Beyond Best Before are a social enterprise on a mission to fight against food waste. The business, which has shopfronts in Newtown and Miranda, sources food nearing its best-before date and saves it from being thrown away by selling it at steep discounts. In this article, founder Katie Quach explains how the business has built up a loyal following by engaging with local communities and choosing their store locations carefully.
Right place, right time
When we decided to open our first store, we put a lot of consideration into where it would go. Important for us was 1. a community that would be supportive of our mission and 2. a high amount of foot-traffic, so we could reach a large number of people without being physically across the whole state.
The community we eventually chose was Newtown [NSW]. Newtown is a bustling inner-city suburb of Sydney that is known for its sustainability shops along King St, most noticeably a number of upcycled clothing stores. Newtown is both an eco-conscious community and attracts visitors from all over the city; the perfect combination for us to open our store.
Organic growth
In the lead up to our opening, we put up a sign in our shop window with the words “Fight Food Waste”. The sign generated more curiosity in the community than we expected! Intrigued by the mission, people began knocking (literally) on the door to learn more and share their personal food waste stories. And just like that, our organic following on social media quickly grew.
By the time Beyond Best Before opened in mid-July 2023, we had garnered a strong community following across our social media platforms, achieved entirely without any paid marketing. This was a testament to the impact that community support can have on marketing.
Leveraging off the buzz from the community, we contacted national media outlets to build more brand awareness, both across NSW and nationally. Given the support from the community, media outlets welcomed the opportunity. Within a few months, we had featured across multiple media channels, including 9News, The Today Show, The Daily Telegraph and 10 Play.
With every feature, we would see an immediate spike in followers on social media. However, what surprised us the most wasn’t the spike in followers. It was the steady stream of new followers that would become repeat customers, from word-of-mouth recommendations through family and friends.
Building a community around sustainability
While media features build awareness, word-of-mouth recommendations have the ability to build brand trust and credibility almost instantly. We have been able to build a brand that people talk to their friends and family about. And we attribute this to the connection we built with the community when we first opened, a connection that continues to develop.
In mid-August of this year, we opened a second store in Miranda in Sydney’s south-east. With the Newtown experience under our belt, we made sure to focus our marketing strategy on community engagement. We’ve been working with local influencers, local media channels, and engaging with schools with aligned values.
These organic grassroots engagements includes our customers – our new community – in a shared mission, and have given us a strong foundation in the Miranda community from which to grow.
In the coming months, as we continue to grow and expand our mission, we will begin to incorporate more paid marketing. However, community engagement and word-of-mouth advertising will remain central to our strategy.
Key insights
- Think of customers as your community.
- Give people something to fight for; include them in your mission.
- Choose your locations carefully.
