Seedlab Australia has appointed Kenna MacTavish as managing director, with co-founder Dr Hazel MacTavish-West stepping back from the chief executive role to become finance director and mentor.
The change reshapes leadership at the Woolworths-backed FMCG business program, which has supported more than 600 founders since its national launch in 2021 and generated more than $38 million in participant sales through the supermarket.
Seedlab Australia works with emerging food, beverage, personal care, home care and pet care brands, helping founders build retail-ready businesses. It grew out of Seedlab Tasmania, a 2020 pilot established after MacTavish-West’s Churchill Fellowship into food innovation and value-added agri-food products. Alumni include Bippi, Fix & Fogg, Urban Forager, Nibblish, Vutcher and Bask & Co.
MacTavish, who is MacTavish-West’s daughter, moved through the business from marketing and program delivery to chief operating officer before stepping up to managing director.
The handover follows a period of upheaval for MacTavish-West, including the sudden death of her husband and Seedlab co-founder, Darren West, 18 months ago.
“Throughout the past 18 months, Kenna’s role, capacity and capability have grown consistently and brilliantly. Now is her time to shine, and now is my time to step back from leadership and take more time for myself and my life,” MacTavish-West said.
MacTavish said her focus would be visibility, community and alumni storytelling.
“Seedlab needs to become more visible. Not in a marketing sense; our founders know we exist, and so do the retailers we work with. But there are still thousands of FMCG founders across Australia and New Zealand who are figuring it out alone, making avoidable mistakes and spending money they don’t have on support that isn’t right for them. They don’t know Seedlab exists, and that has to change,” MacTavish said.
Seedlab runs three program tiers: Bootcamp for early-stage founders, Cultivate for those preparing for retail growth, and Propagate for more advanced businesses looking to scale.
Under MacTavish, Seedlab will expand its community initiatives, including Seedlab Shelf Life, an in-person event series designed to connect founders beyond the structured program.
“The founders who’ve been through Bootcamp, Cultivate or Propagate and come out the other side with a thriving brand are the proof of concept. We’re just starting to tell those stories properly, and I think there’s a whole chapter there that we haven’t written yet,” MacTavish said.
The Woolworths relationship, which spans seven years, will remain central under the new structure. MacTavish said she was committed to helping small suppliers build the capability and confidence to navigate increasingly complex retail environments.
