Mum’s genius business idea solves common camping problem

Kim was tired of packing her entire kitchen up just for a short trip but wanted to make sure her family could still enjoy their favourite foods. 

Let's face it - we've all been there. That last-minute weekend camping trip or a well-deserved family holiday, and suddenly, you find yourself wrestling with a familiar dilemma. 

Do you lug around your entire pantry so that you can make delicious and satisfying meals while you’re away?

Do you try and decant some essential spices in zip-lock bags, only for them to inevitably spill throughout the rest of your food?

Or perhaps you get to your destination and do a quick shop at the local supermarket, stocking up on full-sized pantry staples like oils and condiments, only for them to be chucked out at the end of the week when you no longer need them.

Maybe you float the idea of grabbing a pub meal instead or eating at the Surf Club, but this isn’t only expensive, but often more trouble than it’s worth with young kids. Plus, it’s not always available or possible if you’re on a camping trip or somewhere remote.

Most likely, you end up just accepting the fact you might just have to eat bland food for every meal you’re away.

It's a conundrum that mum-of-two Kim Carmody knew all too well. 

She was tired of packing her entire kitchen up just for a short trip but she wanted to make sure her family could still enjoy their favourite foods on holiday. 

So she launched Tiny Traveller co, a travel accessories brand to make family travel more accessible, affordable and fuss-free. It has a range of products that allow you to bring just the right amount of pantry staples from home. 

Genius!

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Image: Supplied

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The frustrating holiday shopping trip that sparked the idea

Speaking to Kidspot exclusively, Kim explained the pivotal moment that sparked her business idea.

“I can remember it vividly. I was at the Woolies in Kingscliff in northern NSW with my husband and two little girls on a family holiday in late 2021,” says Kim.

“All I wanted to do was grab some ingredients for a few quick, easy family favourite dinners that we could have in the apartment. The problem was that everything I thought of cooking required either some herbs or spices or soy sauce, salad dressing, tomato sauce and every meal required something different. 

“I became so overwhelmed trying to figure out what to make and what ‘essentials’ each meal could do without that I ended up not getting anything for dinner at all.”

Image: Supplied

She remembers leaving the supermarket feeling frustrated and thought that surely someone had come up with a solution where you could pack ‘minis’ of your staples from home (a bit like how you decant your toiletries when you travel).

But alas, she found nothing, so decided to do something about it herself.

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Tiny Traveller co was born

She then launched Tiny Traveller co, her own range of beautifully designed mini travel containers. 

“The idea behind the concept is that rather than purchasing all new items on holiday, you decant your existing products from your own pantry into these containers,” she says.

Tiny Traveller co estimates that holidaymakers are throwing away over 50% of the items they bought to use on holidays, wasting an estimated $40 per trip. 

The Tiny Traveller Co. range currently includes:

• Tiny Spreads – a set of four 100ml jars for all your condiments, toppings or spreads
• Tiny Sauces – a set of four 100ml bottles for things like sauces, oils and salad dressings
• Tiny Spices – five connectable 20ml spice jars to make sure your holiday meals are packed with flavour.  

To highlight the cost-saving benefits of these containers, Kim uses the Tiny Spices containers as an example. “These containers include five spice jars that can each hold two teaspoons of product. Given a full-size spice jar holds roughly 20 teaspoons, you’re using about .30c worth of product while away, rather than spending $3 on a full jar that you’ll discard at the end of your trip.  If you times that by five, it starts to add up.”

Image: Supplied

How to use Tiny Traveller Co. to make delicious meals while camping or on holidays

So, you might be wondering, what are some specific examples of pantry staples that you could put in the containers in order to help create delicious meals? 

Kim says that there’s really no limit to what you can use them for and she’s constantly blown away by how her customers think outside the box. 

She says, “The Tiny Spreads are great for breakfast condiments, so Vegemite, peanut butter, Nutella etc. I’ve had a friend who got sick of forking out so much on ice cream every day of their holiday, so instead packed hundreds and thousands in a Tiny Spreads jar and just bought a tub of ice cream and ice cream cones at the start of their trip. So smart!”

In terms of Tiny Sauces – Kim says that people usually use these containers for storing olive oil, salad dressing, tomato sauce and soy sauce.

Then for Tiny Spices, Kim says salt and pepper are a must - "I’ve learned it’s not safe to assume these will be available in Airbnb’s!"

"Cinnamon is great for muesli and porridge and my kids will eat anything with all-purpose seasoning on it,” Kim adds.

“Other people have told me how great it is to go fishing and then have all the herbs and spices at your fingertips to cook with straight off the boat. 

“And people have also said our products are great for small places like pop-up camping kitchens and caravans, where there isn’t much room for full-sized items.”

Originally published as Mum’s genius business idea solves common camping problem