Sunshine Coast organic collagen company to launch into US market

Just a few years after being told they were researching something that could not be done, a Sunshine Coast hinterland-based company is eyeing big moves into the US market.

The collagen market has been estimated to surpass $20 billion annually by 2030.

A Sunshine Coast-based skincare and supplement company is eyeing million dollar moves into the American market, with a US distributor signing up to help get Organic Collagen Australia products into the hands of prominent retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Costco.

Organic Collagen Australia was started by Fiona Dobbrick and Michael Buckley in 2014 and is now manufacturing out of a warehouse in Yandina, with $4m of initial investment going into research and development.

They moved from Victoria to the Sunshine Coast in 2016.

Now, six months after officially launching their certified organic collagen products, the company has lined up with US company Tru Life Distribution in a deal that could attract more than $1m in the first year.

Organic Collagen Australia launched its products six months ago.

Mr Buckley, co-founder and also chief executive, said they started the company after realising there was a gap in the market for ethically and organically sourced collagen.

‘Best vegetarian on the Coast’: Popular restaurant’s shock closure

“To the best of our available knowledge it’s the first in the world, and only (certified organic collagen supplements),” he said.

Mr Buckley said the business first wanted to face the challenge of inventing a solution to the burgeoning agribusiness waste problem.

Organic Collagen Australia co-founder and chief executive Michael Buckley.

“Without the use of harsh chemicals traditionally used in collagen production and using only local Australian suppliers,” he said.

“We were told it couldn’t be done, but we persisted and we did it, now we’re ready to shake up the entire global industry.”

Mr Buckley said, as part of their moves into overseas markets, they had visited major world expos in the US where they received positive feedback.

The company uses organic bovine hides that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

“They really gave us that shot in the arm, to say ‘look, you’ve got a world-class series of products, you deserve to be on the world stage’ and the USA is an ideal export destination,” he said.

“The market is mature and they understand collagen, and the benefits of collagen products.”

He said they had recently sent their first shipments off to the US.

Mr Buckley said if everything stays on track they could end up employing dozens more people in the region.

“We could expand to 50 or 100 very quickly and that’s what we hope to do,” he said.

Mr Buckley said the company also had ambitions about getting into wound-care and the medical space.

“We really just want to keep pushing the boundaries of what we can do with fundamentally a very high-quality collagen,” he said.