13 minute read
NOT JUST A SUPER-FAD
Who would have thought beetroot and berries were the way of the future?
By Nick Hall
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Nowadays, it’s more than just elite athletes searching for that extra edge. From highpowered executives to working mums, anyone and everyone is hunting down a healthy lifestyle, and superfood cafes are more than happy to accommodate.
When the term “superfood” first came into the Aussie lexicon, nutritionists were spruiking the health benefits of antioxidants, moderate fat and fibre. It was marketing genius. Taking the often bland and much maligned fruit, nut and fish diet and rebranding it as a healthy, fun and almost supernatural offering broke new ground, and, coupled with an emerging health consciousness, the culture took hold. But superfood was more than just a clever piece of promotion.
The name was given to foods that contain a number of high-value nutrients, aimed at improving overall wellbeing, and despite its good-natured approach, the term didn’t come without its critics.
“One can hardly open a newspaper or magazine without coming across a list of the top superfoods you should be eating, or an article debunking the entire premise of them,” University of Adelaide PhD candidate Jessica Loyer says.
“But superfood consumers are not as naive as one might think. Most express scepticism towards superfood health claims and recognise that they are being sold a romantic image. However, they are happy to succumb to a bit of magical thinking and eat superfoods as a sort of extra insurance, because they believe that they might help and probably can’t hurt.”
Loyer’s observation rings true. Flashback to the early 2010s, at the peak of a kale craze, and you can recall cafes and chains rushing to show off their nutritional credentials. An explosion of goji berries, blueberries, beans and nuts seemingly hit overnight.
It led to a surplus of green smoothies and chia seed puddings, but few brands could get the mix of healthy, hearty and “happy to fork over $12 for a smoothie” market right.
The premium product offered an interesting conundrum for cafe chains. On one hand, health-conscious consumers were becoming increasingly eager to try these so-called superfoods, and were prepared to pay a premium price to boot. On the other, the decision to roll out the new flavours and, more importantly, price points to the traditional cafe menu had the potential to polarise their existing clientele. Introducing organic, boutique suppliers for just a handful of menu items isn’t cheap, and wastage was a huge problem for those considering the bolt-on superfood addition.
But with growing demand failing to be met, the superfood market was ripe for the picking – it just needed a few businesses to lead the charge.
“We identified that there was a massive spike in the health and wellness, acai and superfood category, and we really wanted to bring that movement to Australia. At the time, there wasn’t really anything like that on the domestic market,” Acai Brothers co-founder Sam Carson says.
ACAI BROTHERS
After charting the success of superfood-specific cafes overseas, Sam and business partner Ben Day set to work on developing a dedicated superfood and acai cafe business, finally landing on the Acai Brothers name in 2014.
The pair were quick to open a tiny 25 square metre cafe in Brisbane’s sleepy outer suburbs. Interest steadily grew and it wasn’t long before the inquiries started flooding in.
“We always had the idea of continuing to grow the venture and 12 months into the Wellington Point store, we had an inquiry from a customer’s brother-in-law saying, ‘How do I own one of these?’” Sam reveals.
“Four years down the track and we have 21 stores across the country and we are excited to continue growing, both in store count and menu evolution.”
With bowls packed full of fruit and acai, smoothies and specialised sandwiches, Acai Brothers has fast become one of the country’s leading healthy cafe franchises, but it isn’t the only option on the market.
DELICIA ACAI & PROTEIN BAR
Down south, former Jiu Jitsu athlete and coach Scott Dempster has been building an acai army of his own. After competing in Brazil, where acai is more of a way of life than a boutique brunch option, Scott fell in love with the South American flavours.
“Being part of the sport and its roots, I have a strong connection to Brazilian culture, acai is obviously a big part of that,” he says. “When I came back to Australia in between tournaments, I hunted around in Adelaide but I couldn’t find anything that was done like it was in Brazil, so I decided I was going to do it myself.”
The entrepreneurial spirit had a grip on Scott, but his objectives were twofold.
More than just offering a healthconscious cuisine, Scott wanted to introduce a format that catered to the emerging and convenience-driven, plantbased market.
“Being a plant-based athlete, it’s difficult for me to get nutritious food on the go. There’s plenty of cafes that do meals,
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but you have to sit for 30 minutes, and a lot of people just don’t have that time. For me, I really wanted to do something that incorporates that missing element and offering.”
Focusing on “grab and go” options like acai bowls, coffee, raw treats and protein shakes, Scott whittled his menu down to an easily accessible core offering that could be rolled out across several outlets.
Unlike other chains, the Delicia model was always designed to be franchised, but rather than throwing franchisees in the deep end, Scott wanted to make sure the system worked
“I won’t sell, back or promote anything that I haven’t done myself,” he reveals.
“So, I poured my life savings into opening three stores to test what the brand was going to do. I wanted to make sure I had all the answers. That way, when someone else came to me, I knew what to do.”
It’s an ethos the former fighter has carried with him throughout his life, both personally and professionally.
“Being a coach, an athlete and a fighter all my life, I have to have the answers. In a fight, you get confronted with things you can’t run away from; it’s the same in business.”
Fighting the good food fight is proving to be a fruitful endeavour for the superfood entrepreneurs, particularly among a youth audience.
But it’s hardly a surprise.
YOUTH CULTURE
Both Acai Brothers and Delicia have built their brands on social media, and in a brunch scene where beauty is in the eye of the iPhone holder, likeability is key.
“It’s all about making sure that our online platform is as powerful as our offline,” Sam says. “Our brand online is sexy and sleek and we need to make sure that the customer gets that same experience instore, it’s a really powerful way to market your brand.”
In order to capture the millennial and Gen Z markets in their natural habitats, Acai Brothers sets specific KPIs and objectives
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related to social media posts and engagement. It’s all part of the new era of food retailing, Sam reveals.
“If it isn’t ‘Instagrammable’, don’t send it out. I would rather a staff member take an extra minute to make something look beautiful, than send a product out that may taste great but doesn’t have that aesthetic appeal. At the end of the day, that photo can have so much impact, in either a positive or negative way.”
Sam isn’t alone in his thinking. The evolving nature of healthy eating is seeing more consumers look towards bright and bold for inspiration. The rise of food blogging and the aptly named “click plate” culture has dominated youth culture since the early 2010s. Walk into any trendy cafe in Melbourne and you’re bound to find a pseudo-shoot taking place.
But here in 2020, the tables are turning. It’s no longer just young people weighing into the superfood cafe culture. “We’re really starting to see older generations trying new things, particularly when their doctors tell them to eat healthy, but we’re also seeing millennials dragging their parents in,” Dempster says.
The Delicia founder reveals that a growing number of baby boomers are starting to buy into the scene, looking for a healthier alternative to their fast-food favourites. But it doesn’t come without a challenge.
“There’s been a definite trend towards healthy eating and superfoods, but it’s still a tricky space in terms of customer awareness,” he says.
“It’s difficult for people who have been eating pies and sandwiches all their lives to drop 30 years of behaviour. Humans are creatures of habit, so rewiring that mindset and teaching them what the healthy versions of their favourite foods are is a slow process, but very rewarding.”
NEW VENTURES
With consumer education firm on his mind, Dempster is thriving in his franchisor role. Switching fighting for fruit juicing, the Delicia founder has been able to tap into the key pain points for franchisees, and it’s what the brand is doing now that has him most excited.
The chain recently announced two new-format stores, aimed at helping younger entrepreneurs break into the franchise sector.
Hitting the roads in early December was Delicia’s first mobile superfood caravan, alongside a coffee express format launched in the new year.
“We wanted to introduce a coffee trailer that featured an exclusive, limited product offering in a smaller footprint that could be towed behind a car. We’re big on towed over self-propelled, from an environmental perspective, but it’s also a numbers thing. We will always be a low-cost opportunity because we want
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everyone to be able to open their own business.”
The acai and superfood bar has always had a firm grip on sustainable and affordable operations. Since launching, Delicia has employed a “planet over profit, people over numbers” ethos, which has seen the brand adopt an innovative approach to fitout.
Dempster reveals that while the new mobile models feature a significantly lower entry point, a bricks-and-mortar outlet was still an affordable $100,000 opportunity, doors open.
“We do this through sustainable fitouts, where we use a lot of recycled materials,” he says.
“Additionally, the franchise fee is very low, and we do that as a way of showing that we’re in business together. My business is having stores open, not selling franchises and sailing into the sunset.”
It’s a similar story for Acai Brothers, who launched their inaugural mobile model this year.
“We get so many inquiries for catering, whether it be birthdays, weddings, fetes, sporting events, it’s amazing. Gone are the days where you go to a kids’ sporting match and chow down on a sausage roll or pie; people really want something healthier,” Sam says.
The new Acai Brothers mobile van, alongside an additional small format store, has been specifically designed with a youth consumer in mind.
“We’ve really seen a shift in business ownership, with more entrepreneurs sub-25 wanting to be part of this business beast, but perhaps don’t have the industry education or financial knowledge,” Sam says.
“For us, it was a case of ‘How do we appeal to someone who is younger, that wants to be a small business owner, but doesn’t have the capacity to get a $300,000 business loan?’ That was really the basis for developing these options; a cheaper model that extends to our target market.”
Sam should know. The Acai Brothers co-founder is a former franchisee himself, starting out his careers as a Snap Fitness gym owner. It’s precisely this experience that has helped him to develop his own system of operation.
“Benny and I have been through the hard slog, we’ve done independent business and franchised business so we know the pain points and benefits,” he says.
“There’s a stigma around franchising and franchisors that we’re working to flip. We want to be there for our franchisees, not every franchisor is out to get you. It’s an equation that we need to get right.”
FAD V FUTURE-PROOF While a dependence on delicious and nutritious gave the brands their start, an understanding of the key target market is helping both Delicia and Acai Brothers stay atop the often-competitive health food market.
But despite their success, the question still lingers. Is acai the future of healthy fast-food, or just the flavour of the week? “We always talk about the ‘1 per centers’; and a big part of that is innovation,” Sam reveals. “We are constantly asking ourselves how we can make sure our menu offering is spicy, always different and inviting for customers.”
The Acai Brothers co-founder believes the industry is on the precipice of a great transition, with generational change leading the charge.
“People have such a different outlook on life now, they’re more interested in bio-hacking their world and living longer to be there for their kids. They’re more engaged with the brand and they’ve turned away from the chocolate shakes in search of healthier ingredients.
“Our stores are busier year on year, we’ve seen sales increase by 15 per cent, highlighting that Australians are becoming more educated and open to knowing what superfoods are.” n
