By Business & Finance 
Co-founders of The Fruit People, Barry and Brian Dennis take the Business & Finance 60 second challenge.
Q. What was your first job? We were aware of the value of putting in the hard work and learning the value of having your own money from very early on, and we spent a number of years working in a local hardware store in Clontarf, where we’re from. Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date? The Fruit People is an entire achievement in itself, from a pair working out of a garage to a real business with a team of eight covering the capital and delivering fresh fruit to over 400 offices a week. Every day we grow a little more proud. Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Both sides need to come away from a deal feeling happy. Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for the day, who would it be and why? Stewart Butterfield, founder and CEO of Slack. We think Stewart’s developed a genius app to transform the way teams communicate. We use it every day in work and would love to have seen how they developed it into what it is. Q. In three words or less, how do you define success? Being motivated and happy. Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff? Keep the lines of communication open, make sure everyone knows what we’re working towards; and we take the team out on regular lunches to outline actions and discuss progress. Q. How do your relax? Our business is in healthy nutrition, so naturally we’re both big into exercise. You’ll find us in our local Crossfit gym just up the road from our warehouse around four times a week. It keeps us focused, fit and healthy. Q. What’s your motto? Gotta keep the customer happy! Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business? Keep growing our small business and building a thoroughly established brand. We’re always on the hunt for new markets and opportunities that may present themselves. We do business with our eyes wide open.
Our business is in healthy nutrition, so naturally we’re both big into exercise
WORKING TOWARDS HEALTH
The Fruit People is a start-up in Dublin city, delivering fresh fruit from the market and local suppliers every weekday to offices across the capital. Clontarf-born brothers Barry and Brian Dennis spotted a growing gap in the office delivery market, and The Fruit People was born in early 2013.
The brothers began building a client base of workplaces around Dublin and word spread quickly, gaining contracts from multinational corporations such as Amazon, Symantec and Danske Bank, as well as small start-ups and local businesses with 50 employees and under. “Regardless of their size, each business is seeking the same thing”, Barry explains, “a supply of fresh and healthy snacks to fuel their employees.”
Benefiting both nutrition and morale in the office, The Fruit People service gives hardworking people in offices a healthy diet and the benefits of fresh produce straight from the markets each day directly to their desks.
