Healthy school lunches have become a popular topic in recent times, with many parents and schools trying to get their kids eat better food.
Perth mum and founder of Adventure Snacks, Tracey Batt, started creating her own range of organic baking mixes in 2014 and sold them online, wholesale and at farmers’ markets. She soon added lunchboxes to make packing healthy lunches easy and fun.
“I found that it was easier to give my kids healthy, non-packaged food when we had the right ‘tools’ on hand to help,” she explains.
“By making food fun, kids are more likely to be open to trying new things.”
By 2018, she realised that to scale up the baking mixes, she needed to go down the path of large-scale manufacturing.
“The lunch box range was growing rapidly so I decided to expand that side of the business. I have increased the range of mealtime-focused products to 1,300, which helps Australian parents of children aged from toddlerhood to primary school. Our focus aligns with the vision to pack healthy lunchboxes and to make mealtimes as a family more fun.”
Adventure Snacks has been growing rapidly in the past three years. Annual revenue grew more than 200 per cent over the past 12 months to over $1 million, with the number of sales also up 200 per cent.
However, when Covid hit Batt had to pivot her business as school closures and lockdowns had a huge impact on her lunchbox sales.
“We quickly pivoted our marketing to focus on the tableware and accessories ranges which were more appealing to families spending more time at home. We also increased the informational/valuable content we were publishing to ensure our audience remained engaged during this time.”
Batt is also adding a social enterprise aspect to Adventure Snacks by partnering with a charity to supply school lunches to underprivileged children.
“I have grown the business to a place where I am able to give back. I want to support relevant not for profits.”
Batt was awarded two People’s Choice Awards in 2020 for customer service and making a difference―health and wellbeing, something that she is very proud of.
“Being announced as a finalist in the awards is a huge achievement for my business. We have had a big year of growth, despite schools closing down for some time last year. To be recognised for the hard work you have done is very encouraging and I have big plans for the future.”
