Teen’s sweet earner
A TALENTED Tasmanian teenager, too young to get a job at her local supermarket or fast-food outlet, has instead founded a sweet new business with her beekeeping mother, producing unique leatherwood honey popcorn, with interstate stockists already interested.
Richmond’s Audrey Long, 13, who has also followed mum Anita, of fourthgeneration Coolgardie Farm, into beekeeping, said it was her desire for a swank new driver — she is golfmad — that led her to push for the expansion of Coolgardie’s operations.
The result is Hive & Cob, leatherwood honey popcorn, which is now stocked at locations including Trevallyn Grocer, Verde Hobart, The Honey Pot at Huonville, and Bruny Island Honey.
The business has also just shipped its first orders interstate, to stockists in Brisbane and Melbourne.
“Mum always used to make (honey popcorn) for my school class and we all really liked it, so we decided to make it a business,” Audrey said.
“When I go into shops and see it (stocked) I get really happy ... overwhelmed with excitement.”
Audrey said she “does a bit of everything” with mum Anita, but dreads labelling stock, which gobbles up “hours” of her week.
Anita said Audrey had been the driving force behind the business, which produced its first batch of popcorn in March after much trial and error.
“She is literally my partner, she does lots of work, more than me sometimes,” Anita said.
“She does everything, she’s doing the making — we do it together — she does packaging, she’s helping me design a brochure to get new business, she’s doing just as much as me. The only thing she’s not allowed to do is the hot toffee.”
Anita said the decision to use leatherwood honey was because it was uniquely Tasmanian and it was a complex taste that required getting used to, hence Hive & Cob could introduce consumers to the product in an accessible way.
Anita said such has been the early success of Hive & Cob that the Longs plan to crop organic popping corn this season. They currently graze prime lamb and, of course, produce honey.
While they are using organic leatherwood honey from a South-West Tasmania producer for now, they do have the ability to use their own honey in the future. The Longs simply didn’t have the chance to take their hives out to the leatherwood forests this season.
Down the track, Anita and Audrey hope to build a commercial kitchen at Coolgardie, and Audrey would like to produce leatherwood sweets such as lollipops.