It started by accident. After moving to the suburb of Hawthorn in September, Ethan drove to Coles Camberwell to buy salmon and a frying pan, got chatting with a checkout worker named Sarah on the store's launch day, and was pointed to Michael, the head of Coles Local. Because he always carries jars in the car, he grabbed some and introduced himself on the spot.
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Michael introduced Ethan to his category buyers and they exchanged emails and details. He asked pressing questions about how the product's movements were and what stores it was already arranged in. The buyers took jars back to the office for review, and a business development manager who joined the brand a couple of months later leveraged his networks to send more samples into Coles. The following year Coles Local ran a promotion called Chilli Fest featuring Australian and international chilli and spicy products; Umami Papi sold exceptionally well, and because it sold well, it was given the opportunity later that year in September for 150 stores in Coles supermarkets.