Australia’s sugar-free snack food producer, Noshu Foods has launched its maiden capital raising as it aims to expand into international markets like China, Britain and Europe.
The Noshu brand which means ‘No sugar’ in the native aborigine language, was established in 2013 by entrepreneur Rachel Bajada and it offers reduced-sugar snack products such as doughnuts, low-carb indulgence bars, nut bars, pancake and cookie mix. Earlier this year it launched chocolate-based confectionery.
Bajada commented that the company will focus in the confectionery/bakery space as it offers more scope for growth and innovation, as multinationals find it challenging to innovate in this category and yet maintaining a competitive price point.
As the market recovers from the pandemic, there is however a shift from ‘ready-to-bake’ to ‘ready-to-eat’ as consumers are no longer stuck at home.
Noshu is now getting ready to explore out of Australia and it is soon launching a product with a major retailer in Shanghai, China. Currently, Noshu products are sold at Woolworths, Coles and IGA supermarkets, and exported to Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Bajada said that Noshu is now exporting to Southeast Asia and is about to start exporting to China. She added the opportunity is enormous as these regions have massive population, many of whom suffering from Type 2 Diabetes. Noshu next expansion strategy will be further away markets like UK and Europe.
Noshu is now actively raising its first external capital to fund its growth plans. It has previously considered bringing in an industry partner to support growth, but has instead decided to proceed alone.
Noshu Foods utilise natural sweeteners like stevia in its products, and at the same time it also currently works actively towards using sustainable packaging and raw materials in its products.
In the current financial year, Noshu is expected to record A$38 million (US$8.52 million) in sales and it projects revenue to multiply by 2.5 times over the next 3 years.
