Yaala Sparkling, a Queensland-based Indigenous-owned business received a $125,000 investment offer during its appearance on Shark Tank.
Founded in early 2023, Yaala Sparkling creates alcohol-free drinks made with native ingredients sourced from Indigenous wild harvesters and local farmers and retails through Dan Murphy’s.
The brand currently offers two flavours: Lemon Myrtle & Native Blossom and Davidson Plum & Waratah. Lemon Myrtle contains properties akin to a superfood, making it an essential ingredient for good health and Davidson Plum is one of the most nutritionally powerful native Australian fruits that has more lutein than avocado, more antioxidants than blueberries and 100 times the Vitamin C of an orange.
Yaala, means ‘the present moment’ in Wiradjuri language, and co-founder Tara Croker believes in bringing the ancient knowledge of First Nations peoples to the present through Yaala’s sparkling water.
“The rapidly growing native foods and botanicals industry is thought to be worth up to $50 million a year, and yet less than 2 percent of businesses in the native food sector are Indigenous-owned. Our mission with Yaala Sparkling is to establish an Indigenous-owned business in the native food industry and increase First Nations representation in the industry.
“At Yaala we work with First Nations suppliers throughout our supply chain and business, including wild harvesters, local farmers, and artists. Any business using native plants and knowledge passed down over generations has a duty and responsibility to preserve traditional knowledge and invest back into the community,” said Croker.
Shark Tank investor Catriona Wallace said the product filled a currently unmet need in the soft drink industry.
"Indigenous inspired and Australian native plant flavoured sparkling water will be hugely successful, not only in Australia, but internationally. The care, crafting and quality of these drinks is second to none and the entrepreneurs are exceptional,” said Wallace.
Thanks to the investment, Croker says the business will be in a better position to produce at scale and grow Yaala Sparkling nationwide.
