Jim’s Jerky set to deal in Vietnam

A Darling Down’s family owned business looks set to spread its wings and head overseas, thanks to a new deal with a well-known importer. Details here.

FAMILY DREAM: Mother-daughter duo Emily Pullen (left) and Cathie Tanner of Jim's Jerky are looking at exporting their product to Vietnam. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A family-operated business on the Darling Downs is set to cross the seas in the coming months, with a new deal signed this week.

Charlton-based company Jim’s Jerky was approached by the Wagner Corporation to become involved in an export deal with Vietnam’s Imex Pan Pacific Group.

Jim Tanner, co founder and director of Jim’s Jerky, said the meeting with IPPG’s vice president Philip Nguyen for exports into the Vietnam duty-free market was “very positive”.

“We’ve been looking at markets we thought would be good for Australian beef snacks and Jim’s Jerky, and Vietnam was one of the countries that was quite high on that list,” Jim’s Jerky CEO Emily Pullen said.

“They already snack on beef snacks, and they have a really good appreciation for Australian beef and Australian produce, so it seems like a good fit.”

When Mr Tanner and his wife Cathie started the company 17 years ago, he said international exports were not on their horizon.

“Our hope was that it would grow domestically,” he said.

“We got some inquires from the Philippines to begin with, which alerted us to the fact there was an opportunity to export internationally.

“IPP Group is looking for all sorts of produce from the Darling Downs, and they tried our products and they liked them and thought they can find a good market for them in Vietnam.”

Vietnam’s IPP Group will work closely with Darling Downs companies to deliver a direct freight route between counties.

Ms Pullen said the opportunity, though in the early stages, would allow the company to expand.

“Being able to export it from Wellcamp which is right on our doorstep is pretty fantastic.

“We are pretty hopeful to get cracking on it,” she said.

“If it works, we’d love to work with Philip and his company to grow our presence and could even roll it out to wider conveniences and even supermarket spaces.

“It will be a sustainable growth hopefully.

“For us, it will mean more employment opportunities for staffing, because I think our team would become overwhelmed pretty quickly,” she said.

Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner said the created “commerce corridor” between the two countries would offer a fantastic opportunity for local businesses.

“We’re committed to fostering cross border trade to benefit the region’s producers,” he said.