The Peel Thing is a business built on a real passion to reduce waste through creating joy with the addition of something a little special: a garnish.
Katie, The Peel Thing’s owner, is the daughter of European migrants who instilled in her a ‘no waste’ ethic from a young age. “I was definitely influenced by my parents’ strong belief in using up what we had and not ever wasting a single thing, especially when it came to food,” she said.
After decades in the corporate world, Katie felt it was time for a change. In 2019, she developed her initial business, Beach Box Grazing, on the Mornington Peninsula. This flourished during lockdown, and from it evolved Katie’s real passion for the sustainable sourcing of plant-based options for both food and drink garnishes.
The initial range of dehydrated citrus fruits sourced and dried on the Peninsula are not only delicious, they also add a little sunshine to a drink, cheeseboard or dessert. “Providing a product that brings that little special something to so many people is such a delight,” Katie said.
The popularity of these garnishes meant her home-based business needed to move to the sought-after Dromana Collins Industrial Estate. The range has expanded greatly over the past year to include a fun collection of edible fruit decorations, sprinkles and cocktail sugar rims, artisan cocktail salts and syrups. Not only are the products colourful and delicious for use in the kitchen and at the bar, the dehydrated citrus fruits and flowers can also produce a wonderful aroma throughout the home.
Quality is of the utmost importance, Katie said. “The drying process is slow and low to ensure the original fruit’s nutritional value and colour remains as close to the fresh product as possible.”
Packaging also takes the less waste approach, with the business reusing it where possible and keeping all packaging and printing local with as low an impact as possible on the environment. All products are 100 per cent Australian-made and primarily sourced across the Peninsula and Victoria. The products can be ordered online and are widely available in stockists locally, nationally and globally.
“Winning the 2022 Mornington Peninsula Business Excellence Award was the crowning achievement for our new business, validating our relentless pursuit of excellence and strategic innovation,” Katie said. “It affirmed our direction and provided us with a confidence moving forward that has supported us to grow from strength to strength.”
The future looks exciting for the business as the team continues to innovate, with new products currently in development to use 100 per cent of the fruit and adding a little extra.
Katie’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, to use the entire piece of the fruit or flower and her high energy to do so, makes for some extraordinary products heading our way from the factory-based business in Dromana.
The Peel Thing. Factory 1/7 Thomson Tce, Dromana P: 0411 703 295
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