'Hoping it will take off' - Longford farmers on new egg vending machine
O’Halleran’s family farm in Kenagh, Co Longford have recently launched an egg vending machine in Nally’s Spar and Circle K, Ballymahon.
O’Halleran’s family farm in Co Longford has been running for over 30 years and has been producing poultry since 1998.
The farm has expanded massively over the years, and today has over 16,000 birds on their farm.
With their own packing centre on site, the O’Hallerans have been supplying eggs to the public since 2008, and have been selling under their own brand name since 2021, when they left the wholesale market.
The O’Hallerans sell eggs directly from their farm gate in Kenagh, Longford, using an honesty box service.
The family decided they wanted to expand their ‘direct to customer’ sales beyond their farm gate. That’s when Rebecca, daughter of owners Shirley and Derek O’Halleran, came up with the idea of an egg vending machine.
Rebecca says, “I seen similar vending machines available in other egg farms, and seen similar things in action for strawberries and potatoes, I thought the idea would work really well here locally.”
They decided to purchase their first vending machine and “give it a go” Rebecca added. “We’re hoping it’ll take off and we’ll be able to put more vending machines in other towns and villages around us.”
The vending machine is at Nally’s Spar and Circle K in Ballymahon, “We are delighted to be working with Nallys Spar & Circle K for this project. It is great to see local businesses supporting each other,” says Shirley.
Rebecca noted that demand for ‘direct to customer’ sales is growing at the moment, “customers are starting to have more interest in knowing where their food comes from”.
The O’Hallerans enjoy sharing their story on social media, “it’s a way of enabling customers to get to know the farmers behind their eggs,” Rebecca added.
Rebecca says the family began to notice a shift in people wanting to know more about where their produce comes from since the pandemic, “Covid was when selling eggs from our gate really took off, so we’ve really leaned into that and want to push direct sales forward”.
Rebecca was involved in the family farm since she was a child, “I was always expected to help out and give a hand with everything”, but her love for farming really developed in her teens, “my passion for farming began when I was about 16, that’s when I knew I really wanted to become heavily involved in the family business.”
Rebecca says the demand for eggs is growing, and despite challenges such as production costs and volatility, the O’Halleran’s hope to keep expanding services such as their vending machines.