Meet Chantal Scarlett, founder of  XO Foods. Chantal creates toasted golden, gluten free ‘moozly’, what others might know as granola or muesli. Her infectious sense of humour and desire for consistent business growth is part of everything she does. Chantal is so much fun to be around and work with. 

Take a look at how she has built her Moozly business from her home kitchen to the co-manufactured product she has today.

How would you describe the business you are in?

I am in the Moozly business.  Some call it muesli, some may call it granola, we call it Moozly.

I am a firm believer that;

  1. Food is love – and don’t we all deserve a kiss + a hug! 
  2. You are what you eat.
  3. Food is medicine, so that “”medicine”” is not required. In the words of Hippocrates – Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
  4. Life is balance –  eat the cake, drink the wine, just don’t eat it everyday and don’t eat it all at once.  Balance.

What do you love about your work? 

Making people happy through food makes me happy.  I enjoy meeting new people, whether it’s at markets or in retail shops and seeing their faces smile and their eyes widen when they take a mouthful of Moozly. 

I love talking about the ethos of XO Foods and why we do what we do.

What part of your job would you gladly give away?

The book work and the administration. URGH!!!

If you were starting out in business again today, what piece of advice would you give your younger you?

Be mindful of who and where you seek counsel.  I naively assumed everyone would want to help and achieve the best for XO Foods.  Truth be known, some people just want to be paid and walk away.

Find your tribe. 

Women start businesses 41% of the time to solve a problem. Sometimes this means we have a great vision but don’t have enough resources to sustain our business for the long term. Tell us what resources you started your business with eg. money saved, business premises, business partner, and how long before you started paying yourself?

I started with nothing.  I sold enough Moozly out of my kitchen to move to commercial premises.  Then enough for bulk packaging.  Then enough to outsource to co-manufacturing.  I now run out of a rented premises and everything is owned outright. 

It has all come through selling. 

I still don’t pay myself though.  Every dollar goes straight back into the business. 

As you know we are passionate about women #backingthemselves. So tell us about a time in the last twelve months that you’re really proud of.

I stepped up to a Food & Trade expo on my own and stood among some big hitters in the food and distribution game. 

I was petrified. 

I was really questioning myself. 

But watching and listening as people smiled and “moaned” with delight as they tasted XO Foods Moozly made the fear all worth it.

I faced the fear head on and it garnered me new business.  #likeaboss

As we are always growing and learning, what is the one thing you would like to take time to learn more about?

This online world we live in.  Just when I think I’ve learnt enough or figured out a platform, the algorithms change again and you’re back to square one.

Oh, and once you tell me to “”..go in the backend…”” you’ve lost me. 

I’m constantly learning, Googling and diving into The Females in Food member Hub for resources and information.

The world is changing so fast and technology enables us to do so much more. We’re interested in which app you could not live without and why?

Ooooh, I’ve never been good at picking “just one” of anything, they all have such purpose.

A function that I do use all day everyday is Siri. When my hands are full, when they’re in a barrel of Moozly and I suddenly have a thought, or need to send a text or even set an alarm.

Siri is my Gal.

Why did you decide to become a member of the Foodpreneurs Formula®

To find my Tribe. And I did! The women within the Foodpreneurs Formula® are fabulous and so knowledgeable. Everyone is so willing to help each other despite time being such a precious commodity.

Forever grateful to be a member of Chelsea’s Foodpreneurs Formula® coaching program.

We love to celebrate our successes. Can you give us an example of how joining the Foodpreneurs Formula® has positively impacted your business? 

It has made me, and kept me, accountable on so many occasions.

Running solo can be tricky sometimes and it’s easy to put things off.

Thanks to Chelsea’s ‘Make it Happen’ Mastermind sessions, I stay on top of my on-going ‘to do’ list.

Most importantly, I think, being a part of the Foodpreneurs Formula® gives me clarity when I get lost in the now. So thanks Chelsea, I love your guts XO

Thank you Chantal, we (me) loves you too 🧡

Want to read more about another successful member? Check out our ‘What’s Cooking’ interview with  vegan ready-to-eat meal maker, Nicole Mahler.