{"id":280850,"date":"2026-06-29T05:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/280850\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T05:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:20:15","slug":"how-sophie-oneill-is-shaping-the-future-of-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/280850\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sophie O’Neill Is Shaping The Future Of Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sophie O’Neill, director of iconic Irish snack brand Manhattan, talks to Robert McHugh about life in a third-generation family business.<\/p>\n

For generations, Manhattan<\/a> has quietly been part of everyday life in Ireland from bowls of peanuts in pubs to the smell of fresh popcorn being prepared in Finglas.<\/p>\n

Now, almost 70 years after the company was founded, third-generation director Sophie O\u2019Neill<\/a> is helping modernise the iconic Irish snack brand while balancing innovation with heritage in a long-established family business.<\/p>\n

Granddaughter of founder Donal O\u2019Neill<\/a> and daughter of managing director Don O\u2019Neill<\/a>, she joined the family business full-time in 2018 after spending many summers working on the factory floor during her school years.<\/p>\n

This year, Sophie received a nomination for the prestigious 2026 IMAGE PwC Family Businesswoman of the Year Award<\/a> in recognition of her contribution to the business and her role in helping modernise the Manhattan brand for a new generation.<\/p>\n

You were recently nominated for the 2026 IMAGE PwC Family Businesswoman of the Year Award. What did that recognition mean to you?<\/p>\n

It was a huge honour personally and also a proud moment for our family and the wider Manhattan team.<\/p>\n

Manhattan is a third-generation Irish family business that has been operating in Finglas since 1957, so to receive recognition like that for helping shape the next chapter of the company was incredibly special.<\/p>\n

I think sometimes people assume Manhattan is an American company or part of a franchise because of the name, but we are actually proudly Irish-owned and family-run, and always have been. That heritage means a lot to me.<\/p>\n

Growing up in a family business, was there a particular moment when you realised you wanted to become part of Manhattan’s future?<\/p>\n

I grew up around the business and spent many summers working on the factory floor, so Manhattan was always part of my life. But I think the real turning point came when I started to see the opportunity for growth and modernisation, particularly online.<\/p>\n

I realised there was huge potential to bring the brand to new audiences while still protecting what makes it special.<\/p>\n

Seeing pubs and hospitality venues actively looking for ways to source our products more easily also pushed us to invest more heavily in our trade website and digital ordering systems.<\/p>\n

How do you maintain the brand’s Irish identity while appealing to international consumers?<\/p>\n

For us, authenticity is everything. We never try to pretend to be something we are not. Manhattan is proudly Irish, family-owned and based in Finglas, Dublin, and I actually think that genuine heritage appeals to international consumers.<\/p>\n

People connect with real stories and brands with history. Irish pubs around the world are also hugely important to us because Manhattan products have always had a strong association with pub culture and social occasions.<\/p>\n

We want to make it as easy as possible for pubs and hospitality businesses to source our products directly through our trade platform.<\/p>\n

What opportunities did you see in digital commerce that convinced you to invest heavily in online channels?<\/p>\n

Digital commerce completely changed the way brands connect with customers and trade partners. For us, it wasn\u2019t just about selling products online – it was about modernising how Manhattan communicates and engages with people every day.<\/p>\n

We invested heavily in developing our social and digital channels to strengthen brand awareness, showcase new products and tell the story of Manhattan as a proudly family-owned Irish business.<\/p>\n

At the same time, we saw a real opportunity to improve accessibility for pubs, bars and hospitality venues, many of whom found it difficult to source our products depending on location.<\/p>\n

By developing our online trade platform, we were able to streamline ordering, improve availability and support hospitality customers much more effectively both in Ireland and internationally.<\/p>\n

Manhattan places a strong emphasis on community involvement. Why is that important to the business?<\/p>\n

Community has always been part of Manhattan\u2019s DNA. Supporting charities, local organisations and initiatives like Dogs Trust<\/a> is important because we believe businesses should contribute positively to the communities around them.<\/p>\n

A lot of our customers have supported Manhattan for generations, so there is a real sense of loyalty and connection there.<\/p>\n

What lessons from your grandfather, Donal O’Neill, still influence the company today?<\/p>\n

Probably the importance of relationships and reputation. My grandfather built the business through hard work, consistency and treating people fairly. That still influences how we operate today, whether it\u2019s dealing with suppliers, customers, staff or trade partners.<\/p>\n

He also believed strongly in quality and in building a business for the long term rather than chasing short-term trends, and I think those values are still very relevant.<\/p>\n

What do you like to do when you are not working?<\/p>\n

Family and friends are very important to me, so I love spending time with them whenever I can. I also enjoy travelling, fitness and switching off outdoors when possible because working in a family business can be very full-on.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Manhattan is such a big part of my life that even outside work, I am always thinking creatively about the brand and where we can take it next.<\/p>\n

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sophie O’Neill, director of iconic Irish snack brand Manhattan, talks to Robert McHugh about life in a third-generation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-280850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}