There is no such thing as a recession-proof business, but anyone examining the books of the Burren Perfumery might think otherwise.

Owner Sadie Chowen and her husband Ralph Doyle, had prepared projections as to how the business would progress over the coming years, depending on how much impact the economic downturn had on sales.

‘‘We were preparing for a slowdown in cashflow and worked out how we would cope if it fell by 5 per cent or 10 per cent and so on. But sales are up 10 per cent on last year and we are very grateful,” said Chowen.

There are a number of reasons why Chowen believes the business is holding up well, including the fact that the perfumery, in the Burren, Co Clare, has not had a fall-off in visitors.

‘‘We have had a lot of Irish visitors, many people who are holidaying at home and other locals who did not go away, so they are coming to us. We are almost into August and we are still ‘business as usual’,” said Chowen.

But the main reason why sales are increasing [although at a slower rate than the 20 per cent of previous years] is that Burren Perfumery products have moved into a different market. No longer are its products, such as Man of Aran unisex cologne, being bought solely as presents, particularly to be brought back to America.

‘‘People are now using our creams as part of their body care routine, so we have moved into a new market. People’s lifestyles have also changed and women are spending a bit more money on themselves and want to spend on natural products,” said Chowen.

‘‘I think if we had made the choice to go mainstream a few years ago, we would have had to reduce the quality of the products. But I thought, this is my business and I want to carry on producing things that I would like to buy. So, we stayed in the same place and luckily, the market had come up to meet us and people now want organic and natural products.”

Inspired by the flora of the rugged limestone landscape in which it stands, the Burren Perfumery is the country’s oldest. Set up 40 years ago by a former priest, Brian Mooney, who had studied perfumery with monks, it makes perfumes, soaps and creams which can be bought onsite, online or at selected retail stores.

‘‘The business was very successful, but he wasn’t too into the business side of it and it was getting too big for him. He got fed up and sold it,” said the present owner.

It was sold to a friend’s son, Edward Biggs for whom Chowen started working. Eight years ago, she bought him out.

Originally from Cornwall in England and having grown up in the French countryside, Chowen was splitting her time between London and New York when she fell in love with the Burren on a holiday there almost 20 years ago.

‘‘I had an incredible feeling of deja vu and, three months later, I had bought a cottage there,” said Chowen. ‘‘I transformed my life to be able to come and live in Ireland. I met my husband here and we had our daughter.”

Their daughter, Fionn, who is now aged 12, was just four when Chowen took over as owner and sole shareholder of the company. The couple are now expecting their second child, due in October.

To raise the funding to buy the company, Chowen had to sell her cottage [the family moved into a house on the perfumery site] and borrow from the bank.

‘‘It was difficult but I knew I had to find a way to buy it. Once I came to work at the perfumery, I felt I had found my niche,” said Chowen, who had previously worked in the filmmaking sector.

Chowen made many changes when she took over, giving the packaging a more contemporary style, and introducing a herb garden and tearooms on site.

‘‘We have diversified a lot and I think I have made it more feminine and contemporary,” said Chowen, who added that turnover had increased by 20 per cent every year since the takeover.

Her husband, who had been working with a Galway software company, left to join the family business five years ago. ‘‘He has supplied structure to make it more into a modern business and deals with all the technology, audio visual and photographic side of things. He also looks after all the finances and managerial side of things,” Chowen said.

The perfumery, shop and tearooms are open seven days a week; Chowen describes it as a ‘‘little oasis in the middle of the Burren.”

‘‘We don’t take coaches. People have to work a little to get here, so when they do, we want to take care of them. ‘‘There is a film about the Burren and its native flora.

People can see where the products are made, see them being packaged, visit the still room, talk to staff, walk in the gardens. Everything is free, apart from the shop and the food.”

A small amount of meadowsweet and other plants are grown at the perfumery for use in the perfumes, but many of the base products are imported, such as the lavender from France. Most are bought from small farmers who grow plants that are native to the Burren, specifically for the perfumery. They are then brought to Clare in either plant or oil format and blended and bottled on site. The face, hand and body creams that Chowen introduced are all made on site.

Staff numbers fluctuate, depending on the season, but are normally at around 15, and all are local. One of the main priorities for Chowen is to ensure that the business ‘‘does not get diluted or spoiled’’.

‘‘We are looking at how to grow the business but without spoiling the heart of it. The idea is totally as it was when it started off. It has evolved, of course, and there is more equipment and more products, but the core idea is the same.”

One way of doing this, she said, was to grow a parallel business, such as the internet mail order business, which is increasing annually, or by expanding its relationship with hotels. It already provides toiletries and hand-made soaps to a number of hotels such as Doonbeg Golf & Spa Resort in Co Clare and the Morrison Hotel in Dublin.

‘‘We’ve had interest from a number of hotels, but they are used to paying quite low prices for mainstream products and we can’t match that and keep the quality of the products the same.”

Chowen is also in talks with Enterprise Ireland and has had investment offers but wants to take her time before deciding on the direction she wants to take.

‘‘We are trying to let the business grow without losing its soul. Once a decision is made to get bigger, there can be no half measures, so we have to be sure to find the path that is right for the company. The business is doing well, so there is no reason for us to spoil it, unless we find something that suits us.”