Offaly entrepreneur secures shelf space at London's famous Harrods

Securing shelf space in one of the world’s most famous retail emporiums needs a combination of an impressive product line and producers with the confidence to convince top-level management that their products will keep the shelf stackers busy.

And that is the very recent achievement of a Co Offaly man and his British-Saudi Arabian business partner. In an era when small producers, across a wide range of industries, are in daily competition with the financial and production clout of multi-nationals, the success of any small producer, depends on a deep-seated belief in what they are offering the market and a determination to compete.

Cameler Spice Co, is now retailing their blended range of spices through Harrods, the renowned London store in the city’s elite Knightsbridge area, which draws an international customer base into the fashionable borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Heading up the venture from their manufacturing base in Birmingham are Myles Grennan from Ross, Screggan, near Tullamore and Halle Faraj whose maternal grandmother Edna Ross (Nee Leahy) is from Co Waterford.

Familiar spices like cloves, turmeric, and saffron are married with unusual flavours like black lime, rose petal, and fenugreek leaves. The distinctive Cameler range is led by exotic labels, such as Advieh Mahi, Baqa, Mitmita, and Baharat Gulf of Arabia a recipe inspired by Halle’s Saudi grandmother, Fatimas’s recipe. These are just some of the offerings being put on shelves by the Cameler Spice Company from their heritage collection. Spices are one of the oldest traded commodities that still exist today. In fact, spices, were among some of the earliest goods transported and traded along the famous Silk Road as early as 2000 BC.

The blending of spices is central to the diversity of products on offer from the business, much of which depends of Halle’s experience sourcing spices from the Middle East and Asia. Myles is generous in his praise of her work. “To have worked on BBC Saturday Kitchen as a home economist, in high end restaurants and being an alumnus of Leith’s Cookery School all sounds very impressive. But for me, it is her knowledge and work ethic that has made her the perfect business partner in the creation of a legacy brand”.

The directors found inspiration for their new company name from the Cameleers - camel drivers who navigated ancient trade routes and still travel across the Sahara, Egypt, and North Africa. Far from the myth of being used to mask the smell of food, spices were prized for their rarity, vibrant flavours, and cultural importance, influencing empires and trade across continents.

Myles is the eldest son of Pius Grennan and the late Colette Grennan (nee Leavy), Tullamore, who qualified as a che. Having worked in country houses and hotels in Ireland and France, she stepped away to rear her four sons. She died, aged 42, in 2002.

Myles left his corporate job in February 2020 after 10 years with the same company and while he had intentions of setting up a business, not much happened in the intervening months. Then in September 2020 Halle proposed the concept leading to the creation of something truly unique around the centuries-old spice business.

Their ideas and initiatives were exciting enough that they led to the creation of their range of products that began to attract attention at local farmers markets and the ultimate accolade of a “yes” from the discerning and hard-to-please buyers at Harrods.

“This is a very exciting breakthrough for us, and it is at the top end in terms of a vote of confidence in our products,” Myles remarked.

Cameler Spice Co is now available at Premier Frozen Foods, Axis Business Park Tullamore.