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Technology and Innovation Award 2001
Botanical Food Company
Botanical Food Company has used innovation through technology to
deliver a unique product. Gourmet Garden has revolutionised the Herb and
Spice market. This technology is new not only to Australia, but new also to
the rest of the world.
Gourmet Garden is a unique range of chopped herbs and spices in plastic
tubes. Innovative technology has been used such that the herbs and
spices do not need to be heated, cooked or dried during their processing.
The durable plastic tubes with nozzle insert do not allow for oxygen
permeability. This halts any enzyme action and maintains the
fresh-tasting, crisp qualities. Gourmet Garden is a product with the freshest taste
available - in a convenient to use format, which has a shelf life of 6
months if stored in the freezer.
The processes used to manufacture Gourmet Garden use technical advances
at every level. This includes new agricultural techniques, which
ensure that harvesting is carried out at the peak of the herbs' freshness
and flavour. Gourmet Garden has allowed Callide Valley (central QLD near
Biloela) farmers to manage their most precious resource - water. By
growing herbs, (replacing previous cotton crops) has allowed farmers a
high dollar return with lower water usage rates. Botanical Food Company
transports the herbs down to Palmwoods, on the Sunshine Coast, QLD for
processing.
Botanical Food Company launched Gourmet Garden in September, 1999. The
range includes 12 herbs and spices (Basil, Mild Chilli, Hot Chilli,
Chives, Coriander, Garlic, Ginger, Spring Onion, Lemon Grass, Parsley,
Mint and Rosemary). Since launch, Gourmet Garden has seen staggering
growth for a brand new food product, and should reach $5M turnover in its
second full year. The success has been shown through acceptance by all
major supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand. Since October 2000,
Gourmet Garden is now also being exported to the UK and Ireland. Botanical
Food Company has also just launched a range of 1kg packs catering for
requests from the Food Service industry.
This Australian innovative technology has been patented in all key
world markets. Gourmet Garden is the world's first product that provides
the real, fresh taste of conveniently chopped herbs and spices. No
competitor has been able to match Botanical Food Company's process so Gourmet
Garden should achieve 20% of the total Herb and Spice market within 5
years. Continuing on with global success, it is expected that Gourmet
Garden will be a global brand within the next 5 years and have a presence
in other areas such as; UK, Ireland, Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, Japan,
and South Africa. New innovative projects on Gourmet Garden will
continue (such as seed selection to increase shelf life) in an effort to
offer an even more superior product in the future.
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