Nicola Mitchell

Scientist and entrepreneur Nicola Mitchell is cornering the market in chemicals for farmers and growers. 

Nicola Mitchell always had a clear ambition — to one day build a multinational business based on science. When starting out, she asked herself how she could best use her love of chemistry to “offer more choice to farmers at a lower cost, without compromising on quality.” She launched Dublin-based Life Scientific with this purpose in mind, and today the company has a portfolio of over 50 products, making generic versions of brand-name agricultural protection products.

Nicola established Life Scientific in 1995, researching and developing products for big clients, but she never let go of her dream to create something of her own. The breakthrough came when Nicola realized the team could make crop protection solutions that were identical to leading brands and navigate the strict rules controlling the market.

Since then, the company and its revenue have grown rapidly, selling products to farmers and growers across Europe. Her team of 80 develops new formulations that use complex organic and analytical chemistry while meeting regulatory requirements. They compete successfully with the bigger players because they are free to be creative and go after what Nicola calls “the big, hairy, audacious goals.”

Nicola’s long-term goal is to continue helping farmers grow their crops cost-effectively and for Life Scientific to become “the most successful innovator of crop protection products ever.”