Carolyn Creswell runs Melbourne-based Carman’s Fine Foods, which wholesales muesli, muesli bars and most recently, a range of snacks for the airlines Australia-wide and 21 countries internationally.
The company came from small beginnings in 1992 when Carolyn, at age eighteen, bought the Muesli business when she was told she would lose her job as the business was to be sold. Today, the company Carolyn started is a thriving business, with customers including Qantas, Coles, Woolworths and Lite n’ Easy.
One of the biggest hurdles Carolyn initially faced was being “absolutely broke”. “It is hard to keep motivated when you are stressing about paying bills and juggling a business”, she says.
Persistence has paid off. Looking ahead, Carman’s Fine Foods vision is to be the number one gourmet (but healthy) brand on Australian and international supermarket shelves. Carolyn says, “We are very focused on being a supermarket brand”. But the focus now is to create greater brand recognition with a vision of being a leading supermarket product, which is shelved on every other isle in the supermarket. “I am passionate about food being real, as you would make it at home, as opposed to pre-packaged food packed full of preservatives”.
Carman’s Fine Foods stick by the philosophy of providing a product that is healthy and good tasting, with every product they release. They use Qantas as a marketing tool to create greater brand exposure and awareness by testing new products with the airline. If the products are a success, they then move into the retail market.
Carolyn prides the business on being a family friendly workplace. “One of the things I value most about running my own business is the ability to tailor my day around other commitments, particularly my family”. She credits her greatest achievements as her “amazing family—her two children with another on the way—a happy marriage and making the time to keep those relationships successful”.
“I’ve received a lot of support over the years, which has helped me to grow and develop my business,” she says. As for mentors in Carolyn’s life, she looks at a cross section of “switched on, smart people” who enable her to have a rounded perspective when it comes to business decisions.
Carolyn credits the biggest strength of her business is the people, “we have an amazing talented team of people who do the work of ten people each. The people are the secret to the success of Carman’s Fine Foods”, she says.
Carolyn believes that the best piece of advice she has received is to “be honest in all your dealings, whether it be your personal or professional life”.
Visit Carman's Fine Foods
