Introduce yourself.

I’m Daniel Cronin, 17, and I’m the founder of ZENT Sleep - an Irish wellness brand built around one simple idea: nasal breathing is the most underrated tool for better sleep and better recovery. I’m from Killarney, Co. Kerry, and I am an avid Gaelic Footballer. I’m constantly looking for small, easy to implement habits that give a real edge - training harder isn’t always the answer, recovering properly is just as important. Mouth taping was one of those habits. Since I started, it has become a non-negotiable in my nightly routine because the difference is very noticeable from the second I wake up. 

What inspired you to join the natural health sector?

Honestly, I saw a gap. Everyone’s chasing the next supplement or gadget, but almost nobody’s talking about how you breathe while you sleep - it’s the cheapest and most important habit you can improve that will help you for the rest of your life. I looked into what chronic mouth-breathing actually does - worse sleep, brain fog, dry mouth, slower recovery - it felt like the most obvious fix that a lot of people still aren’t aware of. I wanted to build something that actually worked, not another wellness product riding a trend.

Where did you get the idea for your brand?

My mom found out about mouth taping a good few years back and pushed me to try it once she’d seen the difference herself. I found mouth taping had a noticeable impact on how I felt the next day. It was often nights where I forgot to put on my mouth tape that I woke up feeling groggy. That’s when I knew it had a real impact. The early in Transition Year, I’d decided I wanted to build a real business - not just your average school project, an actual company that made real money. I started researching recovery methods for athletes and came across how aromatherapy can affect relaxation and sleep depth. Putting the two together - mouth taping and aromatherapy - is how ZENT Scented Mouth Tape was born.

What makes your brand unique?

No investors, no team, no business background - I built it all from my bedroom during Transition Year at 16, with zero qualifications beyond being stubborn enough to figure it out. It’s now in over 30 pharmacies and health stores nationwide and growing. Being this close to the ground means every customer and every stockist gets a level of attention a bigger company simply can’t offer - I answer my own emails, I pack my own orders, I know exactly who’s buying this and why. On top of that, we infuse a natural chamomile aroma into every tape, so it’s not just a product you tolerate - it’s part of an actual wind-down ritual.

What are your company’s core values?

Professionalism, education, and care. Professionalism because I’m a teenager asking grown adults to trust my product on their shelves - I don’t get a pass on quality or reliability just because of my age, if anything I try to hold myself to a higher standard. Education because I’m learning constantly - about sleep science, recovery, manufacturing, retail - and I share what I learn with customers and my own followers rather than sitting on it. Care because this isn’t a side hustle I’ll drop - every improvement to the product or the next launch comes from actually listening to what people want and need.

How do you support your community?

I keep as much of the business Irish as possible - Irish banking, Irish retail partners, Irish design and distribution where I can manage it. On a grassroots level, I want sleep and breathing education to be something people can access for free, not gated behind a purchase - the habit matters more than the product.

What has been the most rewarding part of your brand’s journey?

Customer messages, no question - someone telling me they’re falling asleep a lot faster and not awake half the night like they normally are, is a huge win. Seeing my work have a real impact on peoples lives and health is very rewarding.

Seeing ZENT go from an idea in my bedroom to sitting on shelves in stores like Evergreen is the proof that this isn’t just a hobby - it’s a real business. When I see the money arriving into my bank account and knowing its coming from something I have built. It’s a lot more rewarding than working a summer job for an hourly wage because one successful phone call with a pharmacy or health-store brings in more money than I would make in a full day at work. Being able to spend a couple of hours cold calling and securing multiple stockists in a short space of time is very satisfying and rewarding. The satisfaction of building something real waking up and knowing I have the platform to go out and make serious money when I put my mind to it.

What in your opinion makes Irish brands unique?

Irish consumers have a good eye for quality - they want something that actually does what it says. That forces Irish founders to build trust the hard way: through the product working, not through marketing budget. Being stocked somewhere like Evergreen, alongside other Irish brands that earned their place the same way, means something to me.

What is your favourite product from your brand?

Right now it’s just the Chamomile Mouth Tape, with Nasal Strips and Collagen Mouth Tapes coming soon. There’s something about the soft cotton and that subtle chamomile scent that changes how the whole routine feels - it stops being “taping your mouth shut” and becomes an actual signal to your brain that it’s time to switch off and recover.

Tell us about something that has shaped your brand?

Getting my head around EU regulatory requirements - HPRA guidance and the Medical Device Regulations - as a solo teenage founder was brutal at times. There was no shortcut version. But going through it properly, instead of cutting corners, is what turned this from a passion project into something I can stand behind as a legitimate, professional brand.

What do you hope to accomplish in the future?

I want ZENT to become the name people think of first for sleep and recovery in Ireland - and I want to build it into a business that’s actually profitable, not just present on shelves. That means expanding into nasal strips and other recovery essentials, growing with partners like Evergreen, and proving that a product built on one simple habit - breathing properly while you sleep - can compete with brands ten times our size.