WHAT’S COOKING WITH ROBBIE GARVEY, FOUNDER RED LIME JONES GRANOLA

In our latest ‘What’s Cooking’, we hear from Robbie Garvey, founder of Red Lime Jones. Robbie lives to bring ‘slices of joy’ to people and one of the many ways she does that is by creating mind blowingly delicious small batch premium granola. Since joining the Foodpreneurs Formula and working with Chelsea, we’ve watched Robbie gain clarity on her sales channels, invest in her brand and nail a number of new stockists and double her revenue. It’s been awesome to watch Robbie go from strength-to-strength.

Your business name: Red Lime Jones

How would you describe the business you are in?

Big on taste, big on attitude Red Lime Jones is a small batch premium granola business based in Geraldton. We believe in great health, making people smile and getting back to basics.

What do you love about your work?

Ultimately I love that we make people smile and feel happy. Feeding the community delicious granola, prompting a laugh or a smile through our quirkiness and connecting with people always gives me a buzz and reminds me that this is why I do what I do.

What part of your job would you gladly give away?

Hmmmm, the part where I forget to look after myself and the fiddly admin & finance bits that I’m not great at.

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

Question if this a hobby or a business? If it’s a business, then treat it like one and learn as much as you can about business to grow your business. I know you said one Chelsea, but I also need to tell my younger self…don’t compare your business growth to anyone else’s because it will distract you from yours.

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 whipping up granola in my kitchen for the weekend markets but didn’t take it as seriously as I could have and so I wasted a lot of my savings running at a loss and making poor choices. Once I had decided RLJ was a real business and that I no longer wanted to work for anyone else, my relationship with money changed and my business grew enough to leave the markets behind, transition into a commercial kitchen and launch my product into the retail/cafe scene. Paying myself is sporadic but I’m confident it won’t be long before it’ll be a regular thing 😉

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 was having breakfast (and as much coffee as one could consume in one sitting) in a local cafe, which also happens to stock our granola, and I noticed that two separate tables had just received their breakfast order of RLJ granola. I just sat watching as the granola lovers consumed big spoonfuls and their faces lit up with such joy. You know when you eat something heavenly and your eyes just squish up as you say “Oh my god!!” Well that’s what I saw…and my heart sang with such pride and joy that I nearly cried. A moment like that reaffirmed that what I do means something to someone…and to me.

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

As my business is ready to step up to new levels, I’d love to learn more about marketing. It’s also the role I’d like to step into when the manufacturing side can be handed over to my amazing future employees.

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?

Without a doubt the visual attraction of Instagram. My brand isn’t just about granola. I’ve created a brand that is all about connecting with people and inspiring them to find little slices of joy in their life. How can I make people smile? How can I show that the simplest of things can bring joy? I need to find ways to do that for those not eating our granola, so at the moment, Instagram is it…Until I find another way 😉

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

Besides connecting with other inspiring, like minded women who want to learn everything there is to know about building their business to be an incredibly successful and rewarding one??? Hmmmmm, I also wanted to find the tools and support that would help me stop feeling so alone in this industry and at the same time give support to others so that they too might find strength in community.