Ask Carman's founder Carolyn Creswell how she turned a tiny muesli producer that she bought for $2,000 into a $50m global brand and she'll say all it took was a bit of luck and a lot of guts.
"When I was at school my parents worked hard for my education but didn't give me any pocket money, so I had lots of part-time jobs, and one of those was making muesli one day a week. After about six months the owners said they were going to sell and whoever bought it might keep me, or might make the muesli themselves and I'd lose my job. So I thought 'well, I know the product, why can't I buy this little business?"
So as a complete business novice, that's exactly what 18 year old Creswell did, together with her workmate Manya van Aken – each paying just $1,000 for the business.
This was in 1992, and two years later Creswell bought out van Aken. Ever since she's been at the helm of Carman's Fine Foods, which manufactures muesli, nut bars, oats and biscuits.
"It was really hard. It took a long time to be able to earn money myself. For a while I had to keep having second jobs, as well as trying to do the muesli. It was hard. It was shocking. The first five years I was so broke, and I thought 'what am I doing? this is crazy," Creswell told Food magazine.
But this must be a distant memory now. Today Carman's Fine Foods is turning over an average of $50 million a year, and is exporting to 32 countries including the US and the UK, as well as being used by leading airlines and having a presence in Coles and Woolworths. Not to mention the fact that earlier this year Creswell was named Telstra Business Woman of the Year.
Private labels
While it's no secret that many Australian food and beverage manufacturers see supermarket private labels as a serious threat to their own livelihood, Creswell doesn't believe her business is threatened.
"I think anyone that put their head in the sand and didn't think that private labels were coming was just being unrealistic. I think we all knew they were coming – it was just about how you adjusted.
"For us, it's about owning that premium brand and offering a point of difference. There are a lot of people that think private labels are evil and terrible, but if I was in their shoes I'd be promoting them as well. There is absolutely still room for brands. People don't buy private label products to feel warm and fuzzy and to feel that they've got the depth and integrity that a brand they love gives them," she says.
Creswell insists private labels give manufacturers the chance to be more innovative about how they promote their products.
"Private labels are not in the most innovative space. They're much more mainstream and that gives this clear niche to other players," she says. "It's never going to be a situation where we walk in and the whole supermarket is private labels."
Building trust
So what makes Carman's products stand out on the shelf? According to Creswell it's all about building a story and creating trust. Making your customers aware that you're there for them is imperative, she adds.
"If something goes wrong, how do you deal with it? The greatest opportunity for us is when someone rings up and says "I only got five muesli bars in my box and not six". All of a sudden we're able to prove to them what kind of company we really are, and so from that customer interaction you can build a very loyal customer who loves you for life.
"It's not about having a 1800-number or treating everyone in a cookie-cutter way, it's about saying 'we hear you, we are talking to you and we are here for you.'"
Carman's, a Cheltenham-based business, also builds trust by marketing itself as a 100 percent Australian owned company.
"We've now got a new logo, which is a family owned Australian business logo [from Famliy Business Australia].
"Everything is manufactured here and we're 100 percent Australian owned. The only thing is that not every single ingredient is Australian. As much as we can we source Australian but it depends if it's something that we manufacture here in commercial quantities at a reasonable price," she says.
Add to the mix that the Carman's range is actually good for you and you've got a brand – already 20 years old – which is well positioned to stand the test of time.
"It's about saying that our products taste good and are good for you. We don't say that we're the most cutting edge health food company. We're saying that we'll try and keep numbers out as much as we can, we'll try and keep ingredients lists as simple as we possibly can. We say your food should come from the kitchen and not the chemist, so we're very conscious of using ingredients you might have in your pantry at home.
"I've been very careful about what Carman's will and won't do."
Text image: atablefortwo.com.au