Start Up Rank: 43
Revenue: $590,000
Founder(s): Martin Buggy, Melissa Edyvean
Industry: Other
Head Office: New South Wales
Employees: 4
Website: www.bondichai.com.au
Martin Buggy and Melissa Edyvean were running a PR and marketing company when a trip to the United States in 2000 introduced them to a beverage called chai latte, a drink that sits somewhere between coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Sensing that the trend would eventually hit Australia, they pursued the idea.
After testing the market by importing a US chai latte brand for three years, the couple set up a company in 2005 to create their own powdered product and brand, blending in some unique Australian characteristics to distinguished the product from other brands around the world.
"We used our marketing expertise to create and develop a uniquely Australian brand, develop a marketing plan and put it into action. We then contracted out all other areas of expertise - manufacturing (to our recipe), warehousing/logistics and distribution into the food service industry," Buggy says.
The couple has built a nation-wide distribution network, established distributors in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and even India. Bondi Chai is currently developing a strategy for entry into the Australian retail market with two flavours and two packet sizes.
Buggy says the hardest part about building the business has been explaining to consumers and cafe owners exactly what the previously unheard of "Yanky chai latte stuff" actually is.
"In the early days, the marketing effort was more about education than traditional marketing. We learnt that consumers genuinely do have enormous power in the cafe industry and while the café owner was either too busy (or too ignorant) to listen to us, they certainly reacted when their customers were asking for our product."
BEST PART OF STARTING YOUR BUSINESS:
"Experiencing consumer reaction to our product - a recipe we developed and a business we have created around it. For example, seeing the look on Nicole Kidman's face after handing her a sample of our product and hearing her tell husband, Keith, how much she liked Bondi Chai Latte Club Cinnamon."
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