Inis Escargot: Success at a snail’s pace
Digital Trail Blazer
Inis Escargot currently breeds, rears and fattens over three million Helix Aspersia Muller Snails annually. Owned and run by Peter Monaghan, most of the company’s snails go for export. However, popularity has grown over the last two years here in Ireland with annual increases in domestic sales.
Alongside the snails, Peter runs a suckler enterprise at the family farm in Maghera in east Cavan.
“We provide unique on-farm and virtual training courses for clients looking to start their own snail farm,” he says.
“We currently sell fresh, Irish Escargot 365 days of the year along-side the sales of our snail creams where we have seven different cosmetics products made from our Snail Mucin,” added Peter.
Meanwhile, 2024 will see the farm open up to the public for farm adventure days between March and November.
At Inis Escargot the Monaghan family has turned a part-time suckler farm - which never held a viable income - into a full-time snail and suckler enterprise.
The farm is environmentally friendly with a low to neutral carbon footprint.
“With the snails we use everything from the fillet, mucin, caviar and excretion right down to the shell, so there is zero waste,” explained Peter.
“The services available at Inis Escargot are unique to Ireland where we are the first and only Irish business to have fully Irish Escargot available 365 days of the year. We are the first and only Irish business to provide training, consultancy and support in Heliciculture worldwide.”
To date Inis Escargot has helped many struggling suckler and beef farms to turn into profitable, sustainable enterprises. The farm allows customers experience the full ‘farm to fork’ process and the snails were named in Ireland’s dish of the year ‘Peter’s Omelette’ for 2023.
“If you love what you’re doing, you will never work a day in your life,” says Peter.
“And, this is particularly true when it comes to our business. Snail farming is very demanding. However, each day feels like a new day with so many new opportunities presenting themselves.
Meanwhile, 2024 will see Inis Escargot build Ireland’s first snail processing facility in Co Cavan. Having just completed Skillnet Ireland’s ‘Taste for Success’ course, Peter will begin work on a one-of-a-kind snails and suckler farm tour with a pick, process and taste your own Escargot experience. He is also hopeful that on-farm glamping and farmhouse accommodation will be added to the experience soon.
“We intend to take things slow and steady - just like the snail - choosing quality over quantity to ensure our services remain,” Peter continued.
“We have become the first sustainable snail farm in Ireland farming the actual Irish garden snail. The French, Italians and the Spanish will boast about their snails but what people don’t know is that the most popular snail in Europe is the Irish garden snail.
“We feel we are really putting Ireland back on the map with regard to our own species. We are the first Irish business to provide training consultancy support in snail farming and that training will branch out as far as Texas and Melbourne in Australia. Our snails can be purchased online and customers from all over the world are buying them.”
CONTACT US
Email info@inisescargot.ie or log on to www.inisescargot.ie