Until 2003 I had a very busy business life creating Luken & May Biscuits. Since then I immersed myself in the beauty industry and ran a beauty & bodycare company for a good friend & one of Australia’s top 10 marketers, had 2 beautiful children (now 2&4) and escaped to France with my family for 18 months to wander the canals on a 100 year old barge. (& no I don’t speak French!)
My background includes an applied science degree in food & nutrition, new product and process development at Sara Lee, catering and event management @ Juste Nous Catering (Norma Willis) and building & exiting Luken & May (with private equity backing) within 7 years of start up. (now owned by Byron Bay Cookies).
I have sat on various advisory committees & councils including the National Food Industry Council & Innovation Committees providing input on strategic and future issues (at Parliament House with 5 ministers present!) and was a member of the Small Business Advisory panel to the Reserve Bank Board. It is all but a distant memory!
I built Luken & May’s brand awareness with inhouse PR (my time was cheap!) and by being an active public communicator in the media, at business forums, and in the education and science industry sectors. Newcastle University loved that I to combined my love of food with science & business and rewarded me with an Honorary Master of Science! I am led to believe that it is my ‘unique combination of creative flair and strategic management’ that won me & my teams over 20 export, entrepreneur and business awards including Jaguar Gourmet Traveller award for Excellence in Produce, the Australian Business "Success thru Innovation" prize and 19th & 20th spot in BRW’s Fast 100.
I am a ‘jack of all trades’ with a vast array of skills from visionary leadership, and ‘guerrilla marketing’ to being technically savvy with expertise in nutrition & food science, quality assurance and New Product Development. Making money & being organised is essential in an SME so backend management – operations, admin and finance after years of hands on experience is second nature. I love how computer technology is now so affordable & accessible so it will be fun to run a small business again, and MOST of all I love mixing with my customers and making them happy.
My philosophy is simple…..live what you love….and the rest falls into place. I am now creating luk as I am ready to give a bit back to me so that I can continue to be a happy wife and mother. My aim is to use the fabulous technology that surrounds us and create a business that is easy to manage, gives me a buzz and makes money!
A I keep saying wish me luk (luck!)
Warm regards,
Cindy
