Blending goodness and lifestyle
Ifirst came across YUM Granola and their great products back in 2016. A lot has happened with this business in the last four years, so I figured it was time to catch up with founders Sarah Hedger and Mike Cowlin to see if they have any plans for the future.
Sarah says the last four years have been exciting enough, as they are always looking to improve how they do things and explore new opportunities in the breakfast foods market.
Among the excitement has been the addition of baby Rai to the YUM family, along with two staff.
‘‘Rachel came on board initially to help us with production, but then when I was pregnant with Rai, her role shifted to help me with my job,’’ Sarah says. ‘‘The other addition was Alex, who joined us to help Mike with production.’’
Alex’s story is another worth telling – he is a refugee from Columbia and has created a new life for himself in Nelson. ‘‘We have made it a top priority to pay living wage, as it very important to us our employees feel a part of a team and valued,’’ Sarah says.
When I wrote about YUM, they were making their cereals in a converted shipping container in their back yard. Now they have moved the same commercial kitchen into an industrial building in the centre of Nelson, and are about to add a packaging area so they can increase production further.
Sarah says moving into the much larger space in the former Nelson Mail print building in Wakatu Lane provided the opportunity to increase production, continue creating new flavours, and engage more with the community by setting up an honesty box, enabling locals to buy YUM without any packaging.
Sarah is originally from California and is a chef by trade. She met Mike in Wellington, then reconnected with him in Wanaka, where she was working at the Whare Kea lodge. Mike is a marine biologist by trade and worked for the Ministry of Primary Industries in fisheries management, but it wasn’t food or fishing the couple connected over – it was a shared love of mountainbiking.
‘‘Mountainbiking is a key reason we chose to relocate to Nelson. We can make granola anywhere, but we figured it may as well be in one of the world’s best places for enjoying the outdoors’’ Mike says.
The relocation into their new space has opened up a number of opportunities for the couple and their business.
‘‘We now have space to let the business grow,’’ he says. ‘‘We are really proud of the fact we are growing at about 40 per cent year-on-year since we started, and we have done it all organically ourselves, and with our loyal YUM fans.
‘‘We are unique in that we create our own recipes in-house and see through the entire process of recipe development. Most other companies employ food technologists or food technicians. It is rare for an owner to have the ability and freedom to come up with their own recipes, test them, produce and market them.’’
Another big move they are slowly working their way through is changing their packaging to a home-compostable type.
‘‘It’s about minimising our footprint first and foremost,’’ Mike says. ‘‘Our environmental impact has always been part of our philosophy, but now it is more of a driver. We are working towards being climate positive rather than just carbon neutral, so we actually have a positive impact on our environment and community.’’
Sarah says they decided that the best way to recycle is to not recycle, instead minimising the use of packaging in the first place. ‘‘Rather than using recyclable bags, we are encouraging people to use their own containers.’’
With this in mind, they set up the country’s first granola honesty box outside their premises.
‘‘People drop off their containers 24/7, tell us how much they want, we message them when the order is ready, they pay online and collect it from the honesty box.
‘‘It gives people the opportunity to buy the freshest batch without packaging, and we further incentivise this thoughtfulness with better pricing.’’
The new premises has also given Sarah and Mike enough space to expand the product range, including a popular recent addition. In collaboration with local roastery Sublime Coffee, they created a Coffee Deluxe Granola using Fairtrade organic coffee beans.
‘‘People are loving it,’’ Mike says. It was a finalist in both the NZ Food Awards and NZ Artisan Awards last year.
Another key area of growth for YUM is in food service across the country, offering products in bulk to high-end hotels, lodges, cafes, schools and similar venues.
‘‘It means less packaging because we sell in bulk. It also introduces the product to new customers,’’ Sarah says. ‘‘Chefs love it because it is a high-quality product they can rely on. Because I trained as a chef and worked in luxury lodges, I understand what they need – that’s a huge advantage for us when we sell to them.
‘‘When we are looking for ingredients, the first and foremost focus is on what beautiful New Zealand ingredients can we get our hands on. It’s really neat to work with producers and organic growers around the country.’’
Sarah and Mike also have a strong focus on the health benefits of their tasty products. They only use a touch of Nelson honey as a sweetener, with absolutely no refined sugars.
‘‘When I make recipes, it’s a fine balance between nutrient density and flavour, but keeping even natural sugars as low as possible is very important to us,’’ Sarah says.
With a current range of seven products and another couple in the planning stages, YUM is still growing, but Mike and Sarah make sure they keep a focus on the main reason they chose to live in Nelson. Mountainbiking is still a passion – and Mike even has a shotgun seat for Rai so she can join them on their rides.
‘‘It gives us a balance when we are really busy, gives us a chance to take a breath and refresh ourselves,’’ he says. ‘‘We are super-lucky we can just jump on our bikes and ride from the door here.’’
‘‘We are really proud of the fact we are growing at about 40 per cent year-onyear since we started, and we have done it all organically ourselves, and with our loyal YUM fans.’’ Mike Cowlin, YUM Granola