casa e cucina

Ethical business and food entrepreneur, Kate Weiss was honoured to win the business category at the InStyle and Audi Women of Style Awards last week. Kate founded the healthy food brand, Table of Plenty six years ago and has watched it grow into a multi-million dollar business stocked in more than 2000 stores and exported to over six countries.

Kate beat fellow nominees Diana Williams, the founder of the Fernwood gym chain and Lorna Jane Clarkson, the face behind the Lorna Jane sportswear retailers. The award was judged by an impressive panel including Katie Page, the managing director of Harvey Norman and Museum of Contemporary Art director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor. This is the fourth annual InStyle and Audi Women of Style Awards, which aim to celebrate the outstanding achievements of successful women in Australia.

“InStyle are leading the way in promoting and recognising women’s achievements across many fields,” says Kate. “I am proud to be a part of this great network and it was an honour to win the business category, especially considering the tough competition I was up against. Those are some big names and it was a real surprise!”

Kate was inspired to start the business after her life took a dramatic turn when her daughter Amy was born with a rare genetic condition; Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome, and an intellectual disability. At the time, Kate was working demanding hours as a sales and marketing manager. The long hours and inflexible environment collided with the demands of Amy’s needs and Kate felt pushed out of the system. As a result she ended up at home looking after Amy full-time. It was a tough time for Kate, yet out of the seeds of hopelessness, she managed to reconnect with her passion for food and creativity and saw the opportunity to create a healthy food brand with mothers at its heart – food you can trust, from one mother to another. In 2006, Table of Plenty was born.

Table of Plenty thrives on making food products that are tasty and nutritious as well as quick and easy to prepare. Their unique ranges include deliciously natural mueslis, sweet mini rice cakes, a range of international-inspired spice blends and dukkahs, and – as of recently – they’ve added children’s No-No’s bars to their impressive portfolio.

Since the company’s launch in 2006, Table of Plenty has become a multi-million dollar business, with its biggest breakthrough coming when the brand began to be stocked in major supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, attracting a loyal and growing customer base.

Table of Plenty is stocked in around 2000 outlets across Australia, as well as being exported to international destinations including Dubai, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and soon Europe. Now in its 6th year, Table of Plenty has five staff, boasts an annual turnover of a few million dollars and is expanding rapidly.

As an integral part of its foundation and motivation, Table of Plenty actively supports several organisations for children and people with disabilities, working closely as Community Partner to Scope (a disability support services organisation) as well as providing monetary donations and employment opportunities. Table of Plenty also donates products to causes that promote a healthy lifestyle, for example the Bicycle QLD Ride to Work Day.

For more information, visit www.tableofplenty.com.au 

About Table of Plenty: Table of Plenty was established by Kate Weiss in 2006. After the birth of her daughter, who has a rare genetic syndrome, Kate turned adversity into opportunity to create a brand that puts mums in the middle. Committed to helping those with busy lives put a decent meal on the table, Table of Plenty draws on Kate’s wealth of knowledge about spices, herbs and healthy foods. The business has grown to be a trusted brand, including a range of creative cereals, spices and healthy snacks.

Are you in the dark about the power of mushrooms? If the answer is yes, prepare for enlightenment, with a communications campaign launched to tell you more about this nutritional powerhouse.

Australian Mushroom Growers General Manager, Greg Seymour said a global review of published mushroom research conducted by the CSIRO had established the need to inform consumers more about the “Power of Mushrooms”.

“The study found that mushrooms provide 20% of the daily needs for B vitamins, are packed with essential nutrients, full of powerful antioxidants, low in kilojoules, virtually fat free and have a super low GI.”

“The really exciting evidence, however, was that more and more research is uncovering the potential for mushrooms to reduce the risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease and to improve immune function and even protect people against dementia.

Mr Seymour said research, funded by the industry in partnership with the Federal Government, was now looking to build on these discoveries, with studies underway to confirm the outcomes with human trials.

“What we know now is that leading international scientists are excited at the potential for mushrooms to provide excellent nutrition and also have a positive benefit on human health.”

“Research has shown, however, that most Australians do not know about the specific nutrition or health benefits of regular consumption. The Power of Mushrooms communication campaign is all about letting people know just what mushrooms bring to the table in terms of human health.”

“We have come a long way since people viewed mushrooms simply as meat for vegetarians and with an ever expanding body of knowledge, it is the right time to talk with consumers about the nutritional benefits of mushrooms.”

“Our research found that people who consume mushrooms love the taste and believe them to be healthy. Four out of five also want to know more about the health benefits. Our focus will be to explain how just three mushrooms a day can contribute to a healthier life.”

“While we are naturally biased we are excited by the opportunity to tell people about the potential to improve their health through the regular consumption of mushrooms.”

The campaign will commence in July and comprises a range of communication activities to inform consumers about mushrooms.

Funded by Australian mushroom growers, the campaign was developed by Advertising agency, Traffic and features a variety of strong visual images depicting the health benefits of mushrooms.

To help consumers out of the dark they will be given a range of facts including that:

• a mushroom is not a fruit or a vegetable. It is unique!
• mushrooms can help control weight as they are low GI, low kJ, and satisfy the appetite.
• mushrooms (compared to vegetables) rank in the top five for antioxidant capacity. mushrooms are the only non-animal fresh food to naturally contain vitamin D.
• published Australian research links mushroom consumption to reduced breast cancer risk.
• just three mushrooms provides over 20% of the daily need for many B vitamins.
• no vegetable can match the nutrient profile of the mushroom.
• mushrooms are one of the few non-animal foods with the powerful antioxidant ergothioneine.
• mushrooms have vitamin B12 on the surface and in the flesh.
• To learn more about the power of the mushrooms please visit the website at www.powerofmushrooms.com.au