Koel Thomae, co-founder of Noosa Yoghurt, discusses the logistical hurdles and strict delivery policies Noosa encountered when expanding to ShopRite supermarkets in 2011.
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dannon, Hain Celestial, and Kroger launched six Noosa copycats between 2012–2014
“So within, I would say, sort of that, 20 12 to 20 14 time frame, there was probably six knockoffs that came into the market from Dannon, from Hain Celestial to even Kroger doing a private label version of Noosa.”
Opinion
Thomae preferred Advent-backed professional era over founding era due to culture
“So I sort of see these two very distinct chapters that I was involved with at Noosa was sort of like the Wild West chapter, and then our professional chapter, which we, I think we created an amazing internal culture, and I had an absolute blast in sort of that…”
Opinion
Thomae: Emerging Greek Yogurts Did Not Taste as Good as Queensland Yogurt
“Yeah, they were just coming onto the market, so I could see that there was a trend happening with Greek, but it, to me, it didn't taste as good as Queensland yogurt.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Thomae: Queensland Yogurt agreed to licensing and investment on a handshake
“They essentially said, look, yeah, we think there is an opportunity in the U.S., so We'd happily license to you. We'd want to invest in the business, and we'd be happy to bring, like, a yogurt maker over and just help with the initial startup of the business. …”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mathewson family licensed their yogurt recipe to Noosa for one dollar
“The Australian family was willing to do a pretty, pretty minor lease on the product. Basically it was a dollar license agreement. Because they wanted to be investors.”
Disclosure
Noosa equity was split 50% Mathewson, 25% Graves, and 25% Thomae
“It was a half, a quarter. It's because the Mathewson family put in a larger share of money.”