Bask & Co.'s recipe for success

A health issue made Janessa Rutter rethink her diet. She started exploring tasty, healthy alternatives and began sharing her gluten-free and refined sugar-free recipes on Instagram. This sparked the idea for her business, Bask & Co.

Janessa's friends and family greatly appreciated her almond and coconut granola. With encouragement from her Instagram followers, she then took a leap of faith. Shortly after, Janessa secured a placement for Bask and Co. granola with her first IGA Supermarket. 

Janessa said there was a lot to learn a lot about business requirements and balancing business growth with the demands of a young family. 

Despite the inevitable challenges, you can now find Bask & Co. products on supermarket shelves across Australia. 

Never sell anything you don’t find delicious

Bask & Co. started with Janessa's original gluten-free and processed sugar-free almond and coconut granola. Since then, the range has expanded to include various flavors, granola bars, and gluten-free porridge. 

Janessa’s rigorous standards ensure she ‘never sells anything you don’t find delicious’. Janessa creates each product in Bask & Co.'s range with great care, time, and effort. She tests the recipes repeatedly to ensure they are both healthy and tasty. Knowing her market well has been a key factor in product development and testing.

Online growth

Janessa’s business took another step forward recently with an engaging and attractive new website. Funding from her successful Lord Mayor’s Women in Business Grant application made this development possible. The new website is helping to transform Janessa’s business, with online orders growing by 500% in 2024.

“I’ve learned a lot about being clear about what your unique selling point is. A beautiful website and online marketing can give your customers the opportunity to engage and be drawn into your story and what you’re about – the scalability of online is almost limitless,“ Janessa said.

Tenacity, vision and a support network

A positive and persistent approach has helped Janessa stay focused on seeing her business thrive. This is despite the emotion effort and challenges involved in creating a new business. 

Janessa's clear vision for her business has helped Bask & Co. achieve a major milestone this year. The products are now available in over 200 independent retailers and 80 Woolworths Metro stores across four Australian states.

Janessa said that informal networks of business peers have been invaluable in sharing advice, support and opportunities. In particular, women-owned businesses have helped her in further developing her own brand. More formal networks such as Seedlab and Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN) provide guidance based on experience and collaboration. 

Looking to the future

With the structure of her business changing, Janessa is excited to explore new opportunities and support in Brisbane. This includes various workshops, events and resources at the Suburban Business Hub and Brisbane Business Hub.

“I’m excited about the future for Bask & Co. based here in Brisbane. I feel like we’ve hit our stride now and as we grow and change our ideas about what is possible, there’s no limits as to where we can go,” Janessa said.

In just eight years, Bask & Co. has grown significantly since its beginnings on Instagram. The company will continue to expand its range of healthy and delicious gluten-free products for customers.