After 10 intense years, WOW, 10 years, we have sold the PBCo. brand to Flourish Foods, a small privately-owned Australian business specialising in food retail.
Back in 2012 when we started PBCo, back then as The Protein Bread Company, I didn't really have an end game, (or plan 😬) in place. I just knew that:
- Low carb living had a huge positive impact on my life, and
- That eliminating bread from my diet was one of the biggest challenges!
I thought that others may be feeling the same, and I wanted to help people experience the massive benefits of reducing carbs and sugar.
From those early days, blending bread mix in a mixing bowl in my studio apartment, to now blending tonnes of mix per day in our facility, one thing has driven me to get out of bed (usually at some crazy hour before the sun comes up) every day, and that is the low carb community and the stories of people’s lives being changed and dramatically improved through reducing carbs and making healthier choices.
Absolutely nothing beats that feeling of an abundance of STABLE energy, a clear mind and an optimistic outlook, and I know for myself, and many others, that low carb living is the biggest contributing factor to these amazing feelings. Life is to be enjoyed, food is to be enjoyed, and with some smart food choices we absolutely CAN have it all.
I’ve always seen low carb as a tool (or secret power 😍) that allows me to get the most out of life, make my life as easy as possible AND be the best for those around me. Feeling strong, energetic & optimistic ensures I get the most out of each day, every opportunity, and also means I have much more to offer my family, friends and business.
Looking back, as business owners, we've made every mistake under the sun, and honestly sometimes I don't know how we survived 10 years, but on the other hand I know the power of intense passion, determination, hard work and belief that there is a better way.
One thing is for sure, and that is we wouldn’t have gotten to this point without the loyal support of so many PBCo. lovers and enthusiasts. THANK YOU for giving us hope that people do want better, natural, low carb foods, and for believing in us. We’ve operated in quite a niche, and at times it has been hard to maintain motivation when it seems that society gravitates towards quick fixes and low carb junk foods, but your support has meant the world to us and helped us power on through good times and hard times. Thanks for sharing your success stories and product reviews, as well as always honest feedback, good and bad!
Why are we selling, and what’s next?
As much as we love what we do, quite simply we need to simplify our life. The past few years have been really intense, between starting a family, with our 2 beautiful girls Lotte & Lily, who are now 9 months and 4 years old, the pressures that come with building a brand, running an SQF certified manufacturing facility, being self-employed and the whole covid situation and flow on effects on business have taken a toll on us. I didn’t take maternity leave, so I’m looking forward to spending some more time with Aaron, Lily & Lotte and being able to be a Mum!
We are retaining our manufacturing facility, so will still be here behind the scenes manufacturing the products you know and love. We’re really looking forward to the simplicity of this. If you want to follow along on our next chapter, you can follow me at @busylowcarbmum on insta.
What can you expect from PBCo. in the future?
Flourish Foods is a privately-owned small business and its owners, Russ, Sarah and Dom have extensive backgrounds in food retail. With their philosophy centred on family, food and health, we believe they are perfectly placed and experienced to continue on the ethos of PBCo, creating natural low carb products that people love. They are looking forward to jumping in and getting to know you all, and driving PBCo’s next chapter. They have some great innovations and plans for the future, but don’t worry, everything you know and love about PBCo. will remain the same.
You can continue to order online as usual, or purchase from your closest retailer, and if you have any questions or need any help you can email hello@lovepbco.com and Russ or Sarah will get back to you.
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I’d like to take this opportunity to give a massive shout out to our distributors and retailers, for believing in us from the start, when low carb was not even a thing. To Go Vita and Blue Pumpkin our very first distributors, and to Unique Health Products who have been exceptional partners over the past few years, helping to get our products on more shelves and impacting more lives.
To all the amazing people that we’ve worked with over the years, each person has played a significant role in shaping PBCo. To our 4 longest serving team members, all of whom were with us for over 6 years - Jo, who started with us a shy customer service member, and grew and blossomed into our amazing community manager, going on to study nutrition and is now following her dream of being a weight loss and nutrition coach. Michelle, who started working with us remotely to process our online orders, and has gone on to become a very much relied upon business analyst and logistics expert, who is the most efficient & effective person I have ever worked with!
To Rose who started as a production team member and now oversees all our dispatch, all the work that gets done to get our orders out quickly and efficiently as well as maintaining the organisation of our warehouse. Rose’s diligence, loyalty, faith and caring nature has been an absolute constant over the years, a ray of sunshine during the hard times. In between juggling all the above, Rose has also taken care of Lily when we had meetings and events and is a very loved part of our family.
To Mr Hery, our main production guy, who’s shown up every single day with a smile, a joke and an all round helpful attitude. Always offering solutions to problems, thinking ahead and never afraid to whip out the tool box to sort something out. Hery’s resourcefulness and creativity in production has meant a smooth operation that’s pumped out tonnes of baking mix over the years.
To my brother Luke, who was part of the early years, getting PBCo off the ground and creating our first logo, packaging and website. I still remember the days when you used to text me each time we got an order 😂. I know it wasn’t always easy and I appreciate all that you contributed.
To our families, for providing blunt feedback, being a sounding board, for taking care of the girls, for liking our social media posts 😉 and contributing to various aspects of the business over the years, and specifically my parents, I have so much appreciation for the way you brought us up, you taught me the value of creativity, resourcefulness and following my dreams.
Last but definitely not least, to Aaron, thanks for believing even when things were not going great. Thanks for being the absolute best Dadda and husband. We’re both crazy in our own ways, but your optimism, faith, light heartedness and desire to help others is inspiring.
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I don’t see this as a goodbye, more a see you later as I’m still as passionate as ever about low carb, and have many ideas for the future (after taking a break and finding our new norm)! Who knows what the future holds ❤️
Of course if you wish to contact me directly you can do so by sending me a direct message to my instagram above.
In the meantime, look after yourself, prioritise your health and make choices that help you to feel amazing. You deserve it.