Peigín Crowley on bringing Ground to a global audience: 'You can’t fake it until you make it in this business'

Around 20 years ago, Cork native Peigín Crowley began her voyage into the spa industry onboard cruise ships where she worked as a therapist.

She has since moved from being a therapist in the growing relaxation business to establishing herself as an entrepreneur in it.

During the pandemic, the idea for her company Ground, which makes face masks, skin treatments, and pillow mists among other products, came from a brainstorming session at a kitchen table.

“For me, it was all about moving away from that pampering, luxurious, and indulgent space the spa was stuck in and moving more into wellbeing,” she said.

The company is about “looking into sleep and menopause and managing our own anxiety and learning how to mind ourselves”, she said.

Ms Crowley wanted to make her products accessible to all and in the process grew the business across the world.

The brand can be found in spas including The Rosewood in Hong Kong, The Four Seasons in Boston and Toronto, and The Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills and Edinburgh. The company also sells directly to customers across the globe.

The export success for Ground was not without hurdles though.

“When you have a small business, if external markets are interested in you, it gives you a world of confidence for your business but you really have to look at the cost of doing business abroad,” she said.

There’s a whole host of layers you have to move through like customs and levies and duties as well as the cost of shipping, the time zone differences, and being able to support and help manage the accounts over there.” 

However, this is not Ms Crowley’s first rodeo in the retail game. Before setting up Ground, she worked with the Elemis brand which was eventually sold to French luxury body products company L'Occitane for a reported €1bn.

Ms Crowley’s wealth of knowledge about the spa business helped her focus on how she wanted to grow the company and where.

“I’m lucky enough to be established and have an international network because I’m in it 25 years.

“For me, it’s about understanding where the best potential is and registering the product in that territory and also making sure I’ve insurance in that territory. I turn away a lot of enquires internationally simply because the product isn’t registered in those jurisdictions.” 

New challenges are emerging that could stunt the growth of small and medium-sized businesses. These include soaring bills, employee costs, and the fallout of Brexit.

“We just received our first energy bill for our new workshop and that’s been a scare. So there is a lot going on in terms of costs at the moment.

“You can’t fake it until you make it. You have to go through the hard knocks until you get there.”

The volatile economic environment is making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to become exporters and will likely impact Enterprise Ireland’s ambitious goal to get 2,000 extra Irish-owned businesses to become exporters by 2030.

Consultant on Irish and international trade John Whelan recently wrote in the Irish Examiner that a State-owned export/import bank could help these businesses to navigate the storm through easier access to cash which has long been a stumbling block for small firms.

“Many countries across the globe give businesses export credit guarantees to cover the risk of non-payment by overseas customers, but the Irish Government, despite many pleas from industry, continues to ignore this key incentive to draw more small business into exporting,” wrote Mr Whelan.

Meanwhile, this week, Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are hosting their Local Enterprise Week across the country. A main issue for the arm of Enterprise Ireland that focuses on growing smaller businesses is how to build a company’s presence overseas.

More than 10,000 attendees are expected to participate in over 300 events nationwide during the week.

“Working closely with the Local Enterprise Offices across the year, this week is a chance for small businesses to focus on key areas, the areas where they can make a real difference for their future ambitions.

"This may be in relation to digitalisation or becoming more sustainable, or those who have ambition to grow internationally and begin to find new markets,” said Deirdre O’Neill, senior regional development executive with Enterprise Ireland.

Reporting: The Irish Examiner