Dark City Foundry founder, Anita Brodian (pictured), said the drinks would delight dark chocolate lovers and coffee connoisseurs alike.

“We wanted to create something imaginative and different. These drinks are also milk free, low in sugar and full of lightly sparkling flavour,” Brodian said.

A 250ml can offers 150mg of caffeine and 19 calories per can. They feature a double shot of coffee with yuzu and caramel flavours.

While many small and independent retailers stick with tried and tested products to avoid the risk of failure, Dark City Foundry – has taken a risk in introducing new products, including a decaf cold drip coffee, the first and only commercial product of its kind in the Australian market. Brodian – one of our ISB 2022 Top 50 Small Business Leaders – is passionate about educating the public about her products’ benefits, rather than just marketing them, so customers can appreciate the product more.

“The aim is to humanise our brand and in turn make us approachable and knowledgeable in the coffee space,” she explains.

Dark City Foundry has made a conscious effort to be a sustainable business, with their coffee grounds either ending up in composting or being given away to their customers to use in their gardens.

The opening three paragraphs of this story first appeared on our sister publication Inside FMCG

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The Wine Export Ready Hub is a comprehensive site with information, templates and guides to help companies understand the export process, find buyers, and develop export plans.

Xavier Simonet, CEO of Austrade, said the industry-first free digital hub would help fuel the country’s wine exporters to go further, faster.

“Australia produces some of the world’s most sought-after wines, and the new Wine Export Ready Hub will help our producers get more product to consumers worldwide,” Simonet said. “This one-stop-shop, developed by Austrade and Wine Australia, will provide clear, comprehensive answers to wine producers’ most pertinent export questions.”

The collaborating groups said the digital hub would complement its existing suite of export resources such as market insights, market entry programs, and regulatory services, including a virtual platform to showcase Australian wines to international buyers through Australian Wine Connect.

According to Wine Australia’s recent Export Report, despite challenges in trading conditions in recent years, exports still grew in 71 locations, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

“With around 60 per cent of Australia’s wine production exported each year, the profitability of the wine sector is strongly linked with exports,” Dr Martine Cole, CEO of Wine Australia, said. “Many wine producers are developing strategies to intensify exports and to enter new markets, and we’re delighted to launch the Wine Export Ready Hub in partnership with Austrade to support these activities.”

The Wine Export Ready Hub is part of the government’s $72.7 million Agribusiness Expansion Initiative launched in 2020 to help agribusiness exporters diversify and grow into overseas markets.

This story first appeared on our sister publication Inside FMCG

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A gluten-free snack producer recently told me that if her business doesn’t make money this year, then she’s done because she can earn more money working fewer hours back in corporate consulting.

The producer is stocked across 20 Harris Farm Markets stores and in a series of independent retailers. She’s also in discussion with the majors – getting ranged is not one of her challenges.

In the last 24 months, many consumers have discovered new small-batch food and drink products. And some artisans have found new consumers. Yet despite new push-and-pull opportunities, small-batch brand owners have not had an easy time making money and this has made it tough for many to stay in business.

Four of the biggest challenges that have affected small-batch brands, and in particular their bottom line, are: fluctuating ingredient costs; getting buyers to discuss their wholesale strategy; restrictions on sampling; and the need to rely on distributors to create demand.

Fluctuating ingredient costs

Since the start of the pandemic, some products or ingredients have been hard to find. We all experienced this first hand with the scarcity of toilet paper. For small-batch brand owners, the supply of raw ingredients has also been affected. At the beginning, it was difficult for them to buy ingredients, especially as many buy retail from supermarkets competing with everyday consumers, and then came the impact of massive fluctuations in cost.

“The challenges for small-batch producers certainly do not end with getting on the shelf.”

Most small-batch producers don’t buy in bulk, or buy wholesale. Buying in bulk requires storage, managing shelf life and a strong demand planning schedule. Many small-batch producers don’t have capacity to do all three well. And now, with the invasion of Ukraine, there’s more concern about how supply and pricing of ingredients may be affected.

For small-batch producers, managing ingredient costs is an unpredictable game right now, and making money is harder.

Engaging buyers to discuss wholesale strategy

Managing costs has been a moveable feast, but so too has pitching to get stocked on retail shelves.  Grabbing the attention of wholesale buyers and getting them to respond to messages has been challenging. Pitching and selling to wholesale customers is the least favourite aspect of business for most food and drink brand owners. And in recent years, the setting for pitches has changed.

Online pitching has become the pathway to getting stocked, assuming a producer is fortunate enough to get the attention of a buyer in the first place.

The upside to online pitching is the time and travel saved. But a producer must make a shift in mindset to make a successful pitch online. Small-batch producers are generally relational and like to approach people – buyers or consumers –  face-to-face. So with online pitching, or indeed when getting ranged in store, the challenge for brand owners has become how to build the kinds of relationships they’re used to having offline while selling and marketing online.

If a small-batch brand owner is pitching to specialty retailers, like high street butchers, delis or gift stores, these retailers typically still receive pitches face-to-face. But getting in front of those buyers, with all the health and safety considerations and travel restrictions everyone has had to endure over the last few years, has been challenging and disruptive to normal selling and pitching activities.

Whether it is the big or the small end of town, it is never easy for small-batch brand owners to win business in the retail channel and the pandemic has taken the challenges to a whole new level.

Small-batch brand owners are frustrated by the diminishing access to buyers. They are frustrated by the growing tendency of buyers to ‘ghost’ them – withdrawing from communication without explanation and leaving the brand owner’s emails and phone calls unanswered.

Even for small-batch brand owners fortunate enough to be on the retail shelf already, the lack of access causes problems. Their focus needs to be on improving the number of units sold each week – increasing velocity – for each store they are stocked in. And they are dependent on the store buyer to do this. So, when the buyer doesn’t respond, and the worry of being delisted escalates, the sense of frustration and fear increases.

Sampling restrictions

So, the challenges for small-batch producers certainly do not end with getting on the shelf. The ultimate problem is how to get into more consumer baskets when there are more and more artisans vying for consumers’ attention and fewer and fewer buyers returning your calls.

One thing that used to work really well when selling products, and vying for consumer attention, was product sampling. Remember when it was commonplace to taste-test cheese cubes on a wedge of biscuit in a grocery store? Or sip on a thimble of the latest brew?

Well, that doesn’t happen anymore. Since the pandemic began, the ability to do sampling in store has greatly reduced.

When producers sampled, they’d sell out. The opportunity cost of not being able to sample is so great that it has many small-batch producers scratching their heads as to how to tap into that age-old marketing rule of reciprocity.

Relying on distributors to create demand

The final challenge for small-batch brand owners is the faith they must put in distributors. In a place like Australia, getting to new and far-off locations is difficult. If a product is refrigerated or frozen, distribution is even harder. Also, small-batch producers often make the mistake of thinking that once they’ve secured a distributor, their product will be distributed. Sounds logical but it doesn’t work that way.

Successful distribution is based on successful consumer marketing and pull-through campaigns, whereas distributors themselves are mostly, and simply, box movers. Remember, the ultimate challenge for small-batch brand owners is getting into more consumer baskets. Distributors do not help solve that problem unless the consumer is demanding the product and it is ‘pulled through’ by that demand. Distributors won’t just drop into places in the hope product will be bought.

Being a small-batch brand owner is hard work. It can be immensely rewarding, but current dynamics in the market make it hard to put money in your pocket in this profession. But with a strong sense of community and dogged determination to thrive, small-batch brand owners continue to lead the way in product innovation and category firsts.

This article first appeared in issue 36 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine

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Although global market fundamentals remain strong, dairy farmers’ margins are under pressure due to rising input costs according to the bank.

In its Australian Dairy 2022/23 Seasonal Outlook, Rabobank has forecasted an indicative milk price of $8.40/kgMS for southern Australia.

And despite Australia’s national dairy cow herd falling for the fifth consecutive year, Rabobank predicts a 0.9 per cent increase in milk volume, returning production to 8.64 billion litres in 2022/23.

On a global scale, the big seven dairy exporters (the EU, US, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) have recorded lower milk production this year due to supply chain disruptions and weather-related impacts.

Rabobank senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey said the global dairy commodity market is doing the ‘heavy lifting’ in propelling milk prices to record levels.

“Commodity prices for Oceania-origin butter and cheese are trading at record levels and the milk powder complex is nearing record highs,” Harvey said.

The report has suggested that dairy farm businesses can expect local guaranteed milk pricing despite a complicated operating environment.

“There are record minimum milk price offers already in the market across southern Australia,” Harvey said. “This will provide a strong cashflow position for farm businesses and, given the level of price security, could provide a good risk management platform for inputs to ensure an adequate locked-in margin.”

This story first appeared on our sister publication Inside FMCG

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ISB: What inspired you to initially make and sell Thai plant-based steam buns to family, friends, and local market stalls?

PW: My main inspiration comes from my parents. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and always watched my parents run their own businesses, one after another. Some would fail, others would succeed. I inherited this entrepreneurial spirit which led me to study how to run my own business. After I graduated, I set the goal of doing just that. With my passion for food, in combination with my Thai background and love of steamed buns, Pam Pam Buns was born.

ISB: What was the difficult part of turning your small venture into a full-blown business and how did you overcome the challenge?

PW: One of the most difficult parts is that no one tells you how much is required to operate a full-blown food manufacturing business. While the business was generating popularity, I would try to learn as much as possible through different business education sources and studies in commercial cooking on how to commercially prepare food. After two years of steady growth, I decided to set up my own factory. It was also difficult since I had no experience of running a factory, but I ultimately got through it and was able to get my very first store in Sydney CBD in 2019. From there, we successfully got into Harris Farm which was the biggest and hardest challenge. Once we got into a great supermarket chain like Harris Farm, the ball starts rolling easier as the portfolio starts growing.

ISB: What do you think has made plant-based Thai food gain a following in Australia?

PW: The truth is Australians love Thai food! According to a recent survey, Thai food is the most popular cuisine amongst Australians when compared to all other cuisines. More and more Australians are also turning to plant-based, vegetarian or even “flexitarian” diets, therefore, we’ve combined the two.

ISB: How important has been the role of Pam Pam Buns’ loyal following in the growth of the business?

PW: Our customers are very caring and share our love for food, so we treat them like we would our friends and families. The loyalty of our customer base has been an important part of our business journey, particularly in the early stages when we were testing different flavours and types of meals. Our customers would always taste our food, give us feedback on what we’re making and suggest ideas on what we can do as a business. We owe our success partly to how loyal this customer base has been throughout the years.

ISB: What is your vision for Pam Pam Buns in the next two years?

PW: Our vision for Pam Pam is to expand to reach all areas in Australia, both through our online store delivery and in-store placement. Right now, we’re available in over 180 stores and online to almost every state, excluding the Northern Territory and South Australia. We also want to grow our product range and expand into other plant-based Asian cuisines. Traditionally, our customers find us in the frozen aisle, but we’re also looking into expanding our fresh food range.

ISB: As someone who came from a family of entrepreneurs, what has been the most important business lesson you’ve learned from them that you can share with other aspiring entrepreneurs?

PW: Success is about learning to be persistent, but not stubborn and sticking to the same approach. It’s about being flexible and being able to adapt to situations. My parents’ business journey had ups and downs. They went through many hardships. But when one business didn’t work out, they didn’t hesitate to shut it down. They never gave up and kept exploring new ideas. Through their experience and a lot of trial and error, they found the right business and ultimately, they are very successful with a business going strong for more than 15 years.

The post Q&A: Taking a homemade vegetarian Thai treat to the next level appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The food is being held in stock by family-owned and operated food distribution businesses that supply cafes, restaurants, hotels and clubs across the three states where lockdowns are most prevalent: NSW, Victoria and SA. Because much of the food has use-by dates, the stock will have to be dumped if cafes and restaurants cannot reopen in time. 

“The closure of Australia’s hospitality scene has a trickle-down effect on our members who supply these venues,” Richard Hinson, chairman of Independent Food Distributors Australia (IFDA) which represents hundreds of family-owned businesses, said.

“Restaurants and cafes are cancelling their orders for millions of dollars worth of perishable food and other goods – in NSW, our members are reporting that revenues are down by as much as 70 per cent.”

Hinson said many cafes and restaurants are shutting indefinitely because they are “sick and tired of the stop-start nature of lockdowns”.

He wants the Federal Government to introduce additional concessions for independent food distributors, similar to the instant asset write-off tax concessions introduced for other industries last year.

“Small businesses that operate in the food distribution sector should have the ability to write off the cost of these perishable goods for tax purposes,” he said.

“We call on State and Federal Treasurers and Ministers for Small Business to support our request given the food distribution industry, directly and indirectly, supports tens of thousands of jobs across the country. Many of these jobs are now at risk which is a significant issue given nearly 50 per cent of food distribution warehouses are in regional and remote areas.”

While acknowledging it is difficult to create clear roadmaps given the uncertain nature of the pandemic, Hinson said that if the government could set a date for reopening of hospitality venues – as the NSW had given the construction industry – that would help IFDA’s members.

“We appreciate it is a challenge in the current environment, but clear roadmaps provide the business community with a greater ability to plan and ultimately survive the current situation,” Hinson said. “Our members operate high volume and very low margin wholesale business models, with high fixed overhead expenses.”

This story first appeared in our sister publication Inside FMCG

The post Food wholesalers face massive losses as orders for perishable goods plunge appeared first on Inside Small Business.

ISB: What inspired you to consider developing spreads without nuts or allergy-triggering ingredients?

SB: As a working mum with young children, I experienced first-hand the demand for time saving, no-fuss lunchbox solutions, and the lack of good tasting, healthy and affordable sandwich spread options that are suitable for nut-free school environments. I saw what a huge opportunity there is to offer not just allergy-suffering families, but all families, with something that provides parents with healthy options that also capture the imagination (and taste preferences) of their children. My goal with VGood is to make healthy options accessible to more people, regardless of their dietary needs or choices, or their family budget.

ISB: How do you make sure that the taste remains as good without those ingredients?

SB: We partnered with an amazing R&D facility to better understand the science behind recipe development, ingredients and flavours. Chickpeas have a naturally nutty flavour when roasted so they were an excellent starting point for a nut-free peanut butter alternative. We started with many, many kitchen-sized batches, engaging family, friends and neighbours to test different flavour profiles, optimising the balance of sweet and salt, and the most favourable “peanut” flavour.

ISB: What was the biggest challenge you faced in getting VGood off the ground, and how did you overcome it?

SB: Scaling from kitchen-sized batches to commercial large-scale production was a huge challenge. We experienced some massive failures that delayed our launch, but these resulted in some of our most important lessons around cooking our recipe.  Finding solutions always requires a team of people and we now have a fantastic team who understands intimately how the recipe is “put together”.

ISB: And, conversely, how has your experience in product development and marketing for health and wellness brands helped you with this business?

SB: There are many people with great ideas out there, but executing the ideas can be the hardest part. I’ve worked on quite a few product launches in the health products space so I understand what it is you need to do to get started and most importantly, what people and experience to engage with to make things happen. Project management and managing a timeline and a budget are critical skills to launch a product, but most importantly I’ve learnt that success is going to come with passion, commitment, determination and willingness to make mistakes and get your hands dirty.

ISB: What is your vision for the development of the business in the next couple of years?

SB: The priority for now is to focus on the massive job we have in building our brand and showing consumers what we are all about so they feel confident about buying our products. At the moment, we are focussed on the Australian and New Zealand markets and building the distribution of our three spreads and the Twist snack range as broadly as possible across grocery, health and speciality food stores so VGood is accessible to more people.

New markets are a huge opportunity and that is a focus for the medium term, we have interest from a large USA retailer and a few European retailers. On top of that, the VGood team has a long list of new product ideas and I’m busting to get these up and running!

ISB: And, finally, what is the number one lesson you’ve learnt on your journey you’d share with others looking to start their own business?

SB: Be prepared to make lots and lots of decisions, and accept that some of them may be the wrong ones that you have to take in your stride and learn from. If you don’t make the decisions yourself, then who will? The business won’t move forward.

The post Q&A: Very good snacks for the whole family appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The Ombudsman was speaking after Australia Post announced that it will no longer pursue plans slated last week to discontinue the shipping of perishable goods across the country after 30 June.

“Small business food producers, especially those in regional areas, are breathing a huge sigh of relief today that they can continue doing what they do best – growing their business – with confidence that their goods will be delivered by Australia Post,” Billson said. “Australia Post is doing the right thing for its small-business customers by reversing this decision.”

The Ombudsman also welcomed the invitation to co-chair an industry working forum, which will work collaboratively to resolve any issues Australia Post is experiencing across its delivery network, to support small-business food producers.

“I look forward to working closely with Australia Post and all relevant stakeholders to ensure small businesses can continue to count on these essential delivery services,” Billson said.

“Australia Post has positioned itself as the delivery partner to small businesses and family enterprises, particularly to those businesses that moved to selling their products online as a result of the COVID crisis. This partnership has benefited both sides of the relationship and consumers.

“Now is the time to be working together to identify what the problems are and to find solutions to make a pathway forward,” Billson added. “Let’s roll up our sleeves so that we can achieve a much better outcome for eCommerce-powered small businesses who rely on Australia Post to fulfil their orders.”

The Ombudsman is set to meet with Australia Post next week and then again with the broader industry group in May. Billson will also coordinate matters closely with his state-based Small Business Commissioner colleagues to gain additional perspectives and regulatory insights in coming up with a more long-term solution. Regular sessions will also be held with key regulatory bodies, government agencies and eCommerce representatives as part of these efforts.

The post ASBFEO and Australia Post come together to support food producers appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Shipping challenges

Products from different industries come in all shapes and sizes, with some being easy to ship and other products which are more challenging to deliver. Whether they are a unique shape, size or are fragile, some items may require extra packaging internally to ensure they are given some shockability as well as robust double or triple walled carton for the outer packaging. 

Shipping errors can be a very costly exercise but planning and executing it correctly from the outset will set an invaluable foundation for your small business.

For example, you need to be aware that if you are shipping a product that is an odd shape, you will be charged for the whole space the item takes on the truck, from the widest, deepest and highest point.

Brand aesthetic

Don’t underestimate the value of good packaging when you deliver products.  With the perfect balance of colours, materials and labelling, the packaging is the all-important prelude to what lies within the box. 

The packaging is one of the enhancers of the customer experience. It is fundamental that you align your product packaging with all the other elements of your brand, including your website and your product.  Selecting premium packaging for delivery is a tell-tale sign that the product will also be up there in the quality stakes. They go hand in hand.

Packing solutions

Packaging suppliers have a wide range of products available to ensure you have everything you require so your items are packed with enough protection to withstand shipping.

Heavier items need new, strong sturdy cartons with internal packaging like foam or peanut shells or biodegradable peanuts. Bubble wrapping also provides a good buffer between the outer carton and the internal goods.

If you are enticed into taking shipping short cuts, think about the suite of shortcomings that your small business may likely experience. This includes your time consumed in having to deal with a damaged product, re-shipping replacement items at your expense, loss of margin due to damages or tarnished brand reputation.

You will find the extra few dollars you invest in additional packaging will provide the piece of mind you need to avoid unnecessary expenses.

Keeping it lean and green

Reducing plastics and minimising landfill rubbish is another consideration when deciding on which packaging to use for shipping.

Products like “wood wool” mushroom mycelium is an alternative to plastics and foams. Another thing to think about when designing your packaging is if the packaging can be repurposed by the receiver. Perhaps consider an incentive program that would encourage the receiver to return the packaging to be re-used.

Don’t box up your ideas

Whether you decide to use corrugated boxes, padded mailers, envelopes, or bags when shipping, make sure you take the time and care to make the delivery part of the shopping experience for your customer a positive one.  This will amplify the chances of them coming back to you again and again.

It does not matter how much innovative marketing and alluring website design is presented to a customer, if the order shows up damaged and late, that is the last impression that a small business needs to combat.

Steve Visic, Director of Sales, Smart Send 

The post Why it makes small-business sense to pack goods well appeared first on Inside Small Business.

Products made on Australian soil are more accessible, therefore minimising the risk of restricted products and food choices. However, I know consumers believe Australian-made products are more expensive, and in some cases maybe, but there are many factors contributing to this. 

The governance around food quality in Australia is very high and expensive. However, the rigorous quality control process ensures confidence in Australian-made products among consumers. Another factor is employee wages. Australia’s minimum wage is higher than most countries and in food manufacturing, this certainly increases costs. However, job creation positively impacts the economy. I currently employ 53 people at both Food for Health and Grain & Bake combined. We also have significant growth plans over the next 18 months which will generate more than 30 jobs. This is something I am very proud of and hope to continually contribute to. 

Key stakeholders to my business like packaging and raw material suppliers are all based in Australia, so indirectly there is further job creation and opportunity. However, if Australian citizens don’t support Australian owned and made, there is a domino effect – the manufacturing industry, its suppliers and, therefore, the economy is at risk. 

What does success in Australia’s food industry look like? 

I’d love to see Australia’s food industry grow in many ways. I look forward to innovation through new product development and technology that can compete with key players in the food game. For example, most of our key equipment comes from Europe, who are always a step ahead in innovative manufacturing technology. 

I also think major supermarket chains like Coles and Woolworths should implement strategies to ensure Australian owned and made products are prioritised over imported. This might mean rejecting big marketing spend from international vendors, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. 

At Food for Health and Grain & Bake, I’m always thinking of strategies to contribute to the success of Australia’s food industry. We work really closely with our clients on their new product development and innovation plans. For example, we have a huge project launching mid-year with a key brand and we had to invest in a specific piece of equipment to bring the product to life.

Our vision at Grain & Bake is to offer many solutions for the muesli and snacking space. For a three-year-old business, we have already launched over 60 new innovative products to the market – and plan to increase this number in the years to come.

Ultimately, it’s up to consumers to support Australian brands, not just in the food industry but in all industries. This in turn, will support the long-term success of our nation.

Narelle Plapp, Founder, Food for Health and Grain & Bake

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