Business Person of the Year 2019 – Mary Mitchell
By Maurice Garvey
MARY Mitchell, co-founder of skincare company Green Angel, was a worthy recipient of the Business Person of the Year award at the South Dublin Chamber Business Awards 2019.
Tallaght resident Ms Mitchell set up the Rathcoole company with her husband “best friend and business partner” Chris Mitchell in 2005.
Mary Mitchell was named South Dublin's Business Person of the Year
The pair fused a passion for natural ingredients, therapeutic plant oils, and the restorative powers of seaweed, creating organic products that are grown without the use of GMOs, pesticides or synthetic fertilisers.
Today, the business has grown from selling seaweed powder at exhibitions and craft fairs, to employing 14 people, selling a range of 33 luxury skincare products sold in more than 700 pharmacies and stores nationwide.
Speaking on stage while collecting her award, Ms Mitchell said although the business started on their kitchen table, today they are “exporting to the UK, France, Germany, Czeh Republic, and recently we have just secured distribution to the USA.”
She praised their “hard working staff”, and South Dublin Chamber for their support of the local business community.
“So, if you have a dream, hold onto it and don’t give up. I’m not saying it will be easy but it will definitely be worth it,” said Ms Mitchell.
South Dublin Chamber CEO Peter Byrne said of Ms Mitchell that “apart from being a very good business woman you couldn’t find a nicer person.”
Mr Byrne said the Chamber, South Dublin County Council, and South Dublin LEO, met numerous candidates for the top business award, including Ms Mitchell.
“The Business Person of the Year is the only one that is selected not nominated. The last three years we had someone (winning the award) from bigger companies. But we were looking for growth and wanted to find small local businesses that are flourishing.”
