Arnotts’ Pitch ’26 is open and the prize is worth €70,000

If you’ve been quietly sitting on a brilliant business idea — or you’ve already built something that deserves a much bigger audience — Arnotts wants to hear from you. Pitch ’26, the retailer’s flagship start-up initiative, is now open for applications, and the prize package on offer is genuinely worth stopping and paying attention to.

Now in its sixth year, Pitch has become one of Ireland’s most credible retail launchpads for emerging brands. The overall prize package is valued at €70,000, and this year’s winner will walk away with a €10,000 business development fund, financial advice and services from sponsor FRAME Advisory, a media campaign fund courtesy of The Business Post and Newstalk, expert mentorship and — the real headline — a chance to trade in Arnotts and on Arnotts.ie during the Christmas period, the busiest retail window of the year.

What kind of businesses can apply?

Applications are open to entrepreneurs based in Ireland working across fashion, beauty and wellness, jewellery, lifestyle, food and innovative consumer products. You’ll need a developed product range or service proposition and be able to show clear potential for growth and scalability. So if you’ve been testing the market and building something real, this is very much aimed at you.

Donnine Burness, Deputy General Manager at Arnotts, described Pitch ’26 as “a celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity,” adding that the programme exists to give Irish businesses “meaningful exposure, expert guidance and retail opportunity.”

The application deadline is Tuesday 30th June 2026, so there’s time to pull something together — but not an enormous amount of it. Head to pitch.arnotts.ie for everything you need to know.

The track record speaks for itself

Part of what makes Pitch genuinely exciting is what it has already produced. Last year’s winner, Hildun Beauty, was founded by beauty writer and entrepreneur Suzy Griffin Dunne and built around its cult Silk to Set Kajal Eyeliners. The brand has sold more than 100,000 units and launched into Arnotts at the start of this year. Suzy called the win “a hugely proud moment” and a real validation of the brand’s product-first approach.

Before that, Wink with Mink Lashes took the Pitch ’24 crown. Founded by lash artist Shona Mahon, the brand brought a cruelty-free, reusable and biodegradable lash system to market and secured more than 400 appointments at the Arnotts Christmas Market. Shona said it “transformed my business in ways I never imagined” — which is the kind of quote that tends to stick with you when you’re weighing up whether to apply for something.

Previous winners also include KALO (Pitch ’23), a luxury accessories brand making sustainable handbags from innovative apple leather; Brush Doc (Pitch ’22), which reinvented makeup brush cleaning with rotating technology; and Pure Clothing (Pitch ’21), the sustainable organic cotton brand that won the very first competition and has been growing ever since.

Why this one is worth entering

There are a lot of competitions and calls for applications out there, and most of them amount to a certificate and a handshake. What Pitch offers is different: real retail shelf space, real financial support and genuine industry mentorship from people who know the market. For an Irish brand trying to break through, that combination is hard to replicate.

If you’ve got something worth pitching, you have until the 30th of June to make your move.