swaPPing thE hEEls For gUMboots
Fleurieu gifts director and ex-executive
recognised as top small business in Australia
by PAcK & seNdAn ex-executive who dreamed about leaving “the 9-5 grind” to sell
sustainable mini-gardens has been announced as the overall winner of
the inaugural PACK & SENd Small Business logistics Grant.
Fleurieu Gifts, based in South Australia, provides eco-friendly alternatives
to cut flowers, sourced from the Fleurieu Peninsula. Since its inception
in 2014, founder and director Charlene Maney has used the power of
e-commerce and online marketing to bring in six figures of annual sales –
literally growing her business from the soil up.
Charlene was one of eight entrepreneurs selected as finalists for the Grant,
beating out over 130 entries across the nation from small businesses
spanning health and wellbeing, electronics and technology, food and
beverage, art and culture, recreation and fitness, and fashion. Women led
the charge in an all-female final.
A desire to spend more time with her family drove Charlene to swap her
successful corporate job for more muddy ventures in 2014.
“I was working long hours and commuting into the city for work and just
wishing I could see more of my family. In the end I decided to leave my
corporate gig, combine my love of gardening and beautiful things, and
create my online business – making mini-gardens.”
Charlene receives a prize pack that includes $10,000 worth of parcel and
freight services from PACK & SEND, a three-month business mentorship
with Hannah Staples, co-founder of Peppermint Grove Australia, and parcel
courier and freighting advice from a PACK & SEND account manager for
a year.
Healthy quick service restaurant franchise Zambrero has opened
its 50th Queensland restaurant, cementing the company’s
position as Australia’s largest Mexican Franchise.
The 50th Queensland site, located in Robina brings the brand’s
national restaurant total to 146, a growth rate un-tainted by the
13,000,000+ meals the company has given away as part of its Plate
4 Plate initiative. True to their tagline - Mexican with a Mission,
Zambrero is determined to tackle world hunger one meal at a time.
Through their Plate 4 Plate initiative, each restaurant donates a highly
ZaMbrEro HITS FRANCHISE MILESTONE
nutritious meal to someone in the developing world for every burrito or
bowl purchased. Similarly, for every retail product purchased a meal is
donated to someone in an underprivileged Australian community via
Australia’s largest food relief agency Foodbank. Queensland has been
a strong growth market for the brand, with 32 restaurants launched in
the last two and a half years alone.
Zambrero CEO, Karim Messih said “As it sits at present, we are seeing
a growth of 40+ restaurants each year and with further customer-
centric innovations in the pipeline and a strong team of partners
around us, we expect this growth rate to further increase over the
coming year.”
Despite the competition that exists in the QSR marketplace, Zambrero
continues to lead the way with their innovation and commitment to
nutritious, fresh Mexican inspired food.
“Not only were we the first Mexican QSR to introduce a drive-through
restaurant back in 2015, but we were also the first QSR in Australia to
introduce the game changing black-rice gluten free tortilla in late 2016
as part of our superfoods range.”
“Our customers are the most important part of our business. So with
every innovation we make, their wants and needs are always at the
forefront,” Mr Messih said.