Back in 2011 whilst still at University, Mia McCarthy, Founder of new cereal brand Yummia, decided to take a punt and enter the very aggressive world of breakfast products, specifically muesli.
Specialising in ‘ready to go’ breakfast products that not only taste yummy but are good for you too. All of McCarthy’s creations are available in convenient, ready to go packs – making them a great, quick way to start the day.
“I started Yummia at 22 in my final year of university after noticing a gap in the healthy, convenient breakfast product marketplace. I essentially wanted to create something of quality that I would want to eat, once I saw the product working in the marketplace I decided it was time to turn it into a commercial operation and moved to a new commercial manufacturing plant in Victoria. So we’ve come a long way since my home kitchen!” says McCarthy.
Bringing on that manufacturer as a vested partner in the business has been a critical turning point in the structure of the business. Before doing so, Yummia was found in specialty cafes and stores, but having a strategic partnership with someone already in the game has saved a lot of time and costs in setting up a separate facility, being granted various food handling certificates and approvals and getting the right packaging at an affordable cost.
Having all of these things sorted has allowed McCarthy to concentrate on the sales side of things – in particular, building up strong relationships with various supermarket chains, including Thomas Dux, IGA and Woolworths’ new line of smaller boutique concept stores, and that’s just across one state at the moment.
“We are looking at aggressive growth plans this year,” says McCarthy. “There is significant opportunity across other states in Australia and we will be going after those markets, having a strategic partner as a vested interest in the business has enabled me to hit the ground running with our business and product development activities”.
On what makes her different from the others in the breakfast space? YUMMIA’s bircher muesli have a noticeable point of difference in the current muesli offerings; all products come pre-soaked for immediate sale and consumption. Rolled oats and fresh fruit soaked in lush natural yoghurt. Each flavour is laced with subtle flavour undertones that create a specialist flavour explosion for the discerning customer.
I do love convenience.
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