With Fonterra, Heinz Wattie’s and Hellers on her CV, Brenda Trotman, the new owner of fermented food company Be Nourished has overhauled the 14-year-old company’s sales force, moved into a new rented factory and set up an all-in-one inventory and ordering system since buying it from founder Joanna Nolan for an undisclosed amount in June last year.
“I am passionate about food and wellbeing. I am a chef by trade with a depth of sales experience within the Food Service sector and I love the diverse nature of the New Zealand Food Industry,” Trotman notes on the company’s website.
“My dream for Be Nourished is to nurture the growth of the business, develop a great team, and grow our organic portfolio, focusing on local New Zealand produce.”
Be Nourished has also recently employed marketing activation agency BrandSpec, added a new sales force, and brought distribution in-house. The result of all the changes has been a 30 percent increase in production and the launch of new products, which has led to a 30 percent uptick in sales in the past six months.
The company’s Auckland factory now processes around 4-5 tonnes of raw, pesticide-free vegetable material from organic New Zealand suppliers for a range of organic kimchi, sauerkraut and gut shot products, available in 12 SKUs.
This year, it released a new krautchi product and the once-seasonal dill pickle sauerkraut is now sold all-year around. The products are available in around 230 stockists including specialty and organic food stores, Countdown,’ Pak’n Save and New World outlets with supermarkets getting behind the booming plant-based and fermented foods products.
