Top 20 Under 40: Nodo founder Kate Williams

A company now raking in a $5 million annual turnover began after a night of pottering in the kitchen yielded something very special.

IT’S hard to believe selling doughnuts at New Farm’s Powerhouse markets less than 10 years ago could turn into a multimillion-dollar business gearing itself for nationwide expansion.

Kate Williams’ Nodo brand has become a Brisbane household name offering an array of gluten-free products alongside her signature sweets.

After being diagnosed with coeliac disease over 15 years ago, the 36-year-old realised the lack of quality and variety in gluten-free options.

“I was so sick of going to bakeries and my only options were orange and almond cake and friands,” she says.

“One night I got into the kitchen and started experimenting with gluten-free flour blends and then thought, ‘What’s not funner than doughnuts?’”

Since perfecting the gluten-free flour ratio and opening her first store in Newstead in 2016, Nodo has cemented itself as a Brisbane institution.

Williams now has three stores, almost $5 million in annual turnover and an Instagram following of more than 40,000 people.

Nodo owner-operator Kate Williams at her original cafe in Newstead. Picture: Liam Kidston

Williams is now seeking to expand in Queensland, as well as interstate and overseas.

“We do get people who come in and say they flew in from Melbourne or America and follow us on Instagram, and that we were their first stop in Brisbane,” she says.

Williams says the company’s growth online has been completely “organic” and a lot of customers don’t realise that all products contain zero gluten.

She is also launching a new range of products such as gluten-free flour in an attempt to diversify the brand and allow customers to “take a little Nodo home with them”.

“I believe that our gluten-free blend is superior to anything else on the market,” she says.

In five years the young businesswoman, who currently employs 70 people, hopes for her signature flour to be shipped globally and to have a store in every major capital city.

She is currently looking at opening a second CBD store hoping to capture more foot traffic during business hours.

“Every business has challenges,” she says.

“We don’t take anything for granted, you have to stay on your A-game always.”

Pregnant with her second child, the former Sydneysider said Nodo’s HQ will always be in Brisbane.

“I think Brisbane’s food and dining scene has changed dramatically,” she said. “It’s so sophisticated now.”