Some businesses begin with a plan. TooGood began with a feeling. After COVID, when people were slowly coming out of their shells again, a young entrepreneur in Louth started posting home cooked meals on Snapchat and Instagram for friends. The early days were chaotic but full of fun. Orders came through direct messages, food was made in the evenings after work, and deliveries were squeezed in any way possible. One night he even called a taxi to bring a meal across town and walked home afterwards just to keep three euro of profit in his pocket.
What kept him going was simple. Nothing tasted like his mum’s cooking. “In my head I always compared everywhere else to hers and she was always number one. My friends were the same. They loved her food.” The beauty of TooGood is that dishes he grew up eating at home are now being enjoyed by customers across County Louth.
There were early signs that the idea had real legs. A kitchen pop up at PROPER Cafe in Dundalk turned out to be a milestone moment. It was hectic, exciting and packed with people who booked tables just to try the food. That day made him wonder if this could be more than a hobby.
Scaling it into a real business meant strategy, paperwork, planning and a lot of learning on the job. He still describes it as an ongoing education. “I try to simplify things and go back to how it started. It keeps me grounded. The main difference now is more responsibility and more work.”
Even so, he remains grateful. “If it had stayed a small kitchen gig that only my friends knew about, I still would have been proud. Everything beyond that is a bonus.” The pace of growth has been fast and sometimes surreal. TooGood is on track to turn over six figures in its first year and he admits he has not fully sat with what that means. “My family mean everything to me. Things have not always been easy growing up but the business is nothing without them. Making them proud means more than any turnover figure.”
Creating employment in the local area is something he carries with equal pride. “Being able to provide opportunities to people from different walks of life is something no one prepares you for, especially as a young guy. It feels like only yesterday I was handing in CVs.” He believes a team should reflect the values of the business. TooGood’s slogan is Everybody Eats and he lives by it. “I am blessed to be surrounded by people who are on board with what we are trying to do. It really takes a village.”
Although he did not grow up with a formal culinary background, his Nigerian-Irish identity is woven through everything he cooks. Seeing customers of all backgrounds ordering Jollof rice, gizdodo or mac and cheese fills him with pride. “Growing up in Ireland as part of an immigrant household, playing Irish sports and speaking the Irish language helped me create something that appeals to both sides. I did not follow traditional marketing techniques. I did what felt natural and somehow it worked.”
Social media played a key role in the rise of TooGood but one post in particular changed everything. When he announced the brand’s first restaurant location in Drogheda, the reaction stunned him. A simple paragraph with a few photos reached more than one hundred thousand people across Instagram and LinkedIn. “Complete strangers were commenting and messaging congratulations. I went to the shops with my mum and people at the till knew about it. It showed me how powerful a story can be.”
Through all of this, discipline has been both his strongest asset and his toughest challenge. “Staying focused and disciplined for this long has been the most rewarding part. But staying focused and disciplined every single day is also the hardest.” Entrepreneurship demands sacrifice and he realised that early. “It comes with pressure. It comes with responsibility. It comes with moments that make you rethink everything. But that is part of the journey.”
Two things surprise people the most. First, that cooking is only a fraction of running a food business. There is customer service, staffing, costs, relationships, health and safety and marketing. Second, that it is hard. “Really hard. I only got my driver’s licence last year. There are definitely easier businesses to start in your twenties. If I ever made it look fun and games on social media, I apologise because there is a lot of hard work behind the scenes.”
Through it all, community has been the heart of TooGood. “Without the community there is no business. They are more important than I am. If my mates had not swiped up on those early Snapchat stories, none of this would have happened.” He speaks with real affection for the regulars in Louth and the customers who have travelled from Sligo, Belfast, Blanchardstown, Athlone and Maynooth after spotting the brand on TikTok. “They mean a lot to me.”
His advice to anyone thinking of starting something is straightforward. “Just try. There is no right time. Start early. Learn fast. Take the rewards or the consequences or both. That is how you grow.” It is an approach that has carried him far and one he is still committed to.
There are plans for the future but his mum has made him pinky promise to keep them quiet for now. He hints that more will be revealed on Instagram soon. What he can say is this. “I just want to make my friends and family proud. I want to keep customers happy. And I hope I can continue to be proud of what we build. I leave the rest in God’s hands.”
If he could speak directly to everyone who has supported him, his message is simple. “Thank you. Not just for ordering or supporting but for helping me change my life. I will always appreciate it.”
https://www.toogoodie.com/
