Melbourne, 2010: I was sitting around my kitchen table with George and James, who I’ve been mates with since school.
Having spent a few years doing corporate jobs, we’d all had enough of working in soulless offices, for companies that meant nothing to us or really made a difference to people’s lives.
We wanted to start our own business, and we knew that business had to really matter.
We had no idea back then that some ideas scribbled on a napkin would go on to transform the Australian perception of snacking, and play a part in slowing the demise of the Great Barrier Reef.
Swapping stories of what we hated about corporate life, a theme emerged – lack of time for self care. Grabbing a chocolate bar to survive back-to-back meetings during 11-hour days because there aren’t any healthier options isn’t great for health or productivity.
So, Harvest Box was born – healthy snacks by post. The concept was simple: sign up, choose a delivery day, rate the snacks and enjoy your healthy, weekly snack box, delivered to your desk.
Within 18 months, we had thousands of subscribers and had sent boxes to every postcode in Australia.
In 2014 we launched our highest-rated mixes in 45g retail packs. Starting with Melbourne’s CBD, we sold the snacks into numerous cafes and convenience stores. A few months later, James and I presented to the Coles Dried Fruit & Nut category manager and we were on the shelves of Coles nationally three months later.
But, Where does sunscreen come in?
Harvest Box underwent a rebrand in early 2018, allowing us to really think about where we wanted our business to go. Harvest Box had become synonymous with making better snacking choices, sparking the idea for the new tagline, Better Begins Here.
Why stop at snacks? With our growing team, we decided we wanted to help Australians make better choices in all areas of life, from what we put in our bodies to what we put on our bodies…
Enter OCEAN AUSTRALIA suncare.
We’ve experienced skin cancer first hand, with one of the team and several close friends having undergone operations to remove melanomas, so it’s a pertinent issue for us.
Coupled with emerging research indicating the damage that chemical sunscreens were causing to the reefs, we realised that we needed to create a chemical-filter free, SPF 50+ sunscreen product that would be kinder on skin and the environment.
We partnered with one of Australia’s most experienced sunscreen manufacturers, working and testing for two years to perfect the formula.
The range launched in 2019 and the industry connections we’ve established through Harvest Box have proven invaluable in spreading awareness and getting the products in front of retailers.
We’re currently focusing heavily on New Product Development, as we’ve had such a strong response to the reef-friendly, cruelty-free ethos behind the range.
We’ve learnt so much in the last 10 years, but my key takeaway is this: Find the ethos that’s at the heart of your business and stay true to it, but never stop thinking about where else it could take you.
William Cook, Co-founder, Harvest Box and OCEAN AUSTRALIA
