Acai bowl empire Kiss The Berry in shock liquidation

A Brisbane-based business that capitalised on the popularity of acai bowls and smoothies, growing to three stores, 60 staff and thousands of customers, has gone into liquidation.

A MULTIMILLION-dollar acai bowl empire with stores across Queensland and thousands of customers has collapsed, put in liquidation by its young founder.

A health food chain popular with active Millennials, The Kiss The Berry Group Pty Ltd was Brisbane’s first acai bowl and smoothie-focused chain.

Earlier this year the chain operated stores at South Bank, West End and Burleigh Heads.

Its South Bank store closed in May and the company was put into liquidation on Tuesday.

Sarah Miller founder and owner of Kiss the Berry health food cafe. Photo: AAP/ Ric Frearson

Kiss The Berry was started by then 19-year-old university dropout Sarah Miller in 2013.
Ms Miller, who “fell in love” with the acai berry while visiting Austin, Texas, returned to Australia and grew the business from a stall at the Eagle Farm Markets into a popular chain.

She opened the first Kiss The Berry store at South Bank in 2013 with a vision “to be the world’s greatest acai bowl creators”.

Two more stores followed and in its first four years the company had turned over $4.4 million and boasted about 60 staff, Ms Miller said in 2017.

Ms Miller did not reveal the cause for the company closure but said she had made building it her “absolute priority”.

“I have decided to press pause on our Kiss The Berry journey,” she said.

“This has been the biggest decision I have ever made and took a really long, emotional time to make.

“Thank you to everyone who has been apart of our journey, especially our team.”

In 2017 Ms Miller revealed plans to expand interstate but acknowledged there had been no business strategy in the early years.

“We were having fun, we were doing big beautiful bowls, I had no concept of portion control or wages or proper management, properly dealing with cash or anything like that,” she said.

“I had to teach myself how to use an accounting system and how to run that side of the business.”

The Kiss The Berry Group Pty Ltd is now under the control of Pearce and Heers liquidator Michael Dullaway, who has been contacted for comment.