Taste: Going down a treat

TASTE: What started out as a hobby for Charlotte Rees has now turned into a healthy business.

Home-baked bars go down a treat

CHARLOTTE Rees was managing the cafe at Fullers Bookshop when her first child Seb was born in 2009. Full-time work became a bit much, but so was the thought of applying for part-time jobs.

An energy bar she made of oats, spelt and sultanas had been very popular at Fullers, so she decided to have a go at selling them.

She would make energy bars one day and deliver them to cafes the next, and be mother for the other five days.

As she used unrefined sugar (mostly rapadura made simply by evaporating the juice from sugar cane) in all her products and only natural ingredients, she called her business Healthy Treats by Mrs Rees.

Soon she was asked if she had any gluten-free products, and added some to the growing range. Vegan and paleo-friendly eats also arrived, in addition to the treats – the range of 13 now includes biscuits, chocolate bars, bombs and balls, brownies, cup cakes and cacao and hazelnut spread.

After a couple of years, when she and husband Jon were still packing products at 3am, the couple had to decide whether Charlotte had a hobby or a business. They went for a business, and Jon quit his job as a chef at the Mount Nelson Signal Station and Mr Rees joined Mrs Rees in the kitchen. Turnover has increased 30-fold from the earliest days.

In fact Mr Rees took over the kitchen duties.

“People have this image of a woman in a pinny working over a cast-iron stove,” Jon says. In fact it is him rattling around in a draughty commercial kitchen at Geeveston.

Rather than working one day a week as Charlotte did at the start, he works six days of 14 hours each some weeks, but might have three days off another week.

And he is able to be at home in Franklin very quickly and always there for the witching hour before dinner.

On October 25, Seb, whose birth started it all, will turn six. Charlotte will have a birthday the day before, and their second child, Thomas, turns two on October 27.

Now Charlotte delivers the Mrs Rees products to about 40 outlets every week, plus there are sales in Melbourne and Sydney, and they are about to be distributed nationally.

Healthy treats by Mrs. Rees snacks. Picture: Facebook

Expansion has meant a change in packaging. The Rees used to stamp, and press separate front and nutrition labels to strong plain brown paper bags. Just before Christmas they switched to packaging with the information pre-printed on strong brown paper bags and boxes – and sales dropped for a while.

They think it was partly due to packaging not being recognised. At their appearances at the Farm Gate Farmers Market a couple of times a month Charlotte says they would field remarks such as: “Oh this looks like the same stuff as the people who used to be here.” “We are those people,” they would be reassured.

There is also the question of how much to promote the “healthy” aspect. Charlotte said when they used to have a sign at the market stressing their vegan and paleo friendliness “you could practically see people veering away saying ‘that’s
not me’.”

“The men are the worst,” says Jon. “But if you can just get them to taste it they really like them.”

The market is good for research too. At each appearance they bring products available only at the market, such as choc-dipped vienna fingers, quinoa and maple Anzac biscuits and coconut caramel roughies and peanut caramel bars (their version of Bounty and Snickers).

The last two chocolate bars are now so popular, they will become the next products available to shops and cafes.

From November Healthy Treats by Mrs Rees is at the Farm Gate Farmers Market in Hobart every week. Refer to their Facebook page for appearances until then.