A Cereal Business Entrepreneur

A lot of thought has gone into making the product suitable for export. In terms of packaging, each box of muesli bars has four instead of six. The design also changed to red rather than black specifically for Asian markets. “In Asia black is perceived to be pretty dowdy, while in Australia black is quite stylish,” she says. “In Asia red is the colour of prosperity.”

Carman’s connects with international customers through a personal approach to marketing. Creswell’s email address is on the packs, a newsletter with photos of her children is sent out, and a referral program posts a small gift to anyone who recommends Carman’s. “We are a lot closer with our customers than some big companies that just have a toll-free number and are not really as accessible. We’ve always tried to treat people the way you want to be treated yourself, so we get a lot of great feedback like that,” Creswell says. “The more I know about my consumer the better my product and business can be.”

Creswell’s approach to stockists, too, has always been very personal, from delivering the product to cafes to having Coles personally close the door in her face. But success lies in persistence and Creswell refused to give up, and kept knocking until Coles agreed to stock her muesli in 20 stores. “I drove around the semitrailers with my little hatchback and delivered my one carton as opposed to a whole truckload of products, and would then run around the store and pick up the products and put them on the shelf. The store managers all knew me,” says Creswell. Despite the small start, the brand was quickly picked up nationwide.