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By making use of web 2.0 tools such as blogging and social networking, Darren Grant has made his online store The Organic Supermarket a huge success

When he opened The Organic Supermarket in Blackrock in 2008, Darren Grant left a secure and very well-paid job to pursue his business idea. “I had no experience in retail, but I really felt that food in Ireland was becoming monotonous and that some of the major supermarket chains were just taking over.” So he carried out a lot of research into the organic food area and detected a clear market niche. “I decided to do research into it and I found out that there wasn’t yet a 100pc dedicated organic supermarket in Ireland and went about building a business plan.” Now Ireland’s largest organic retailer, Grant says he aims to steadily expand his business portfolio to make it Europe-wide within the next five years and has trademarked The Organic Supermarket in all EU member states.

While his original plan was to grow a physical retail business, in the “depths of the recession” he chose to set up an online store (www.organicsupermarket.ie) as a more cost effective means of reaching new markets. Today The Organic Supermarket employs six people, with Grant adding that good old-fashioned customer service is integral, whether interacting with customers online or in person.
“Our market went from 4,000 people to four million people overnight. In addition, our overheads remain the same yet we can exponentially grow our revenue through the same costs that we are incurring. I see the website as our core business going forward in 2010.”

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