Page 17 - Food & Drink Business Magazine September 2018

Two of Noshu’s non- negotiable ingredient criteria are that “absolutely everything has to be certified non-GMO” and that sweeteners are diabetic friendly and low in calories and carbohydrates.
“We feel very strongly about it; because there are so many different names, consumers don’t understand what’s ‘sugar’ and what’s not now. We won’t use anything we consider chemical or synthetic. That means things like sucralose and aspartame are 100 per cent out of the question.”
TWO CUSTOMER TYPES
Noshu has two main segments, the ‘have-tos’ and the ‘choose- tos’, and many smaller segments
✷ CREATIVE COOKS
SOCIAL STATUS
Noshu’s customers are from many different backgrounds, according to its followers and those who post on social media.
“I love their creativity. Looking at our Baking Club Facebook page, it’s amazing what everyone comes up with,” founder Rachel Bajada says.
“We did some research too, and it showed that 83 per cent of people who had purchased Noshu products to date had not bought from the baking aisle in the last 12 months. Or ever. So it’s a whole new set of customers and users to that category who were non- category users just because they weren’t being offered something sugar-free.
“And when I think about it myself, I wouldn’t have really shopped for baking mix before because it’s all loaded with sugar.”
Bajada says Noshu has found social media in general to be an excellent way to market its products.
“We’ve been really pleased with the result that we get from social media. We work with some influencers and ambassadors, but most importantly we use it as a platform to engage in a two-way conversation directly with our consumers.
“We also do some traditional advertising in print and a bit of PR, but the bulk of our marketing strategy is skewed towards social media, probably because the product lends itself to that quite easily, being very visual and interactive.”
females aged between 20 and 37 – that’s 85 per cent of our current customers.”
FAN ‘MALE’
Bajada says she knew they were on the right track when they began receiving thank-you messages.
“We get emails and messages, mainly from women, saying ‘thank you so much, my
just as a base, a creative canvas. It goes to show that Australia needed some sort of sugar-free product to help them make treats at home.”
CHANNEL PLAN
Noshu products are available Australia-wide via a network of health-food distributors that supply independent outlets.
“We’re in around 700 independents and 950 Woolworths stores.”
Of the major retailers, Bajada says Woolworths “were very receptive and backed us”.
Noshu dabbled in online sales but stopped three years ago, forwarding leads to third-party websites instead.
Noshu has also begun working with Austrade to find the right customers, focused mostly in Asia and the Middle East, as both are huge markets for diabetics. The company is also planning a launch in the US and the UK soon, followed by other markets, using a licensing model.
“That will give us presence
in multiple countries quite quickly, with modified offerings that are localised for each market.
“Our goal is to provide natural, sugar-free products in traditionally sugar-laden categories across the world.” ✷
“ We won’t use anything we consider chemical or synthetic. That means things like sucralose and aspartame are 100 per cent out of the question.”
within, according to Bajada. “The have-tos avoid sugar or
certain allergens because of health issues, such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
“The have-tos don’t have a lot of choice, and they really struggle to find products that are suitable for their dietary needs that actually taste great.
“The choose-tos is arguably an even bigger market, when you think about research showing that three in 10 Australians are actively trying to reduce their sugar intake. This could be anyone from a 30-year-old woman to a 60-year-old man, but our largest customer base is
husband is a diabetic with a really sweet tooth and he keeps eating junk and buying cakes even though he knows it’s terrible for his health’. They say they made him the Noshu cakes, which he loves, so they finally have something he can eat without making him sick.”
Bajada says they were also gratified by the contributions, creativity and responses to the Facebook group, Noshu Cake Lovers Sugar-Free Baking Club.
“We thought people would bake the cakes with the instructions on the back, but most people are customising it. People are posting their creations using the cake mix
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | September 2018 | Food&Drink business | 17
RISING STAR
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