How Urban Forager went from a passion project to Xero’s Small Business of the Year

A Western Australian small business that sells the only Australian-made certified organic stock concentrate has been named Small Business of the Year in Xero’s annual awards. 

Urban Forager, which sells stock, broth, jams and chutneys, was one of three winners in the Small Business categories of the awards, which were presented in Melbourne last week. 

The annual awards celebrate and recognise the efforts of Xero’s accountants, bookkeepers, app developers and small business community.

YouthXP, a jobs platform for employees between the ages of 15-24, received the award for Emerging Small Business of the Year, while independent and specialised NDIS support coordination provider Communication eXtra was named Sole Trader of the Year.

Urban Forager managing director Lou Corteen told SmartCompany she felt a mixture of emotions after being named Small Business of the Year: a bit bewildered, daunted, completely surprised and really proud.

“It’s a nice combination,” she says. 

“I think we underestimate how important small business is in Australia. We’re the largest employer, keeping 41% of workers in jobs. 

“We talk about mining and big business, but we forget about the millions of small businesses putting it on the line and working really hard. 

“In light of that, recognition is really nice.”

Corteen says before she started Urban Forager she had been doing the books for her husband Ritchie’s business while their girls were little and hated it – until seven years later when he told her she could quit.

“I had so many thoughts about what I might do, most of them involving going back to university, but I promised myself I’d have a year off and not take anything new on, which I did,” she says.

“I used to make a hamper of preserved goods for Ritchie’s staff every year and that year, one of the staff sent me a text saying, ‘we just ate half a jar of your chutney in one sitting – it’s so good, you should sell it’. 

“And I thought, ‘oh, ok, that’s what I’m going to do’.”

From farmers markets to Woolworths

Corteen started at farmers’ market stalls selling preserves she had made from the excess produce of neighbours’ and friends’ backyard trees, including fig jam, cumquat marmalade and mandarin cordial.

“I kept bumbling along with a few organic store stockists and farmers markets until one of my daughters proclaimed that dad had a business and mum had a hobby,” she says. 

“The honesty of that statement really lit a fire under me. 

“I made a decision to turn my ‘hobby’ into a proper business. We converted our garage into a commercial grade home kitchen, bought commercial production equipment, developed a chicken and beef variety of our stock concentrate and rebranded.”

In 2017, Urban Forager launched its stock concentrates and met its goal of 50 stockists in Perth in its first year. 

The next year, the small business gained interstate distributors, which helped accelerate its growth. 

In 2020, Woolworths approached Urban Forager to be part of its trial premium offering in a single NSW store.

The trial was a success. The premium range now sits in about 300 Woolworths stores and Urban Forager is stocked in each.

Corteen says she is focusing on growing the brand here in Australia and believes there is a lot of potential for the business on home soil. 

“We’re also beginning to explore export markets which is both exciting and daunting, but probably a good example of what I love most about running a small business – there’s always something new to learn and new challenges to take on,” she says. 

“I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined how much creativity is involved in the day-to-day running of a business.

“Obviously when you are manufacturing a product, there’s creativity in the initial product development and execution, but I think most of my time is spent solving problems and that is a really creative space to be in. 

“I love it, and I feel very lucky.”

In a statement, Xero Australia marketing director Bianca Welch said small businesses are the cornerstone of our communities.

“The Xero Awards proudly recognise the contributions and achievements of these businesses, plus the dedicated accountants, bookkeepers, and app developers who work tirelessly to support their growth,” she said.

The winners of the Xero Awards for FY24 are:

Small Business

• Sole Trader of the Year: Communication eXtra
• Small Business of the Year: Urban Forager
• Emerging Small Business of the Year: YouthXP
  

Partner

• Sole Practitioner of the Year: Ethical CFO Services and Bookkeeping
• National Partner of the Year: Grant Thornton
• Accounting Partner of the Year: Keeping Company
• Bookkeeping Partner of the Year: Straight Up Bookkeeping
• Innovative Partner of the Year: Tailored Accounts
• Community Partner of the Year: Trinity Advisory

App Partner

• Practice App of the Year: Dashboard Insights
• Small Business App of the Year: ServiceM8
• Emerging App of the Year: Trace

Disclaimer: SmartCo Media news editor Eloise Keating was one of the judges for the Small Business categories in this year’s Xero Awards.