Nat and Fonz Corbett said they didn’t expect going into manufacturing would be all “roses and gumdrops” and were over the moon at becoming a finalist in the prestigious Small Business Champion Awards. Photo: Supplied.
“We want to make people fall in love with cleaning their leather gear again,” says Holbrook’s Nat Corbett.
Nat and husband Fonz launched their new product BEST Leather Care in September last year and have just been named as finalists in the specialised retail category at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards.
Winners will be announced at two gala events in Sydney on 28 and 29 March.
“It’s the first time we have entered and we are over the moon at being nominated as a finalist; pretty special considering it’s our first year of business,” Nat said.
“As soon as I got notification I booked our tickets for the event and decided what dress I was going to wear!” she laughs.
BEST Leather Care is a traditional tallow-based balm made in Australia (in fact, on the Corbett’s home property in Holbrook) using all regionally sourced natural ingredients; think beeswax, beef tallow and essential oils. It works three ways – to clean, condition and protect everything from saddles to leather handbags, lounge suites and car or aircraft upholstery.
The idea for the product came to Fonz after years in the saddle and a stint as a shearer.
“It’s a 100-year-old recipe that was given to me by a really good horseman. We’ve refined it and made it better. We trialed it in very small batches for a few years before we bought the plant and equipment in from overseas to produce it on a larger scale.”
Their aim is to make it the best of its type in Australia.
Nat Corbett says it was important to them to have the green and gold Australian Made logo added to their branding to make it “crystal clear” to customers that it was a 100 per cent homegrown product. Photo: Supplied.
“It’s much bigger than just saddles and horse gear – this is perfect for high-end fashion items and the leather interior of luxury cars and boats, although we’d like to think that one day we could sponsor the Australian equestrian Olympic team,” he grins.
“We’re really stoked that we are manufacturing it ourselves. It hasn’t come without a few trials and tribulations. We didn’t expect it would be all roses and gumdrops, but I think if we can go into manufacturing then just about anybody can.
“It is a bit daunting when there are thousands of dollars involved and it takes a level of courage and an open mind for sure, but we’ve had some great help along the way from friends and mentors and we feel like we know what to expect from now on.
In an added boon for the business’ entry into the small business awards, the Corbett’s can include sustainability in the equation with their manufacturing plant operated by 100 per cent renewable energy. They have also just added the green and gold Australian Made logo to their branding.
“It was really important to us to have that logo and the process of getting it involved providing plenty of evidence on our products and processes,” said Nat.
“It makes it crystal clear to the buyer that it is Australian made; you can have something written on a product that says, ‘Australian since 1902’ for example but that doesn’t mean it’s made here.”
The Corbett’s have thrown themselves into the promotion and marketing of the leather care balm, attending large scale equestrian events, agricultural shows and markets while adding new stores weekly to their stockists list. Their four children are brand ambassadors and you’ll often see their cheeky grins on BEST’s Facebook page.
Nat and Fonz are off to the Man From Snowy River Bush Festival in Corryong in April to sponsor part of the event and hopefully sell the remainder of their first batch of 2000 tins produced.
“Not a lot of people know about the product yet, but as soon as they do, they love it,” said Fonz.
“I’ll be sure to have a tin in my pocket when we are at the awards in Sydney.”
Loading ...
