Oats distributor wins big
Gloriously Free Oats boss picks up national award
TOOWOOMBA businesswoman Kylie Martin has taken out a national award for entrepreneurship.
The founder and director of Gloriously Free Oats Australia won the gold award in the food and beverage category of the Aus Mumpreneurs Awards 2019 in Melbourne on Friday.
She was also a finalist in the people’s choice category.
Ms Martin explained GF Oats Australia were sourced from GF Harvest in the US and then distributed across Australasia from their warehouse in Meringandan, just north of the Garden City.
“They are one of the purest uncontaminated oats in the world today and are certified gluten-free in various nations around the world,” she said.
“However, in Australia they are unable to be labelled gluten-free due to current labelling restrictions.”
Ms Martin said she was thrilled to win the prestigious award.
“It really is a credit to my partner and fellow director Garry McGeorge and our GF Oats team that I was able to accept this award on everyone’s behalf,” she said.
“We’ve all worked really hard to bring a great product to Australia and New Zealand, and we have some exciting expansion plans.
“We’re now looking to launch vegan choc-chip biscuits next month and have presold 10,000 packets so far.
“They will be distributed through vending machines, school canteens and nursing homes with plans for them to be available more widely down the track.”
She said the business had grown by 25 per cent year-onyear since they re-branded in 2016.
Ms Martin said the awards had focused on the business’s three major achievements in the past year which had included securing their own warehouse, expanding the product range to ensure they were a year-round product, and putting together a team of various experts to be able to produce GF oats domestically.
“It really is our 2020 vision to have GF oats grown, harvested and distributed from Australia,” she said.
“We have some other wonderful plans in the pipeline too, so watch this space.”