Founder of FUEGO | Building the Future of Gut Health with Real-Food Nutrition | Business Resiliency & Strategy Expert
A Lesson in Radical Honesty
In a market saturated with airbrushed marketing and “nutritional” powders, Niamh O’Sullivan decided to do something rare: she chose the truth. When she publicly declared that her FUEGO “Go with your Gut” bars were the highest quality in the UK market, it wasn’t just a marketing slogan; it was a stake in the ground. For Niamh, this statement felt like a risk—a battle against the natural self-doubt that plagues even the most successful entrepreneurs. Yet, she leaned into it.
“I made FUEGO with the intention for them to be a kick-ass delicious, nutritious snack bar that reconnects snack lovers with the power of real food—not powders that enable nutritional claims on packaging,” she notes. This commitment to transparency and quality is the pulse of her journey, a narrative defined by a refusal to settle for “good enough.”
The Cork “Doer” Mentality
Niamh’s journey began in Cork, Ireland, in a household where resilience wasn’t a corporate buzzword—it was a way of life. She describes herself as a “non-natural” student, someone who found traditional studying a chore but possessed an innate, restless drive. This drive led her to her first job at age 14, begging a friend for a position in a cafe where she spent her summers mopping floors and navigating industrial dishwashers.
These early years taught her the fundamental value of work and the “sleeves-up” mentality that would become her trademark. Her mother, the primary architect of this mindset, instilled in her a belief that one should never dwell too long on obstacles. “We are all very much doers,” Niamh says of her family. “Many of the most interesting professional experiences I have had is because I roll my sleeves up and just get stuck in, anywhere I can help.” Even when her path wasn’t clear—moving from business school into retail and bartending, and eventually into a professional role with BlackBerry at age 24—she relied on this grit to navigate a non-linear career path.
Navigating Complexity and Building Resilience
Before she was an entrepreneur in the food and beverage space, Niamh established herself as a formidable Business Resiliency specialist. Operating within the high-pressure sectors of Financial Services, Technology, and Energy across the UK, Ireland, and Australia, she became an expert in managing crisis and ensuring continuity.
However, by August 2024, Niamh felt the call to build a future she could dictate. She incorporated FUEGO, despite having zero prior experience in the food industry. Her progress was marked by a year of intensive networking and research, but the true test of her leadership came in July 2025.
On the cusp of her first production run, she realized the packaging didn’t meet her premium standards. Most new founders, desperate for revenue, would have launched anyway. Niamh didn’t. She went back to the drawing board, redesigned the artwork, and upgraded the materials. This delay was a masterclass in business resilience: sacrificing short-term gains for long-term brand integrity. The result? A triumphant November 2025 launch directly into retail giants Planet Organic and Whole Foods Market.
The Year of Fibre and the Power of Real Food
Today, FUEGO is a rising star in a $1.6 billion industry. Niamh is on a mission to put actual nutrition back on the shelf, using a core of six superfoods: hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, quinoa, and chicory root. Her impact is measured not just in sales, but in the validation of her “gut-first” philosophy.
Niamh manages this growth while balancing a full-time career in business strategy and the joys of being a mother to a three-year-old. Her approach to leadership is grounded in the idea that everyone is, to some extent, “winging it,” and that the only true failure is a refusal to learn. As a leader, she advises the next generation to experiment fearlessly: “There is actually no such thing as failure, it’s just a harder learning. Everyone is winging it, so try to have fun doing it.”
A Household Legacy
Looking toward 2026, Niamh’s vision is expansive. With New Product Development slated for Q2 and a planned entry into the EU market in Q3, she is positioning FUEGO to be a household name in the health and wellness space. While she holds a US distributor in the wings, her strategy remains calculated and patient—waiting for the right moment to scale globally.
Her leadership philosophy is best captured by her favorite perspective-shifting question: “If someone was watching a film of your life, what would they be shouting at the screen?” It is this ability to step back, gain clarity, and act with decisive purpose that ensures Niamh O’Sullivan’s story is only just beginning.
Editorial Note
Niamh O’Sullivan’s journey from a Cork café to the boardrooms of London and the aisles of Whole Foods is a testament to the power of the “doer” mindset. She proves that you don’t need a traditional start to reach an extraordinary finish—you only need the courage to go with your gut.
