Start-up puts its founders among cream of the crop

The healthy snack food industry is worth around $2.2 billion in annual revenues, according to an IBISWorld report, Health Snack Food Production in Australia, which was released in March.

With demand rising among consumers, more manufacturers are expected to enter the market. An interesting statistic highlighted by the report is that health snacks other than the top categories featuring grain-based, protein and fruit or nut snacks, make up 22.5 per cent of the market, bringing in revenues of more than $480 million.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean anyone can enter the market and be successful.

“Starting any business can be difficult at times but some are obviously harder to start than others,” Ash says.

“Those with higher barriers to entry include businesses that require a large amount of capital. These businesses are hard to start unless you have financial backing. It’s not impossible but planning is made even more vital.

“The importance of careful capital management can be clearly seen with some of the challenges the property industry in particular has faced in recent times.”

For the founders of GYM BOD ice cream, Cian Dawson and Courtney Brown, the premise was simple.

“We wanted to create healthy ice cream that didn’t taste like crap,” Dawson says. “We were dissatisfied with the low-calorie options available at the supermarkets at the time and thought, ‘How hard can it be?’

“We wanted to eat ice cream every day and not feel like we were sacrificing our health. We wanted to create a product that didn’t compromise on flavour, texture or nutrition.”

The process started back in 2018 when Brown purchased a $99 soft-serve machine from eBay and created a high protein, low sugar soft-serve ice cream. Buoyed by their success, the pair decided to expand their business by buying a 136kg soft-serve machine from China and set it up in their garage in Toowoomba.

“Starting a business is a dream for many Australians. “The promise of being your own boss, choosing your own hours, doing things the way you want and the promise of earning more money . . . In reality, you will likely work harder than you ever had, and you may not earn the same amount of money in the short term.”

— Andrew Ash, HLB Mann Judd Sydney business advisory director

“We moved to Sydney and bought a food truck and then spent every weekend travelling around Sydney’s top gyms giving out our high protein, low sugar soft-serve ice cream,” Dawson says. “Gymgoers loved it, and asked where they could get the product mid-week – so we thought we better get the product into a tub.”

Getting a foothold in the market

For Dawson and Brown, securing a meeting with supermarket behemoth Coles and then getting them to commit to the product was a decisive turning point, catapulting them onto the Australian Financial Review’s list of fastest-growing companies.

“We pitched to Coles and later that year, in September 2021, Coles launched GYM BOD on a trial basis in 70 stores across the east coast of Australia,” Dawson says.

One year later, Coles took the entire range of GYM BOD products national, distributing them to 824 stores, with the couple now projecting sales in excess of $4 million for the current financial year, coming head-to-head with international competitors such as Halo Top and YoPRO.

“We will sell our one millionth tub of GYM BOD by the end of 2023-24,” Dawson says. “Authenticity is a key pillar of the GYM BOD brand, which is created by ice cream addicts, for ice cream addicts.

“We do not do any influencer marketing. All marketing is organic, and user generated. Our mantra is that if people try our ice cream and like it, they will tell their friends about it and, boy, are they! We also use TikTok as our marketing platform of choice to candidly show behind the scenes content of running and growing our ice cream brand.”

Surviving and thriving

The IBISWorld report notes: “With an abundance of niche product opportunities available, small-scale companies have entered the industry in specialised segments, like protein bars, with relative ease. The higher profit margins attached to premium-priced healthy snack foods also attracts new entrants.”

“We wanted to create healthy ice-cream that didn’t taste like crap. We were dissatisfied with the low-calorie options available at the supermarkets at the time and thought, ‘How hard can it be?’”

— Cian Dawson, GYM BOD co-founder

Dawson says GYM BOD intends launching a range of new desserts into the Australian, New Zealand and international markets, but “just need to find a strategic partner”.

But establishing and growing your small business is no easy task.

“The businesses that survive in hard times, and thrive in good, share some common traits,” Ash says. “They focus on having the right people on their team. The best people can find opportunity in bad situations, and the wrong people will find a way to destroy a good thing. That’s why the best business owners look for the best people. Create a good culture and lead by example. No exception.

“Those that succeed also have a clear vision and resolute focus on achieving it. They keep their finger on the pulse. Making sure their people are bought in. They understand the key drivers within their business and stay in control of them. They are financially responsible and think long term.

“They also importantly compete in games they can win and focus on their competitive advantage and areas of competence.”

To learn more, visit www.gymbod.com.au.