Adrian Cester, Understanding Your Industry – InnovaBuzz 323

Adrian Cester, Australian Organic Food Co.

In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Adrian Cester, the founder / CEO of Australian Organic Food Company and FlavourMakers, a leading food manufacturing company in Australia. Alongside hundreds of brands they bring to the market for clients including Coles and Woolworths, Adrian is pioneering the organic food movement through his commercial enterprises and networks. In addition to Flavourmakers, which has over 200 employees, Adrian also has a Italian vineyard, cider brand and a number of other businesses.

In our discussion, Adrian and I talked about:

• The opportunities available to organically farmed produce
• The education process required when establishing a new market or approach to market
• Understanding the patterns and building blocks in your industry

Michael Simonetti in episode 238 introduced us to Adrian.

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

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Show Notes from this episode with Adrian Cester of Australian Organic Food Co.

Key points and takeaways from this episode include:

• Organic products are products that are grown without any pesticides or herbicides.
• Australia has 63% of the world’s organic certified lands.
• The Australian Organic Food Co. is a subsidiary of Flavourmakers, a food manufacturing company in Australia. The Australian Organic Food Co. supports Australian organic farming industry and organic produce that are grown in Australia.
• A business has to be sustainable in order to be profitable.
• Organic farming is the future.
• The choices that people make, make a profound difference in the future of a country.
• Part of Australian Organic Food Co’s mission is to make organic products more affordable. 
• The Australian Organic Food Co. helps organic farmers get more from their products by evaluating the products that are being waster and building infrastructures to utilise those things in the future. 
• If you have to do it, DO IT. The earlier you start, the better.
• The most important thing in starting a business is belief. You have to believe in yourself and be passionate about what you want to do. 
• It’s easy to talk to people and sell something when you are passionate about what you do. 
• Failure is part of doing business. You will make mistakes. The important thing is to realise that you got it wrong. Forgive yourself and move on.
• Everything is a learning opportunity. 

The Buzz – Our Innovation Round

Here are Adrian’s answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.

1. #1 thing to be more innovative – Read and research. Be aware of the trends that are happening around you.
2. Best thing for new ideas – Learning how to cook.
3. Favourite tool for innovation – The internet.
4. Keep project/client on track – Clear communication.
5. Differentiate – Be innovative. Everything has been commoditised. If you don’t bring something new to the table, you are not going to cut through.

To Be a Leader

Be optimistic. Believe in the best.

Reach Out

You can reach out and thank Adrian through their website. 

Suggested Guest

Adrian suggested we have a conversation with Michael Fox of the Fable Food Company and Kjetil Hansen, Founder of Deliciou. So Michael and Kjetil, keep an eye on your inboxes for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Adrian Cester.

Links

• Website – Australian Organic Food Co. 
• Website – Flavour Makers
• Twitter – @AustOrganic
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Cool Things About Adrian

• He’s Director of Grifm Culinary, a new venture for the Australian and New Zealand Food Ingredient Industry
• Aside from Flavour Makers and Australian Food Co, he is also the owner of Cester Camillo Wines, Celebrate Health Foods, Passage Foods.

Listen to the Podcast