Two Cork based businesses have been awarded Local Enterprise Awards from Cork County Council’s Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) in Cork North and West and South Cork. Companies ‘Wildberry Bakery’ and ‘The Feed Ducks Initiative’ received the accolade for building successful businesses in their respective regions. They will now compete against 29 other businesses at the National Enterprise Awards at the Round Room in Dublin for a share of the €35,000 winner’s prize fund.

Representing LEO Cork North and West, Wildberry Bakery was founded by husband-and-wife team Susan Robbins and Tom Fehily. Based in Ballineen and a family business since 2017, Wildberry produce award winning baked goods which just so happen to also be gluten free. Building the business from a small café and shop to a commercial business delivering high quality products nationwide, Wildberry has received dozens of awards and supplies major supermarket chains. Last year they were the category winner for their Carrot and Walnut Cake at the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards with Simply Better Dunnes Stores before going on to be crowned 'Product of the Year' which was chosen from all category winners.  

Founded by Matthew Knight, The Feed Ducks Initiative will represent LEO South Cork. The Feed Ducks Initiative builds, installs and maintains solar powered contactless duck feed dispensers. Knight created his now burgeoning business during lockdown when the highlight of those days was time spent feeding the local ducks with his young son Oscar. Since his first duck food dispenser was installed in 2021 the business has grown from strength to strength starting with 1 dispenser in 2021 to over 80 dispensers across 60 government authorities in 2024 in the UK and Ireland. It is now recognised as an international environmental initiative, reducing foreign feed and rotting excess food that leads to silt build up in local pond ecosystems. The company also donates 10% of their proceeds back into communities to non-profit groups to fund community initiatives to improve local parks.