Oonagh Monahan founded Alpha Omega Consultants in 2008 specialising in Food Business Development, Innovation and Technology Transfer working as a consultant, mentor, trainer and author. With over 25 years’ experience, Oonagh has worked for both pharma and food multinationals including Kerry Group (Grove Turkeys), Premier Foods (Manor Bakeries), Elan Pharmaceuticals and Fort Dodge Laboratories. She has also worked in Academia at the forefront of technology transfer and collaboration. She held the position of General Manager of the Food Technology Centre in St. Angela’s College, Sligo, where she was responsible for business development of the centre and developing food product development and innovation projects with food producers.
Oonagh has worked on cross-border technology transfer and innovation programmes with over 25 food producers. She currently works with a variety of food businesses across the island of Ireland and at all stages of their development, from start-up through growth to export and innovation. She has managed IntertradeIreland funded and INTERREG cross border programmes for almost 20 years. To date, Oonagh has mentored over 300 food sector start-ups many of whom are now on supermarket shelves across the island. In 2020 she completed the Mayo Food & Drink Strategy 2020-2025.
Clients to date include Helix Innovation Partnerships; Enterprise Ireland; InterTrade Ireland; ten Local Enterprise Offices; Mayo North East Partnership Company; South West Mayo Development, County Wicklow Partnership; ICBAN (Irish Cross Border Area Network), and Líonra (Regional Higher Education Network) among others. In addition, Oonagh lectures part-time in St. Angela’s College in Sligo as a food product development lecturer working on practical product development with Home Economics students and in EU and Irish Food Legislation.
Oonagh the Technical Consultant to the Irish Bread Bakers Association, and provides technical writing and reporting services to PKF-FPM Accountants for R&D tax credit refunds from HMRC and the Irish Revenue. Oonagh has also been the facilitator of the Sligo Women in Business Network since 2009.
Her best-selling book “Money for Jam – the Essential Guide to Starting Your Own Food Business” is published by Oaktree Press. In 2019 she won the IQFA Food Hero award and was shortlisted in 2020 for the IQFA COVID Hero. Oonagh is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science & Technology (UK), a Chartered Scientist and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science & Technology of Ireland.
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