Mrs Toddy’s Tonics was growing its retail footprint nationally, with export the next logical step. Founder Sophie Todd was able to join the Australia stand at FHA Vietnam, coordinated by Investment NSW and FIAL, and shares her lessons from taking a brand to a trade show.
Todd’s business began after prevailing health ailments inspired her to bring a traditional Indonesian remedy recipe called jamu home to Sydney to recreate in her kitchen. As she made the tonics, Todd would share them with friends and then word of mouth spread of their existence.
Today, the Mrs Toddy’s range contains ingredients such as turmeric, cloves, ginger, lemongrass, chamomile, juniper berry, hibiscus, vegan collagen, and lipowheat, and is sold nationally in leading supermarkets.
Getting event-ready
“It’s been so fantastic building the company, working with suppliers growing the brand and its offering of health and wellness products in the FMCG space.
“The FHA Vietnam tradeshow was really enjoyable and it was a seamless effort by both Investment NSW and FIAL. The Australia stand was highly functional and gave us our own unique space for each brand to shine at the same time working together,” said Todd.
Making sure the freight was available on the stand when business owners arrived in Vietnam was the task of FIAL’s GM, commercial, Rod Arenas.
“I did a lot of planning before the trade show, to know how much stock was required, insights into the market, understanding our costings, and who the potential target markets were,” said Arenas.
Ranges vs. SKU’s
“At the time, I only had four SKU’s and not range of products, and this limited the opportunity to create sales.
“Learning from that, we have since showed at trade shows with more variety or product lines which has created greater opportunity and sales,” said Todd.
Preparing for potential buyers
“I find trade shows quite frustrating if you haven’t pre booked meetings with potential buyers. The issue this causes is you are waiting for someone to come by without having a plan ready.
“For example I unfortunately missed speaking with one of the main buyers which was disappointing, however I made a point of catching them afterwards.
“We were a last minute spot at the trade show so we came a little under prepared. I was hoping for a deal at the show, but it isn’t always that simple to do business on the spot. However, now that we have a product suite, we can really shine,” said Todd.
Nine months after the event Todd is still pursuing contacts made at the event and is in discussions with two distributors.
Mrs Toddy's Tonic was Food & Drink Business' Rising Star in the May 2022 print magazine.
