Page 8 - Food&Drink Business Magazine June 2019

BLUE SKY
From little nuts, big things grow
A passion for native ingredients, the environment and sustainable industry drives the Brook family’s businesses. By Kim Berry.
THIRTY years ago Pam and Martin Brook bought a run-down dairy farm in the hinterland of Byron Bay. Today that farm produces 50 tonnes of macadamias a year. Their business, Brookfarm, makes around 780 tonnes of products every year, including mueslis, granolas, snack mixes, porrij, and macadamia oil.
Most recently, they have branched into distilling with a calendar on Pam’s bedside table counting down to the day their whisky will be ready. The distillery – Cape Byron Distillery – is located on a hillside on the farm, looking out across the macadamia orchard.
The Brooks started out selling three different mueslis at the local Bangalow markets while turning to the unenviable task of restoring the property to the rainforest it was meant to be. They have planted more than 35,000 subtropical rainforest trees.
HARD LABOUR
When Food & Drink Business caught up with the Brook family, son Will – now Brookfarm CEO – took us for a walk around the property.
In a small gully, noticeably cooler due to a lush canopy and
stream, Will Brook says: “That was all lantana when mum and dad bought the farm. You want to know how I know? Because I was the one they sent in on my hands and knees to pull it out by the roots.”
The rewards of those early back-breaking years which, granted, involved some child labour by Will and his brother Eddie, can be well and truly seen. From hand-bagging muesli at the family kitchen table to now employing 75 staff and exporting to 18 countries, the Brook clan are as passionate as ever.
Brookfarm aims for three
to five new products each year, but they have to “tick our boxes and we are very picky”, says Will Brook. “They have to be different to anything else in the market, they have to taste fantastic and there must be integrity around the health of the products – if they are intended as such. So our Paleo Powerfood is not just paleo, but also ticks the boxes for a ketogenic diet as well,” he says.
“The challenge is ensuring every single bag and product is as perfect as it can be – the right texture, the right crunch, the perfect rainforest honey,” he says.
8 | Food&Drink business | June 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au