In our latest ‘What’s Cooking’, we hear from Christine Apostoles, Marketing Director of Antoniou Fillo Pastry. A family business that has made manufacturing pastry into a very ‘instagrammable’ business. And for Christine, being a part of Females in Food with other business women building their food & drink dreams helped her make the transition from financial services to food manufacturing.

 

Your business name: Antoniou Fillo Pastry

How would you describe the business you are in?

Antoniou Fillo Pastry, the fillo and kataifi pastry specialists. We have been manufacturing traditional fillo and kataifi pastry since 1960, and continue to operate as our founders (my grandparents) did, producing the best fillo & kataifi pastry products possible.

What do you love about your work?

I believe that having someone cook for you, evokes feelings of love and care, and I want as many people possible to be surrounded by these feelings all the time. What I love most about my work is that it enables me to share my love of cooking and inspire others to cook, come together around food and experience those same feelings.
 

What part of your job would you gladly give away?

Copywriting! It has never been something I’ve overly enjoyed – particularly larger pieces of content, so I would happily give this part of my job away. I have actually begun outsourcing some copywriting where possible.

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

Rather than starting out in business, for me I’d call it starting out in a new industry and I would tell my younger self…Everything will be ok in the end. Although this would have been difficult to digest before I moved from the corporate world of financial services to the fabulous world of food, it’s very true. And everything ALWAYS works out, eventually.

“Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.”

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. 

We recently launched our partnership with OzHarvest in support of their Fight Food Waste campaign to help prevent food waste at home. This is an important issue that I feel really passionate about but most importantly beautifully aligns with our brand values and products. I’m proud to have Antoniou Fillo Pastry involved with such an important campaign to bring the issue to light as well as educate how you can #FightFoodWasteWithFIllo and encourage consumers to do their part and join the #fightfoodwaste movement.

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

I’d like to dedicate more time to learn about the operations and day to day running of the business itself. Working in a family owned and run business has meant my role stretches well beyond that of marketing, gaining exposure to the daily tasks involved with running a business.

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?

Canva! I can create engaging social media content, marketing and sales materials in lightning speed without the need for a graphic designer. By no means am I a graphic designer, so Canva is the perfect solution for me, particularly when time isn’t on my side.

Why did you decide to become a member of Females in Food®

Being away from the corporate world, I realised the networking opportunities were limited and I began to miss being able to interact with and learn from like-minded people in the industry. I was told about Females in Food by the fabulous Kathy Tsaples from Sweet Greek in Melbourne and knew it was exactly what I was after as soon as I read about it!

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

I was lucky enough to connect with fellow Females in Food member, Anne Marie from Food to Film last year through the program. Together we have created some beautiful new fillo content that I’ve begun sharing with our community on social media, taking our social presence to a whole new level.

Thank you Christine.

Want to read more about another successful member? Check out our ‘What’s Cooking’ interview with dietitian and business woman, Maree Ferguson.