Name: James Kelly

Base: Co Kildare

Name of your business: Equine Products Ireland, which I own with my wife Lisa Kelly.

When did you start your business and why?

We produced our first product Cal + for sale about four years ago. Lisa and I have been breeding horses ourselves for over 30 years and have used all of the top-selling brands on the market.

We undertook a detailed study of the broodmare and young horse supplements available on the market back then and realised that none of them offered everything that our stock needed and, most importantly, none of them offered us what we felt was value for money. So we set out to do the following:

  • Manufacture a product that was an “all in one” i.e. had all of the vitamins and minerals that would do the following for our own stock:
  • Improve our broodmare fertility, reduce our incidence of bone-related issues in young stock.
  • Have a probiotic base, as we realised the importance of gut health in horses, in order to aid absorption of nutrients and in reducing gut-related issues.
  • Get improved milk quality from the broodmare, so the IgG levels were higher, thereby significantly boosting immunity in young foals.
  • Help us to produce foals that are stronger and sounder and also reduce our costs.

    • It worked so well on our own stock, we went to market with it. Now the very top breeders worldwide use it and we are very grateful for our customers’ support.

    Did it take long to get the business off the ground?

    We put in a massive amount of time visiting the top studs in the UK and France and presenting our product to them. One of our first orders was to one of the most recognisable names in the breeding world. They believed the science behind the product and they immediately put over 250 horses on the product. They remain one of our top clients at the moment and also are huge advocates of all of our products.

    Due to the makeup of our products, we are very confident showcasing the products directly to clients and explaining the ingredients and explaining what the products can and can’t do for clients’ horses. Clients then can understand the merits of our respective products.

    We are focussed on quality and on providing the best products on the market directly to the customer at the lowest possible price to the customer. Now I travel internationally, meeting the very top breeders (thoroughbred and sport horse). I have visited 11 different countries in the past six weeks and we work with the very top equestrians in all spheres. Elite show jumping and dressage riders worldwide now have their horses on Gastro Sport, Strong Bone and Calm Equine.

    What’s your equestrian background?

    I have a degree in Ag Science and specialised in Animal Nutrition and I have a diploma in marketing. I was involved in a top stud farm in Ireland for over 20 years and we bred more than 450 international stakes winners and many champions.

    Tell us about the product.

    Cal + is our flagship product and is currently the top-selling broodmare and young horse supplement in Europe. It is used by the very top breeders. Gastro Sport and Calm Equine are used by many Nations Cup show jumping riders. Gastro Prep was used by many of the very top (seven-figure selling yearlings) in Europe this season. We manufacture in Ireland and export worldwide.

    What challenges do you face?

    International and domestic shipping costs are increasing on a monthly basis. In business, every day is a challenge. We trade a lot in the UK and Brexit has not been a help, as there is now massive red tape involved in getting products into the country and the cost of doing business in the UK is higher than in any other country we deal in.

    Also the rate of expansion of our company and the vast number of markets we are dealing in, can sometimes take my breath away. However, we realise that we are very fortunate to be dealing with so many really nice people and we really look forward to forming many international partnerships over the coming years to continue to grow our brand.

    How many people do you employ?

    There are four sales people very actively involved in the company at the moment and we have part-time people internationally and the plan is to continue to expand in 2025.

    Do you sell in Ireland or in Europe too?

    To date, in 2024 we have sold products to 54 different countries. 85% of our sales in 2024 have been to international markets. We have large distribution agreements in place in the Middle East, India, most European and Scandinavian countries and we will enter the North American, South American and Australian markets in varying months in 2025.

    My time will be spent internationally and our Irish sales team will be increasingly active on the ground in Ireland.