“I know that for any issue that comes up, when I call Peninsula, there’s a qualified person at the end of the line to give me up-to-date information and advice.
“Our staff now also have a helpline for anything that crops up in their personal lives which could have an impact on work. My team are so important to me and I want to do right by them every step of the way.
“Peninsula are great for all the nuts and bolts: getting your contracts watertight, employees’ sick leave, making sure everyone knows their entitlements.
“The service is so personalised – it was designed to suit my business.
“When I’m down on the floor, working in the business, I know Peninsula are working for me on the office end, the HR end.”
Climbing Everest
Trudie credits Peninsula with helping her business to expand – last November Trudies Kitchen began selling in Dublin for the first time, and the company has just undergone a rebranding.
“We hope to expand into even more shops and continue to grow,” she says.
“When I look at it, I’ve literally climbed Everest over the past 16 years. Everything we have today, it started at the back of the house. And that’s converted now into a sitting room! It’s morphed into an additional lounge or dining room area. But I still have the Trudies Catering Kitchen glass on the back door!”
For more information on becoming a member of Peninsula call 0818 923 923.
