Northern beaches mum’s multimillion-dollar goat milk baby food business

A northern beaches mum has revealed her daughter was the inspiration behind a multimillion-dollar goat milk baby food business that is expanding into China.

Kristy Car and daughter Chloe, 13. Picture: (AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook)

Meet Chloe, the 13-year-old Newport schoolgirl who is the inspiration behind a multi-million homegrown business on the beaches that is expanding into China.

It was Chloe’s sensitivity to cow’s milk that prompted her mum Kristy Carr to explore goat’s milk baby food for her.

“I was disturbed by the baby food options in the supermarket at the time, it was not as good as home made,” she said.

Bubs Australia’s Kristy Carr holds one of the products.

So Mrs Carr, who has a background in marketing, sourced some goat milk and set about making baby formula.

Soon friends and other local parents heard about the goat milk baby food and started placing orders.

“In the beginning we rented a kitchen in Collaroy, using it as night as it was cheaper, make the baby food ourselves and delivered it to people’s home,” she said.

Today Mrs Carr is the founder and CEO of Bubs Australia which is based in Frenchs Forest and poised to expand into the large Chinese market.

Bubs Australia was established in 2006, acquired a goat milk product company in 2017, raised another $40 million last year to pursue opportunities in China and late last year signed a deal to obtain an additional 6.2 million litres of goats milk each year from New Zealand.

Kristy Carr, founder and a director of ASX listed company Bubs. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

The company is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and saw its shares surge eightfold in one year.

Last year the company announced it would supply produce on up to 20 online platforms in China.

“Sales into China are 23-fold up on the same period last year,” Mrs Carr said.

According to the company’s quarterly report gross released in Janaury the gross revenue of $21 million for the first half of the financial year 2019 exceeded the gross

revenue for full financial year 2018.

Mrs Carr said 20 new jobs have been created in the Frenchs Forest headquarters, ten recently filled and another ten positions up for grabs.

“We will be expanding most department teams, including finance, marketing, supply chain management, commercial sales and China account management,” she said. “We have recruited ten new staff in the past six months, and likely to employ that many again over the next six months.”

Mrs Carr said Australian-produced food is highly regarded in Asia and many people from southeast Asia tolerate goat’s milk better than milk.

The Bubs Australia formula, cereals and rusks are available in supermarkets and pharmacies and a 800grm tin of formula costs $35.

Chloe still drinks goat’s milk although she can tolerate cow’s milk now and enjoys both.