A rising star of the food industry
The third annual Women in Industry Awards were announced in Melbourne in July. Colly Galbiati, a food manufacturing success story, was named 2016 Rising Star of the Year at the event.
Colly Galbiati’s journey began in 2012 when she launched premium snack-food company Soma Organics.
She had always been passionate about healthy eating and raising public awareness of quality food and nutrition. Through this passion, Soma Organics was born.
Soma Organics started in the kitchen of Galbiati’s home where she began making the (later award-winning) Soma Bite snack bar range by hand.
She quickly saw success and consequently ramped up production.
Due to the large increase in demand, she transformed her successful home kitchen business into a full scale food manufacturer, specialising in snack bars, in just over nine months.
Today, the Soma Bite range is available in more than 500 retailers across Australia, including Woolworths, IGA Supermarkets, Foodland Supermarkets, and independent retailers. The products are also exported to Singapore and Dubai.
In 2013, Galbiati secured a deal with beverage company, Your Tea International Group, to create and co-brand a range of organic protein snack bars, Your Soma Bar which are sold exclusively on the Your Tea website.
Galbiati has also taken her business in a new, sustainable direction, launching and co-founding the Eco Bar: a raw energy bar made from cricket flour.
The motto for Soma Organics is ‘Diversify, Resilience, Success’. According to Galbiati, she has learnt very quickly that you must be resilient as a small business owner in the food manufacturing industry.
As the snack bar sector has become more saturated, she has learnt that diversification is key to maintaining a successful presence in the industry.
She has spearheaded Soma Organics’ new strategy to label products under Soma Organics, created partnerships, and produces white-labelled products, which she believes has helped in expanding the company’s portfolio.
However, it has not been an easy run; being a newcomer in the food manufacturing industry has its challenges.
According to Galbiati, she learns “every single day” and has benefited by not having any preconceived ideas on how things should be done.
Food puns aside, she has not followed a cookie-cutter template when launching a product range – she has developed strategies and looked at different ways of doing things.
She has disrupted the current methods of food development and product development, which has resulted in successful product ranges and a diverse business structure.
Because of her ‘grass-roots’ start-up success story, she is seen as a business example for many entrepreneurs in the health food space.
She has looked, down the track, to the possibility of launching a mentorship program or consultancy service directed at helping health food start-ups.
This is not the first time Galbiati has won an award. She took out the Excellence in Manufacturing gong at last year’s Women in Industry Awards; and the Best Snack Food Award at the Food & Beverage Industry News Magazine awards in 2014.
She is truly a rising star of the food industry.
The other winners of this year’s Women in Industry Awards were:
Marketing/Communications Award – proudly supported by Logistics & Materials Handling: Jodie Collins, Elgas.
Industry Advocacy Award – proudly supported by Prime Mover: Christine Gibbs Stewart, Austmine.
Social Leader of the Year – proudly supported by Australian Mining: Alicia Ranford, Mining Family Matters.
Business Development Manager of the Year – proudly sponsored by ABB: Donna Curl, Donaldson Australasia.
Excellence in Commercial Road Transport – proudly supported by Trailer: Melissa Taylor, Taylor’s Removals & Storage.
Excellence in Manufacturing – proudly sponsored by BOC: Gabby Montagnese, New Age Caravans.
Excellence in Engineering – proudly supported by PACE: Kathryn Burr, Boeing Defence Australia.
Excellence in Mining – proudly sponsored by MMD: Kirsty Liddicoat, BHP.