‘Protect your dream’, says LittleOak infant formula founder

“Most importantly, fiercely protect your dream,” she says.

“If you truly believe in what you are trying to achieve, don’t let anybody knock your confidence. And that also means never take no for an answer,” Pascoe says.

“There is always a way to achieve something if you ask the right questions and look creatively for solutions. But always be kind and curious in doing so.”

Pascoe says the United States is a growth market, with consumers attracted by “clean and green” brands.

Last year there was an industry-wide shortage of infant formula following a contamination scare at a plant in Michigan operated by Abbott Laboratories, with consumers becoming even more discerning about what they were buying.

Pascoe initially raised funds from friends, family and wealthy investors, and by 2021 had attracted $2 million in seed funding from Parc Capital.

Goodness of goat milk

She says the original idea for the company stemmed from visiting many doctors to treat her son Freddie, who was 14 months at the time. He had been experiencing terrible discomfort and skin rashes, and she wanted a better, more natural way to treat his issues.

“As part of this process, I started exploring what he was consuming and one of those things was still formula, and it was the first time I looked at the ingredients in the formula I was feeding him,” she says.

There were simply too many chemicals in the brand of infant formula she had been using. “I felt I had a responsibility to do better. Much better”. The decision was made to use only goat’s milk.

“Goat milk, by nature, is closer to human breast milk than cow’s milk or soy, which means less processing and more natural goodness,” she says.

Pascoe said the group used a From Fresh processing method, and was the first formula in the world to be certified 100 per cent palm oil free, and the first to use cold-pressed flaxseed oil to replace canola oil.

The company manufactures in New Zealand and sells its products in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Canada. Other markets being eyed are South-East Asia and the Middle East. “Our expansion strategy is largely defined by consumer demand,” Pascoe says.

Rising inflation has caused headaches for most industries and LittleOak hasn’t been spared. She says the group has experienced “significant inflation” in raw material costs.

“We did have to pass on price rises to consumers to offset these increases but not in entirety,” she says. But she believes inflation has peaked, with ingredient prices “stabilising a little”.

Pascoe says she obsessively listens to customer feedback. “They are the heart and soul of our business and the reason we exist so it’s critical we listen to their concern and make changes, and create new opportunities,” she says.

“All of this requires an appetite to be truly innovative and give everyone in the business the ability to act on great ideas”.

Hot water on tap

Zip Hydro Tap has made enormous inroads around the world with its instant hot water, chilled and sparkling water taps. They are a mainstay in about 70 per cent of Australian offices and workplaces, and are increasingly popular in residential settings.

The company estimates 20 million people globally use a Zip tap daily. It went close to being listed on the ASX in 2017 when plans were well advanced for a $500 million-plus initial public offering. But then a $550 million offer by Culligan International was accepted at a late stage, acquiring it from Quadrant Private Equity and the Crouch family. Chicago-based Culligan is a large player in water purification and softeners.

Zip has a history stretching back to 1947 and was founded by Michael Crouch. It transformed a Sydney manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen heaters into a maker of over-sink boiling water heaters for factory and office canteens in the late 1960s. It steadily implemented new technology which meant the systems became smaller.

The push for innovation hasn’t let up. Zip last year undertook a detailed analysis of the manufacturing and installation processes across the company which found a need to become more efficient, and to strip out complexity.

It found there were 45 steps between in-factory testing at its Condell Park plant in western Sydney, and commissioning of the product in the field. They went full-tilt on reducing the number of steps.

From October 2022, the new approach has been paying dividends. Proprietary firmware was developed to automate the step-by-step commissioning, and smart adaptors put in to ensure consistent concentrations of solutions going through the taps before use. Zip also developed a natural, certified organic and biodegradable solution that prepares the taps for use by consumers.

For almost a year the new processes have been in place for customers in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Mike Abbott, the Zip managing director for Australia and New Zealand, says the group has developed a culture of continuous improvement “across every part of the product life-cycle”.

“We’ve been able to reduce the complexity of the Australian based HydroTap manufacturing, which has not only reduced lead times for our customers, but also for our busy installers across the world,” he says.

Zip has also been able to significantly reduce its environmental impact. It points out that the taps prevent 1.8 billion single-use plastic bottles going into landfill each year as people refill their own glasses, cups and drinking bottles.