Carolyn Creswell

How do you go from selling muesli to a few cafes in your neighbourhood to over 30 countries around the world? Carolyn bought Carman's for $1,000 when she was 18. In the past 20 years she's built it into one of Australia's most well-known and well-loved gourmet food brands. In this episode Carolyn shares with Adam about what she learned from working on the Coles checkout as a teenager, building Carman's from the ground up without a cent of external funding and how she's learned to become a leader of an incredibly successful team.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carolyn Creswell, founder of Carman's Kitchen, shares how she approaches new product development in a category that is always changing, why customer research forms the backbone of all of her decision making, and how a recent revelation about her leadership style has transformed the way she works with her team. You’ll learn:  Her new product development process, and why Carman’s is now moving into the savoury aisle What the Carman’s customer ‘flavour ranker’ is, and how she uses it to inform all her decision making How a recent revelation about her leadership style has transformed the way she works with her team Why Carolyn suggests that you shouldn’t grow your business more than 25% year on year Why having an A team is one of the most important determinants of success  ~ Connect with us ~Sign up to our non-spammy monthly newsletter: www.ladybrains.com.auFollow us on Instagram: @lady.brainsChat to us in the Facebook group: the lady-brains clubhouseHave a sweet business idea but unsure if it has potential? Sign up for the free 'Idea Validation Mini Course' here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watching panicked consumers clear the supermarket shelves ignited an idea for Carolyn Creswell.  If toilet paper was flying off the shelves in aisle eight, would muesli bars in aisle three be the next must-have item? The Carman’s founder made the decision to increase her stock holdings in the face of huge uncertainty. Will the risky decision pay dividends for the muesli mogul this time? Carolyn shares how she’s been batting away curveballs her whole life, including a major health scare and now running her company from home – under lockdown.  Curveball is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest moments. We take you inside a company at a pivotal moment while the brightest bosses navigate their biggest challenges, and share tips with you on how to thrive in challenging times. We love hearing your stories. How have you adapted on the fly? Use your phone to record a voice memo and email it to hello@deadsetstudios.comKeep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram. Find out more about the show, and even suggest a guest by going to www.curveballshow.comWe acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this show was made.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At age 18 she bought a tiny business for $1000, today it’s known as an Australian iconic food brand CARMEN’S. Today you’ll hear the story of how Carolyn Creswell uses to park her little Daewoo car alongside the big semi-trailers at the supermarket loading docks to delivery her product to the largest supermarket chains in Australia.…(not any more though!) We hear about Carolyn’s biggest challenge in her 28yr of business plus she also shares her very sound advice for other businesswomen. Mentions on the show: Carmen’s Kitchen website: Carmen’s gluten free crackers: Follow Annette here: Instagram Facebook Listen on Annette’s website The post HP 91: Carmen’s Kitchen with CEO and Founder Carolyn Creswell appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

In this episode of Chunk of Change, we speak to Carolyn Creswell, founder and Managing Director of Carman’s Fine Foods. In the 28-years since Carolyn started her artisanal muesli business, she’s managed to turn the Carman’s brand into an international breakfast and snacking powerhouse that now exports to over 30 countries. During this candid conversation, Carolyn reveals herself to be a self-aware and heartfelt leader, one who's as determined as ever in her quest to shake up the food industry well beyond the cereal aisle. Her 'drive it like you stole it' approach to business, combined with a meticulous approach to innovation has meant that Carman's has successfully dislodged much larger competitors time and again for the past 20+ years. Carolyn is authentic and generous with her advice for others - qualities that she fosters through a combination of gratefulness and an unwavering commitment to never shy away from tough conversations.

Carolyn Creswell started her entrepreneurial journey young… she was just 18 years old, working part-time as a student mixing up small batches of muesli for a mum & dad operation. When that business was about to fold, with her job threatened, she and a pal bought it for just $1,000 each. But it was no overnight success. After several years of hard grind -- perfecting muesli recipes, sourcing quality local grains, nuts & fruits, carrying around bags full of her product to court potential supermarket customers, and mostly being constantly broke-- Carolyn Creswell prevailed. Fuelled by passion, she says, to put delight into a brekkie bowl every day, Carolyn built that tiny operation into an impressive empire now selling breakfast & snack products, across 8 different ranges, in some 34 countries. Over the last 25 years Carolyn says she’s never lost sight of her customer, nor the importance of her young family, as she pursued her foodie dream.verySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear how Carman’s Muesli founder Carolyn Creswell bought the business for $1,000 whenshe was just 18, and turned it into Australia’s most loved muesli brand that now produces60 SKUs sold in 35 countries. Once a home-operated muesli company whose products were available in a few cafesaround Melbourne, Carolyn Creswell has turned the humble operation into a thrivingmulti-million dollar business.Her brand, Carman’s Muesli, is now Australia’s number 1 selling muesli brand with 60product SKUs selling across the globe.Along the journey, she’s been named Telstra’s Business Woman of the Year, and Ernst &Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.But, as you’re about to find out, the growth of this FMCG juggernaut hasn’t all been smoothsailing, as Carolyn navigated her way through almost going broke, as well as losing a majorsupermarket client, overnight, without any notice. “My mantra is simple … I’m constantly asking ‘How can we be better?’” - Carolyn CreswellSupport the show: https://www.americanexpress.com/au/credit-cards/membership-benefits/idea-exchange/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having been a Carman’s muesli nut since back in my school days, it was such a pleasure to join the wonderful Carman’s Kitchen founder, Carolyn Creswell, at her offices for this instalment of yay. Especially since we entered the world of food businesses and FMCG with Matcha Maiden, Carolyn’s story has been an ongoing inspiration in our scale up. Despite the giant it is today, Carman’s began back when Carolyn was only 18 when she bought the hand-made muesli business for just $1000. Within a few years, she grew it to national ranging in Coles followed soon after by Woolworths and now it boasts over 1000 products in over 35 countries including 1000 outlets in China! As you will have heard before, I love seeing businesses grow to the point where they can use their network and influence to give back and Carman’s is doing this in a big way. This Sunday 1 December, the annual Carman’s Women’s Fun Run is back again seeing 6000 participants run, fun run or fun walk at Catani Gardens in St Kilda to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Network Australia. There are 5km, 10km and 21km options and I’ll be joining the 10km to get the running legs going again. See link below to join and I'll let Carolyn tell you more about it. Enjoy!+ Follow Carolyn at @carolyncreswell+ Join the Carman's Women's Fun Run here+ Buy tickets to our live event here+ See more on AMEX Rewards here+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

How I Work: Summer SeriesMy guest today is Carolyn Creswell. As Australian listeners probably know, Carolyn is the founder of Carman’s muesli, which is in pretty much every supermarket in Australia and is exported to 32 countries around the world. Over the last 25 years, Carolyn has built Carman’s into a $100 million dollar business.But there is so much more to Carolyn that just delicious tasting muesli. She has given so much thought to the way she works and this interview is full of really practical gems. We talk about: Her morning routine Why she doesn’t do coffee meetings - and what she does instead Her trick to making new year’s resolutions stick Her annual self-reflection ritual The role self-discipline plays in her life Why Carolyn doesn’t listen to the news Carolyn’s happy place How she plans her year in advance Why she books all her hair appointments for the whole year in January How she protects family time Why Carolyn never eats lunch at her desk Her favourite productivity apps Carolyn’s novel way of using to-do list software Why you will never catch Carolyn in a lie Carolyn’s approach to giving feedback You can find more about Carolyn and Carman’s at https://www.carmanskitchen.com.au/Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How I Work: Summer SeriesMy guest today is Carolyn Creswell. As Australian listeners probably know, Carolyn is the founder of Carman’s muesli, which is in pretty much every supermarket in Australia and is exported to 32 countries around the world. Over the last 25 years, Carolyn has built Carman’s into a $100 million dollar business.But there is so much more to Carolyn that just delicious tasting muesli. She has given so much thought to the way she works and this interview is full of really practical gems. We talk about:Her morning routineWhy she doesn’t do coffee meetings - and what she does insteadHer trick to making new year’s resolutions stickHer annual self-reflection ritualThe role self-discipline plays in her lifeWhy Carolyn doesn’t listen to the newsCarolyn’s happy placeHow she plans her year in advanceWhy she books all her hair appointments for the whole year in JanuaryHow she protects family timeWhy Carolyn never eats lunch at her deskHer favourite productivity appsCarolyn’s novel way of using to-do list softwareWhy you will never catch Carolyn in a lieCarolyn’s approach to giving feedbackYou can find more about Carolyn and Carman’s at https://www.carmanskitchen.com.au/Visit amanthaimber.com/podcast for full show notes.Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au