Founder of Irish brand Grá Chocolates makes the Forbes 30 under 30 list

By Katy Thornton

Huge congrats to Gráinne!

Well, it's official. The Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list for 2023 is in, and there are six Irish names featured across the different sections, including Gráinne Mullins, the founder of Grá Chocolates. Here at Her, we're not a bit surprised to see Mullins on such a prestigious list. Mullins appeared in the Art and Culture section, in the same company as artists, fashion designers, authors, and photographers. This is what Forbes says about her on-site:

"Gráinne Mullins was already an award-winning pastry chef when she launched Grá Chocolates from her parents' shed in 2020. The chocolate business, which features local Irish ingredients and hand-painted designs, has since won her six more awards and stockists including Brown Thomas and members of the Leading Hotels of the World group. Revenue last year was $1 million."

Mullins took to Instagram to share the news with her followers, writing the following post.

"? Dream It • Believe It • Achieve It ? This is a quote I had on my first notebook for writing down recipes when I started working in kitchens. I have lived by this quote every single day as I truly trust that when you believe in yourself you can achieve anything! This morning I opened an email welcoming me to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Community! I had to read it 3 times before the words actually made sense. I have created my dream job for myself, there are very few people who can say they own a chocolate factory! In just a short amount of time, Grá Chocolates has become one of the leading chocolate brands in Ireland. This is down to our incredible product but more importantly my amazing team that work day in day out to give our customers the most amazing experience! I have continued to dream big and every single day we achieve more! None of this happens without late nights, and plenty of tears! This is one of the biggest pinch me moments of my entire life! And I just want to thank each and every person that has supported, guided and helped to create Grá Chocolates what it is has become today. And don't you worry we have many more exciting things to come!xx"

Five other Irish business people made the list this year; Jack O'Meara, co-founder of Oxford-based biotech startup, Ochre Bi, Aisling Byrne, founder of Nuw, Ruth Williams, senior VP of Blockchain and Digital Assets at BNY Mellon, and Ciarán O'Meara and Dan Hobbs, co-founders of Protex AI.