Celebrity Lamb Producer
Toni Barton of Lamb Bacon fame is fresh back from exploring new export market opportunities in Dubai. What she thought would be a simple name change has turned into a full rebranding with a suite of new products destined for the Middle East. She is also discovering how complex and costly preparing for export can be when it comes to a highly regulated food industry. But the biggest surprise of all was the celebrity status thrust upon her just for being an Australian lamb producer.
In February 2019 Toni travelled to Gulfood, the world’s largest food conference held in Dubai. She was part of the Victorian Government’s trade mission to explore the ‘appetite’ for her processed lamb products. Based on prior research, she had modest expectations for the four products on offer. But, as her fellow delegates headed off the pub each night, Toni was still in discussions and writing up orders. Her projections quickly escalated.
‘Provenance is very important in the export market and Australian meat has amazing equity. Middle Eastern countries love Australian lamb. My suite of products has been picked up by the five and six-star hotels and high-end supermarkets in Oman, Dubai, Qatar, and Kuwait,’ she explained.
Thanks to The Weekly Time’s Shine Awards, Toni has become used to publicity in recent months, but nothing prepared her for the reaction in Dubai.
‘Just because I’m a sheep farmer, I was made to feel like a celebrity. I’ve been totally overwhelmed by the response,’ she admitted.
Prior to her visit Toni was already aware that her iconic ‘Lamb Bacon’ brand was destined to remain on Australian soil. She had to clearly delineate her lamb products from pork in countries that adhere to strict Halal practices. A new name was required for export.
Her initial plan was to simply change the name from Lamb Bacon to Lamb Rashers, but Tony felt that it was still a bit dubious and there was also the consideration that she had a suite of products to sell.
‘In 48 hours just before I took off for Dubai, I did a total rebrand, printed labels, and created a new website – Barton’s Smallgoods, to avoid any confusion.’ She shakes her head. ‘It was crazy,’ but her marketing skills from a former corporate life came in very handy.
Thanks to a Meat Livestock Australia (MLA) Producer Led Innovation Grant, Toni has also received some financial assistance to navigate her way through the export process.
‘While there is a lot of information available through the government, no-one else is exporting processed lamb products so this is totally new. My role is to learn how to streamline the process and share my knowledge with other producers,’ she explained urging anyone with similar products to contact her. ‘I’m happy to answer questions.’
One by one Toni is dealing with multiple challenges to get her unique products export ready. She rattles of an extensive list of the licensing bodies to which she must submit paperwork, meet assessment, and pay fees. She estimates that it will require at least $100,000 before she even produces one product.
‘While Australia does already export a lot of meat to the middle east, it’s a complex environment made very difficult for small producers,’ she acknowledges. The engagement of HACCP and Export consultants has been a necessity during the process.
‘My products involve meat, it’s processed meat, it’s lamb, and they’re brand new products that haven’t been done globally before. These all add layers of complexity. It isn’t just about getting your facility export ready and ensuring that you are using accredited export logistic organisations,’ cautions Toni. ‘You also need to consider that each individual product has to be certified by the government to where you are exporting to, as well as meeting Halal certification requirements.’
Toni has leased part of a former food factory in Geelong to become her export processing site. She is co-tenant with another food manufacturer making it an affordable option. A private loan has enabled her to fit the premises out.
Staff will be employed to run Barton’s Smallgoods as a separate entity to her existing farming enterprise at Nulla Vale near Lancefield in central Victoria. Given the high level of investment to become import ready, she is under no illusion that it will be at least a year before she will enjoy any personal financial benefit.
Preparing for export has been an extremely busy time for Toni, and particularly the next six weeks as she finalises all the paperwork and commissions the new factory processing plant. The first shipment of orders is scheduled for late-April.
She looks surprised when I ask her how she is dealing with the stress.
‘I used to be stressed in the corporate world but I’m exactly where I want to be now. I just go into problem solving mode,’ she responds. ‘You don’t plan to be an entrepreneur. I feel like everything I’ve done in my life has brought me to this moment.’
READ part one of this article on Toni Barton’s entrepreneurial journey and the creation of Lamb Bacon
2020 update:
On the 15 February I caught up with Toni as she was preparing to fly to Dubai later that evening.
‘We’ve sent off two shipments to Dubai since we last spoke,’ Toni confirms, ‘and landed some big accounts in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar’. She explains that ‘tasters’ have been employed to target some high-end customers and they can’t wait to sign up hence Toni’s return trip. ‘Apparently I am the face of the brand and they want to see me.’
Two weeks later she returned with orders secured including with a big Five Star Hotel chain. ‘The sales projections came to $7 million,’ says Toni, ‘more than justifying a continuation of the export business.’
It was full steam ahead but then three days later the borders started closing and suddenly everything was on hold. Sadly, she has had to let the staff go because they were employed on a casual basis until the business got established and did not qualify for Job Keeper. Toni still has many overheads to pay even while not producing. Despite ticking many boxes for financial support, funding is not as easy to access as the business community is led to believe.
‘I’m exhausted,’ Toni admits, but she is far from defeated. ‘I’m an eternal optimist. I’m using this time to develop new products because it makes sense to have a bigger range on a shelf.’
It is also giving her time to firm up her supply chain. ‘I realised how vertically integrated I am.’ With lamb prices skyrocketing over summer she found that abattoirs were decreasing the amount of numbers being processed and limiting her access to additional lamb bellies needed for her products. Toni has been able to establish a partnership with more farmers expanding her supply of mutton. Her strategy is simple.
‘I pay them a better price.’
KERRY ANDERSON: Founder of the Operation Next Gen program and author of ‘Entrepreneurship: It’s Everybody’s Business,’ Kerry works with small businesses and rural communities to help them embrace new opportunities. In 2018 she was named as one of Australia’s Top 50 Regional Agents of Change. READ MORE