Capturing the Prize: the A$200 billion opportunity for Australia's food and agribusiness sector / Enhanced Production and Value Addition / Sustainable Packaging
Extracting more value out of the supply chain by developing sustainable packaging through innovation, redesigns, light-weighting and ensuring packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable.
Silly Yak manufactures and distributes a diverse range of bakery products free from wheat, gluten, dairy, yeast, and nuts. The company’s products are suitable for consumers with coeliac disease, fructose malabsorption, allergies, and those who follow the Low FODMAP Diet.
Its products are sold in retail and foodservice throughout Australia, and in selected retailers in Singapore and Dubai. It also sells to a major international airline.
Its innovative ovenable packaging solution has succeeded in offering gluten-free consumers the ultimate guarantee that their products are 100 per cent gluten-free – an Australian first in the bakery category.
Silly Yak has worked with FIAL for many years. It connected with its first international customer through FIAL, expanding into international markets 12–18 months sooner than expected. It reached out again to FIAL for help when approached by an international airline with a requirement for bread rolls. These had to be in airtight ovenable packaging to preserve the integrity of the product’s ‘Free From’ claims. By process of experimentation with suppliers and creating a new process for par-baking its proprietary recipe, an innovative solution was found.
It allows for gluten-free bakery products to travel from the freezer, direct to the oven, and then to the consumer’s plate in one package. This packaging solution has now been extended to a range of sweet and savoury finger food items including muffins, fruit tarts, party pies and sausage rolls.
This innovation has enabled Silly Yak to target other sensitive foodservice markets such as the health and aged care industry.
This case study is from FIAL's 2022 edition of Celebrating Australian Food and Agribusiness Innovations 2022
