Local fairy floss business creates opportunities for Georges River youth

What started as a part time experiment in early 2016, at the local markets here in Georges River, has now become a full-time business venture for owners, Paola and Michael Karamillis.

Fluffy Crunch is Australia’s only multi award winning fairy floss manufacturer, putting a fun gourmet spin on a carnival classic.

Paola and Michael encountered their fair share of challenges over the period of covid lockdowns as they had to rapidly transition from an events-based business to an online store. They lost their labour force almost entirely as it was predominately made up of casual staff and international students, who all went back home before the border closures. Through this period of struggle, Paola and Michael found hope and prosperity in the local community and started employing the youth in the Georges River area.

“We started to offer after school job security and an opportunity to learn new skills that would help prepare local students for the workforce.”

They currently have eight staff members under the age of 18 working for them after school and Fluffy Crunch has been their first ever workplace experience.

“This has kept us moving forward and we plan to keep doing more of what works and invest more time into training and developing our team. This process has also highlighted the need for us to create better systems, processes, and documents around operations.”

Fluffy crunch has been able to provide fantastic development opportunities for their younger staff members. For example, Amber who is studying graphic design at university has been helping design some new products for them including a range of Fluffy Crunch Tote Bags which were sold at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and has also helped with some website design.

Other staff members Maddy and Katalina, who are studying Law and Business Management respectively, have stayed on to help manufacture fairy floss and help with content creation on the Fluffy Crunch social media platforms.

They have also started training senior team members, who have just finished year 12, to supervise the younger team members.

This incredible business has helped to open doors and opportunities for many young people living in Georges River and their journey is a testament to what can be achieved and overcome through the strength of a community.

Fluffy Crunch is a part of Georges River Business, connecting businesses and people across Georges River. Register for this free networking tool by visiting the Georges River Business website.