On the factory floor of organics

From strength to strength, sesame seed paste has been a growing interest amongst customers with a growing awareness of healthy eating, and becoming certified organic was a jewel in the crown which sets BFA Certified Carwari apart from the crowd.

Organic processor Carwari has been making Organic Tahini (sesame seed paste) for 15 years at its Sydney plant in Marrickville.

The entrepreneur in the relatively new sphere of organic food manufacturing is Mr Len Obeid.

Len has been manufacturing Tahini for 28 years. He started off producing high quality stone milled Tahini to supply to the then new health food industry. Coming from a family of olive farmers Len’s attention to detail for quality processes and a continuing passion for improving his product led him to organics. Carwari’s business is now more than 90% organic manufacturing.

Within the last three years Carwari has taken up BFA certification to boost sales and help make contact with farmers who can meet supply needs.

Whilst their organic Tahini has always been processed with IFOAM accredited ingredients, the process of moving the actual process to BFA certified organic took a bit of planning and thinking outside the square.

But convert to certified organic they did, and so successful was the transition, that Len now laughs as he describes the onslaught of conventional processors that now sit before him in his office wanting to convert to organic.

Len explains that people traditionally have not known how to go about becoming organically certified, and explains that going down this path requires a shift in thinking.

"When we started out, organics was still very new, and manufacturing by nature had been geared towards getting the best quality at minimal expense," said Len.

"To us, organic is about premium quality, premium ingredients and green processes. More expensive, yes, so getting these new ways of thinking through to conventional processors was the main challenge - but ultimately the consumers have voted for organic and that’s the deciding factor."

So the conversion began, and the learning curve picked up pace. When Carwari began considering a conversion to organic processes, they became aware of the importance of understanding the expansion of responsibility.

"We had to come to terms with the fact that Carwari was no longer the only one responsible for the purity of its organic product - the BFA would also now take some responsibility," said Len’s daughter Graziella.

"Whilst our processes stayed largely the same, the transparency of these processes became an important factor. Dad knew that the stock was separated, but there were no signs. So we put up signs and wrote up a quick procedure for storing the stock in separate areas. We labelled the machines ‘Organic’ and ‘Conventional’ and we hung signs separating the organic and conventional storage areas. These sorts of things made it more visible to the BFA and helped us maintain consistent factory management practices."

As for sourcing organic sesame seeds, this has proved a challenge in itself for Carwari.

"We’ve seen a lot of sesame come in and out of the market over the years" says Len.

"We import all the Organic we need - but we want to produce a 100% Australian product in the future, and we need more Australian Organic sesame to do this."

Carwari went into Organic manufacturing very early. They explained that they were led by the consumer who was also there very early ? in the form of health conscious, investigative consumers scanning ingredients on health food shop shelves.

"Making contact with these consumers is about more than just producing a quality organic product. They want information, they are hungry for good food and for knowledge so Carwari has always had to have a strong Sales and Marketing focus," said Graziella.

Starting with brand presence and good informative labels with recipes - educating the retailers, hence the consumer, Carwari has always held an open house policy, inviting and entertaining consumers, distributors, retailers and wholesalers.

Len Obeid has commissioned his daughter Graziella of Gostar Consulting to run the Sales and Marketing for Carwari. Graziella caters towards the consumer with label design, web design (www.carwari.com) and other areas of sales and marketing. Graziella believes there is a lot of overlap between production and sales and marketing.

"If we learn that customers like Carwari Tahini because it is sweet, then Production will endeavour to keep buying sweet organic sesame and produce a consistent product"

The overlap in production, quality control and Sales/Marketing being so large, Graziella’s business Gostar consulting has expanded into quality control management systems for Carwari and other businesses.

Recently Carwari has expanded into export to the Japanese market. Being BFA certified was a major factor in winning this business, one among the many benefits of being certified explained Len.

"To win the Japanese export market is a challenge on all levels including product consistency, quality control, packaging and marketing - one has to be up to speed with the latest Organic production methods as well as sensitive to Japanese market needs," said Len.

Graziella explained that packaging was the main area of overall production they have had to rethink.

"Japanese markets like a lot of information and a lot of wrapping so it was important to find out requirements in the pricing stage, and factor in any extra costs," she said.

Stressing the importance of remaining open and flexible, Graziella explained they have considered a range of options, including outsourcing packaging and leveraging off other resources.

Graziella believes that quality management is also a priority factor in the export market.

"It has been really important to make sure you have some procedures in place and a good system of communication going. We are constantly having to rethink our processes of exporting highly packaged delicate organic goods, which have a few unique factors to consider."

Carwari’s need for certified organic produce has increased as a result of this new business.

Len & Graziella believe that the business growth they have been enjoying has been helped immeasurably by being certified with the BFA, and are always on the look out for Australian producers who are a sesame grower or are interested in growing sesame.