Health food leader plans GC expansion
AUSTRALIA’S leading seller of frozen acai berries is planning to open a new manufacturing hub on the Gold Coast as it continues to expand its product range in the health foods space.
Amazonia CEO Yohann Azlee said business in February for the Miami-based company was 26 per cent ahead of the same time last year.
He attributed the increase to the effect of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour.
“The business did take a hit as did most businesses (from COVID-19),” he said.
“I think what set us apart was that during COVID people became more aware of their health. They became more focused on what they eat, what they buy.
“Now coming out of covid we’re in a much better position that we’ve ever been.”
Mr Azlee, who joined the company in January 2020, said the next “big milestone” for Amazonia was to open its own manufacturing facility on the Gold Coast.
Currently its products, which include plant-based protein powders and frozen pitaya and coconut, are produced and packaged interstate by contract manufacturers.
“We are looking at manufacturing on the Gold Coast,” he said.
“For me, a big part of this is about gaining efficiencies and controlling our destiny.”
Mr Azlee said it is looking for 1500-2000sqm of space in the northern corridor.
He believes, if successful, it can double its full-time staff, which now numbers 25 at its head office in Miami and push into more export markets.
Amazonia, which was founded in 2008 by university dropout Dwayne Martens, exports to a number of countries including Korea, where it is the leading supplier of plant-based supplements, and the United Arab
Emirates where Amazonia is number one for frozen acai.
Mr Azlee said he saw more opportunities in the Middle East market for its products.
The company now has more than 70 products in its range, including plant-based alternative meats.
Mr Azlee said he came on board partly to grow the international business.
The Vienna-born executive said his approach draws on his experience growing up as the son of diplomats and moving countries every two to four years.
“It was a really interesting childhood and I learned a lot about different cultures,” he said.
He said Amazonia had been growing its export markets but in a “piecemeal” fashion and without enough structure.
“The business has been chugging along and they want to grow but they don’t know how and that’s where I come in,” he said.
Mr Azlee said his early months at Amazonia, just weeks before COVID hit the economy, was a stressful period.
“It was touch and go during that period. We had to do partial standdowns like most businesses. The saving grace is we did not fully stand down our teams. We tried to make sure everyone was fully employed at slightly reduced hours because we knew we were getting out of this.”
Mr Azlee said the company had diversified its product range and retail footprint greatly in the past six years.
Its products can now be found in most health foods stores and national pharmacy chains.
He said it may have started with frozen acai but the company was much more than that now.
“We are not just pigeon holed in one channel,” he said.
“That was a big catalyst in us pulling through COVID.”