Page 13 - Food&Drink Magazine Jan-Feb 2019

different to water. I thought I don’t drink sugary drinks, so I wish I could just combine water and hemp. That was how the idea came about.”
What started off as “just a thought with a bit of research”, saw Moubarak travel to “do a bit more research” to fully understand the ingredient, its properties and uses, and how she could make a product that would benefit as many people as possible.
“I thought: I’ve already put a couple of thousand dollars in, and then if I put another couple of thousand in, I might as well just continue doing it, and then months later, and $100k later, the journey led into the hemp water that I’ve created.”
If that sounds simple, it wasn’t.
SELF BELIEF
Although constantly hearing “you just sold the café, why don’t you relax or go back to project marketing?”, Moubarak was quietly educating herself more about hemp. It had been legal in Australia to grow hemp under strict licence for fibre and external human body uses since 1998, but any food or beverage products could only be exported to countries where consumption was legal. That changed in 2017, when state and federal health ministers agreed to allow hemp seeds to be sold for human consumption, legalising it in November that year.
Despite that, it wasn’t an area many people understood. They particularly couldn't understand why she’d sink $100,000 of savings into her idea. Her immediate family however, was supportive.
Because the product had, until recently, been illegal for human consumption, Moubarak couldn’t find many food technicians who were familiar with it. She did however, find one with experience in health, herbs and superfoods.
“It was so exciting when we heard it was legalised. After that, I remember my mother and I with a food tech, finalising a formula. I thought, ‘okay, this feels like we’re halfway’.”
After starting off with just herself, the Plus Hemp crew now includes four others: a food tech, a full-time creative director who also does social media, an administrator and a delivery person. Manufacturing is outsourced and Moubarak hired a marketing company and a PR agency, and works with distributors.
However, social media has thrown up many hurdles.
“Facebook and Instagram don’t let me promote my page, or sponsor my posts; they state it’s an illegal product. Even though I’ve sent them FSANZ material showing it was legalised last year, they just do not want to promote it. I get a lot of declines on my post. It’s sort of sad because I can’t spread the word more and get it out there and promote my products.”
One thing she can do though is get family, including her children, to wear Plus Hemp tee-shirts, which they love doing.
AUSTRALIAN FLAVOUR
Using Australian ingredients and manufacturing in Australia were at the top of Moubarak’s list.
“It was actually easier for me to go to the States and have the product made there. And it would have been a lot cheaper. But when I was visiting a beverage manufacturer in Perth, I saw a lot of demand for Australian drinks. There was high demand in China for Australian products – they love them. America does too. So I thought this is a big thing to manufacture in Australia, to get our products out there and support Australian businesses.
“My oil is Australian grown even though it would be a quarter of the price to get it
from Canada – and that’s including freight.
“The more we support farmers here, the more it will hopefully bring the price down for everyone.”
Moubarak was also adamant Plus Hemp would not use preservatives or sugar, despite the restrictions this placed on manufacturing processes and formulas. (See box, p14.)
“That was just really important to me.”
PRODUCT APPEAL
Moubarak has found her product has appeal across wide demographics.
“It’s for everyone. People that I thought wouldn’t drink the water, do. I’m getting feedback from over 65s, from pregnant women, people into fitness, those between 25-35, and I know mums give it their children as an alternative to juice and just normal water. So my target market is endless – it’s for everyone. My own kids love it.
“When I did surveys with mums’ groups, all had the same response: they wanted an alternative drink to just plain water, and hemp is a superfood, it’s something new, so it’s got a big vibe out there and everyone’s curious to try it. There is no other ingredient that is a food,
FUELING GROWTH
Moubarak’s aim is to sell Australia-wide.
Within the first two months, Plus Hemp was in just over 100 IGA supermarkets in the entrepreneur’s home town of Sydney. Stock had also hit retail shelves in Adelaide, Queensland and Byron Bay in IGAs and BP service stations, with a deal signed for 200 Metro Petroleum fuel stations.
Several cafés in Sydney, the NSW Central Coast, Queensland and Melbourne had also begun stocking it, with a deal being put in place for distribution through clubs and bars in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
“I was contacted by a high-end distributor for clubs and bars who was interested in the product, so that was great. The word’s getting around.
“I approached a few supermarkets that wanted it exclusively to them. People said I’d make a lot of money doing it that way. I’m like, ‘Yeah, but it’s not accessible to everyone, not everyone goes to X supermarket’ and I wanted it to be accessible to everyone, so I took the risk of not being exclusive. It’s worked.”
“I want to export, but I didn’t think I was going to get to the point I did so quickly; what I achieved in the first six weeks
“ The more we support farmers here,
the more it will hopefully bring the price down for everyone.”
that can shelter you, can be used in building supplies, and can be used for clothing. It’s everything. Having it in the water is an all-in-one: you get all the antioxidants and the omega- 3s and omega-6s too.
“I’ve also found people are using it as a mixer with their alcoholic drinks. I’ve had a lot of calls from bars and clubs, so instead of putting an energy drink in, they use the Plus Hemp water.”
was my six-month goal in my business plan, so export was down the track.
“Even my parents, who were great and so supportive, had no idea it was going to get to this point. They thought it was just going to be a small batch, and I’d just get it out there slowly.
“But because of the way things have moved, I’m actually in the process of looking at export now.
I’ve had a lot of interest from China and the US wanting to stock
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | January-February 2019 | Food&Drink business | 13
RISING STAR
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