Naked Bakes set to compete in final of National Enterprise Awards

A food manufacturing company from Tallaght are set to compete with the country’s best small businesses as one of the Finalists for the National Enterprise Awards taking place next week.

Naked Bakes will represent Local Enterprise Office South Dublin at the prestigious awards that take place on Thursday, May 22 in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin.

Launched in 2017, Naked Bakes’ mission is to make vegan treats mainstream and accessible globally.

This is the 25th year of the Local Enterprise Office initiative, which was won last year by DreamDev Technologies, supported by Local Enterprise Office Kildare.

Set up in 2019 by Eoin Barry and Douglas Augiar, the AI augmented platform helps companies to significantly increase their product’s time to market

This year there is a wide variety of finalists competing for the title of National Enterprise of the Year.

Those include TAPiTAG from Westmeath who develop NFC-powered digital solutions, including business cards, marketing tags, and donation platforms and have over 45,000 users in 75 countries.

Another finalist is Spellings for Me from Tipperary who have developed an AI-powered personalised spelling programme, designed for primary schools and home learning.

There is a selection of food businesses in the running this year including Naked Bakes from South Dublin, SOS Cookies from Limerick, Fused by Fiona Uyema from Kildare and WONDR Jellies from Mayo, the world’s first high protein, low sugar jellies.

Other finalists include SPRYT from Monaghan, an AI-powered virtual receptionist that helps healthcare providers significantly improve patient engagement, Slick+ from Sligo, a knowledge sharing system for remote and hybrid teams and Seabound Engineering from Donegal, Ireland’s only SCMS-certified aluminium shipyard, specialising in custom-built vessels for the aquaculture, inshore and offshore fishing, and marine sectors.

Peter Connolly – Senior Enterprise Development Officer in LEO South Dublin-  “The National Enterprise Awards celebrate the very best of Irish entrepreneurship, showcasing the innovation, ambition, and resilience of businesses supported by Local Enterprise Offices across the country.

‘We are incredibly proud to see Aisling Tuck of Naked Bakes representing South Dublin at this year’s awards.

‘Her commitment to sustainability and innovation is a fantastic example of the entrepreneurial spirit we champion.

‘We wish her the very best of luck on the national stage and have every confidence she will continue to grow a business with the potential to achieve international success.”

Local Enterprise Office South Dublin have had previous success at the awards with Acutrace Limited taking the National Award Winner in 2017and Artisan Pizza and High Res Lighting crowned Dublin Regional winners in 2020 and 2024 respectively.

The Finalists compete for a prize fund of €50,000 and along with an overall National Enterprise of the Year winner there are categories for Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, an Innovation Award, a One-to-Watch Award, and a Sustainability Award.

There is also an Outstanding Achievement award for a business that started with their Local Enterprise Office and has gone on to achieve international growth with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland.

Previous winners of the National Enterprise Awards include the likes of Irish Yoghurts (1998), Obelisk (2000), Simtech Aviation (2008), Digiweb (2004) and Design Pro (2013), Terra NutriTech (2018), Pestle & Mortar (2019), Bevcraft (2021), Aqualicence in 2022 and Advanced Cosmetics in 2023.

The National Enterprise Awards are one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day, and Local Enterprise Showcase.

The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.