Q & A with Jacinta Plazzer founder Yeppoonie Smoothie
ABOUT JACINTA
My name is Jacinta Plazzer, I am 47yo and a mum to two teenage daughters, Heidi 15 and Freya 13. I am originally from Victoria and settled in Yeppoon in Central QLD in 2021 when I moved back to Australia after living in Phuket for five years. I wanted to live in a small, not overly touristy town by the sea, with a nice climate and good schools. Yeppoon ticked all the boxes. Prior to establishing Yeppoonie Smoothie, I had owned various businesses from wine (online and bricks and mortar retail) to boat tourism in Thailand. I never had any industry experience with previous businesses I owned, and this was the same with Yeppoonie Smoothie. This can often be an advantage as coming from outside an industry with very fresh eyes and new ideas gives you a completely different perspective to those who have been in an industry for many years.
INSPIRATION BEHIND THE PRODUCT
When I returned to Australia I was feeling sluggish and a few kilos overweight. It had always been my practice to use meal replacement powders to manage my weight. However, when I looked at the products on offer, I struggled to find one that was actually healthy. And the brand I did buy, due to having the lowest sugar and cleanest ingredients, was impossible to drink as the artificial sweeteners added were overpowering. So, I set about making my own products, and it occurred to me that if I was looking for a decent smoothie powder, others may be too. Often the best business ideas are chanced upon this way. My daughter Freya, who was 11yo at the time, came up with the name. I loved it immediately. She drew up a contract for a percentage of royalties for coming up with the name, which she reminds me about from time to time!
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT/UNIQUENESS
When I was working on the development of the blends, which took me 6 to 12 months, my focus was on making powders that were filling, contained the right nutrients for weight loss and stopped cravings. I wanted the nutrients to be consumed at certain times of the day, which is why I initially launched with the three blends which I simply called Morning, Afternoon and Evening. It was important that each contained fibre, but I wanted the bulk of the fibre to be in the morning blend. I also wanted a complex mix of fibres - soluble, insoluble and resistant to starch, so all my original blends contain all three. I put fibre ahead of protein, which is one of the main differences with Yeppoonie Smoothie compared to other powders.
I use only Australian ingredients in my blends and I know where everything is grown. They are 100% plant based. I am not aware of any other smoothie powder which has this level of connection to its origin. It was a factor I considered important for making and selling a food product, just as it is when I buy food products for my own consumption.
BUSINESS & SALES
My business hurdles all centre around managing the growth. I envisaged from the beginning this would be a challenge, given I was manufacturing here in Yeppoon. Growth has been consistent since I launched in mid-2022, but sudden peaks and issues in the supply chain have caused some issues. Growth needs to occur in a managed way, or other parts of the business can suffer, such as customer service. I have a really good marketing team, but I have told them a few times to put the brakes on, as I need to be able to keep up with production. Whilst this is a good problem to have, I have a deep desire to not let my customers down and when there is a lot going on, balls can be dropped. I reached the crossroads recently, deciding it was time to outsource manufacturing and logistics and focus on the areas I enjoy, rather than laborious tasks. So. the next challenge is organising this.
My sales have to date been predominantly online and I am only now starting to look at expanding this to more wholesale and retail as I move to outsourcing manufacture. Therefore, my marketing focus has also been online via Facebook and Google ads, as I wanted to drive people to my website www.yeppooniesmoothie.com.au where they can buy the products. In the first few months I also advertised locally on radio and on a big billboard and then gradually expanded out from the local area. I felt it was important to build the brand locally in Yeppoon and its surrounds first.
GIVING BACK
Since the beginning I wanted to give back to the community in some way. I think this is important for all businesses, rather than just being a 'corporate machine'. I initially chose Quoin Island Turtle Rehabilitation Centre as a project I wanted to help raise awareness of, and donate to.
The sanctuary is located off the coast of Gladstone, which is about two hours south of Yeppoon. They rescue and rehabilitate a lot of local turtles from the Yeppoon area, too. They are self-funded, rely on volunteers, and Kim - who co-founded the centre with her husband - also happens to be a nutritionist and has become a customer of Yeppoonie Smoothie.
After our first donation they allowed us to name a rescued turtle, we called her Poonie (see attached pic). She was not in a good way when first rescued so we were delighted that she eventually made a full recovery and was released back to the sea.
After my initial offerings were established, I released a blend called 'Study and Focus' as I noticed a lot of customers were talking about brain fog. I knew I could use certain ingredients to make a smoothie which was good for brain health. For this blend I decided to support a different initiative and chose the wonderful Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). ILF was started by a Brisbane bookseller Suzy Wilson, and I liked the Queensland link to this organisation, too. Twelve months later I released another three blends which are allergen free and utilise seeds rather than nuts - QLD Sunshine, Post Work-out Blend, and East Trinity Cocoa.
On the back of launching these blends I decided to expand my donations to include a charity in Phuket which supports children of incarcerated people, as well as other disadvantaged children. They are innocent victims and are often overlooked. Having lived in Phuket, I wanted to give back to the region.
REWARDS
My favourite thing about Yeppoonie Smoothie is the regular positive feedback I receive from customers. What initially started as a weight loss product has become so much more than I realised it would, as far as people's improvement to health and wellbeing is concerned. I think this is a testament to the quality of ingredients grown in Australia and highlights the importance of consuming good amounts of the various fibres, eating natural foods, and paying attention to good nutrition without overcomplicating it with diets and programs.