c ov er sto ry: B a n j o’s B a ke r y
Proof is in the pie for
Banjo’s Bakery Café Jessica Saxby (our cover star) grew up in Banjo’s Bakery Café stores. A family business that began in Hobart in 1984, Jessica was hungry to learn the recipe for success. Now Chief Executive Officer of this wellloved nation-wide brand, Jessica shares her story with Business Franchise magazine.
Jessica, tell us about your path from helping out in the family bakery as a teenager to running a national brand. My working career with Banjo’s started in the original Hobart store as a sales assistant at age 13. I was able to work my way up to sales manager before I made the leap into a HR Support role in Head Office, while I undertook a Bachelor of Commerce at University of Tasmania (majoring in HR, Marketing & International Business). In 2006, I took on my own venture, LivEat
Sandwich Bars, while I was still at university, using my real-world knowledge of the business with my home-grown skills in the food, hospitality, and retail industries. In 2009, I was appointed as a Director on the Board of Banjo’s Corporation – and by age 27, I was appointed as CEO and Managing Director in the fast-growing family business. It was an exciting time to join Banjo’s, as we were ready to refresh the brand. This gave me the opportunity to hit the ground running, converting 90 percent of the network to the new look and feel, resulting in sales growth of 20 percent. We have also joined other market leaders in embracing technology with the introduction of click and collect and third-party sales channels. We have streamlined numerous
12 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand
business processes moving from paperbased recipe books to our own recipe app and digitizing key business procedures like auditing, compliance, and customer feedback. It has been an incredible experience being involved in the business from a young age, watching one store grow to 44 and counting across Australia.
What is the Banjo’s brand all about? What makes you unique? At Banjo’s, our main product offerings are freshly baked goods and coffee. We pride ourselves on developing product lines that encompass fresh ingredients traditionally loved by Australians. Sometimes these products have a twist to surprise and delight our customers, like our Signature Pie range which includes Lasagne, Chicken Parmi and Double Cheeseburger Pies. However, we also continue to offer fan-favourites such as Sausage Rolls, French Vanilla Slice, House Cakes and Danishes. Banjo’s breads are preservative free and our products are baked fresh on-site daily at each of our stores.
