32 Founding the Australian Superfood Co, with Hayley Blieden

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Hayley Blieden is a qualified Dietitian and the founder of the Australian Superfood Co. Her brilliant company celebrates native Australian produce and brings awareness to the nutritional benefits of these amazing foods. Hayley sheds so much amazing insight into the behind the scenes of creating and running a product based business in the health industry.

In this episode, Hayley covers:

How she knew she didn’t want to follow the traditional path of a dietitian and work in clinical practice.
Her previous roles working as a dietitian for North Melbourne Football club and then meal planning for the company that started the million kilo challenge.
Learning about the product space and finding her passion for this area.
How the Australian Superfoods Co has evolved since it launched in 2015.
Getting a signed on by one of the largest distribution companies in Australia.
The challenges of running the business and why she considered calling it all off at one point in time.
Starting with superfood bars and pivoting to powders and extracts based on demand.
The importance of asking the market what they want.
Her experience with expos, including a trip to an enormous one in Shanghai.
Why sourcing products is one of the most challenging aspects of her business and how she goes about this process.
Her experiences visiting indigenous communities.
Starting a family while launching a business and her commitment to being a present mother, wife and daughter.
Her insight into capital requirements for a business of this kind.
Growing her team and learning to delegate certain tasks.
Insight into typical roles and tasks within her business.
Her mission of increasing awareness, affordability and accessibility of Australian native ingredients.
How she uses her business to give back to indigenous communities.
The experience of supplying the Masterchef pantry with Australian Superfood Co products.
Using social media as a marketing tool.
Why you need a good support network and how this has impacted her success.
The importance of knowing your why.
And so much more!