City Beat: Former Servcorp top gun Susie Martin stars buffalo dairy in Laos

FORMER high-flying executive Susie Martin has traded in her 18-year career to launch a unique business - a buffalo dairy.

Susie Martin with former Federal MP Mark Vaile.

SHE calls it her midlife crisis “with a purpose rather than Porsche’’.

Susie Martin has traded in a high-flying 18-year career at serviced office provider Servcorp to launch the first buffalo dairy in Laos.

No, we are not making this up.

Indeed, your diarist crossed paths with the Aussie expat during a recent sojourn across the delightful southeast Asian country.

Martin, whose clients once included BHP and Google, now gets her hands dirty at the rural commercial venture just outside of Luang Prabang.

After work dispatched her to the region, she moved to Laos in 2014 and was astounded to learn she could not buy buffalo curd.

“It turns out that, incredibly for them, residents of Luang Prabang had no idea, in a land full of buffalo, that the beasts could be milked’’ Martin recalled.

Along with a few business partners, she started renting buffalo in 2016 from area farmers and planted 15ha of grass to feed them.

Today the group employs a full-time staff of 30, who help churn out yoghurt mozzarella, ricotta, ice cream and cheesecake.

Local hotels, restaurants and markets have started selling the products and she hopes to eventually crack other ASEAN markets, including the big enchilada, China.

Susie Martin illustration by Brett Lethbridge

While the venture is not yet profitable, Martin soon hopes to double the herd to 200 and has a crowd-funding campaign to raise $30,000 to buy 20 pregnant buffalo.

Farmers are also set to reap more than just rent. A crossbreeding program at the dairy aims to boost milk yields and ensure better calf survival rates, helping farmers reap bigger profits from larger and more productive buffalo.

Meanwhile, back home, things are looking decidedly less upbeat for Martin’s former employer.

Servcorp, which suffered an 85 per cent plunge in half-year net profit to $2.5 million, is in the midst of a dust-up with the ACCC.

The regulator launched Federal Court action in September alleging the company uses unfair terms in its standard contracts with small businesses.

These include automatically renewing contracts and the ability increase prices without notice. Servcorp is defending the case.

HIGH STEAKS GAME

Andrew Baturo is poised to do it again.

The seasoned Brisbane restaurateur takes the wrapping off his latest venture on Tuesday night, unveiling Walter’s Steakhouse at a historic spot in the CBD.

Walter’s Steakhouse chef Adam Herbert, bar manger Brendon Osmers and general manager Jason O’Brien-Ross. Picture: AAP/ Ric Frearson

It’s a soft opening but Baturo says the project has spawned “a huge amount of buzz in the city’’ and he expects a good roll-up.

“The phones have been ringing hot and heavy,’’ he told City Beat yesterday.

Baturo and his business partners, music industry players Paul Piticco and Denis Sheahan, have transformed the space once occupied by the old Restaurant II across from the Botanic Gardens.

It’s the team’s fourth venture together, following the launch of the The Gresham bar and the Popolo and Heya eateries.

Baturo won’t say how much has been tipped in to Walter’s since signing the lease last year but you can bet it’s a tidy sum, given the New York-inspired steakhouse vibe. “Anyone who enjoys The Gresham won’t be disappointed,’’ he said.

Baturo was equally tight-lipped about his “unique and specialised cooking process’’ for the steaks, although in jest he mentioned something about 11 secret herbs and spices. Lol!

FEELING CHUFFED

Patrick Dixon’s team won the Mater Foundation golf fundraiser at the Brisbane Golf Club.

Veteran real estate player Patrick Dixon is still feeling pretty chuffed after sponsoring (and then winning!) the Mater Foundation fundraising event at the Brisbane Golf Club late last week.

Dixon’s team bested more than 140 other players as the Mater raked in about $25,000. Also spotted on the links were the likes of broker Lachlan Morgan and developer Bill Henderson.