Chief
- Type: Retail
- Total Round Size (min): AUD$251
- Total Round Size (max): AUD$98,000
- Price per share: AUD$1.53
Chief Nutrition
This CSF raise offered through Equitise is part of a larger $1m raise being undertaken by Chief. The Company has secured $902,000 from existing investors and is offering an exclusive allocation of $98,000 through Equitise.
- Fees Paid by Issuer: 6% of funds raised
- Cooling Off Period: 5 Working Days
- Minimum Parcel Size: $250.92
Terms of Offer
Key Documents
Investor Rewards
For investments between: $1,000 - $4,999
15% discount on purchases via our website + Chief branded merch
For investments above: $5,000
25% discount on purchases via our website + Chief branded merch
Overview of Chief
Chief is a fast growing brand in the “better for you” snacking space with national and international distribution. They have doubled revenue in the past 12 months and over the past 3 months have achieved a $4m annual revenue run rate and profitability on a normalised basis.
Within the c.$98bn global healthy snack market, consumers are moving away from big food companies with their perceived healthy snacks which are actually full of artificial ingredients and/or sugar. Consumers are instead looking towards alternative, “purpose led” brands which use genuinely healthy and sustainable ingredients.
Chief has created a range of health snacks and supplements that are uncompromising on health and sustainability. Chief’s beef bars and collagen bars are made using secret recipes which are very difficult to replicate:
- Chief Beef Range (54% of current revenue): Unique, organic, grass-fed beef bars and biltong using premium cuts of organic grass-fed Aussie beef, farmed with regenerative practices. No nasty preservatives or additives. Currently ranged in most Ampol stores and soon to be ranged in Woolworths.
- Chief Collagen Range (37% of current revenue): Sweet, nut-based bars, with collagen protein, that are one of the only truly clean and healthy snack bars in the world. All natural and low sugar. Currently ranged in Woolworths.
- Supplements (10% of current revenue): Our new range of supplements are sourced from real food rather than being made in a lab which gives superior bioavailability.
Chief is already gaining significant traction, tracking run rate revenue of over $4m, with ranging in Ampol, BCF, Dan Murphy’s, Harris Farm and Woolworths. Through direct-to-consumer online channels, Chief creates strong customer loyalty and community building.
Brock Hatton and Justin Babet launched Chief in 2015, alongside Libby Babet (health expert, author and former trainer on Channel 10’s “The Biggest Loser”) and Veronika Larisova (nutritionist and exercise physiologist).
Libby, Brock and Justin are experienced founders with 5 successful exits between them. Brock was also one of the founding team for international health food brand Nuzest (still operating).
They are advised by a network of prominent figures across finance, investing and FMCG brand building.
Looking forward, Chief will use this round of capital to further accelerate its rapid domestic growth through deeper support of major retailers and distributors (for example, funding trade marketing and promotions), expanding its product range and further growth of online revenue driven by expansion of its extensive ambassador network.
Chief has many international opportunities and already exports to New Zealand, Middle East, Singapore and Hong Kong. Chief also has existing direct-to-consumer revenue from the US and other international markets.
Investment Highlights
- Impressive traction to date
Chief's annual revenue run rate has grown 2.5x since the last capital raise from $1.6m to over $4m. Close to 25% of online revenue is from subscription customers who receive an automatic order every month. The company achieved profitability on a normalised basis and are forecasting profitability this financial year, while still continuing to invest in rapid growth.
- Multi-channel distribution
Our annual revenue run rate has grown 2.5x since the last capital raise from $1.6m to over $4m. Close to 25% of online revenue is from subscription customers who receive an automatic order every month. We have achieved profitability on a normalised basis and are forecasting profitability this financial year, while still continuing to invest in rapid growth.
- Strong exits in the space
Large food companies are buying smaller brands to maintain market share. Recent US examples include General Mills / Epic Meat Bars (acquired for $100m, 5.0x revenue) and Kelloggs/ RX Bar (acquired for $600m, 5.0x revenue). This trend has also been seen in Australia with Well Naturally, Keep it Cleaner and Raise the Bar all acquired recently.
- Differentiated product range
We’ve developed a range of healthy snacks that are some of the only snacks nutritionists, dieticians and doctors tell us they recommend to their customers. Our bars use secret recipes (trade secrets) that are very hard to replicate
- Highly marketable brand with excellent customer feedback
Our brand has tremendous reach online, with over 4m Australians seeing our advertisements over the last 12 months. We have industry-leading metrics such as a CAC (Cost to Acquire a Customer) to LTV (Gross Margin Lifetime Value) ratio of 3. Additionally, close to 40% of our online revenue comes from email marketing. We have excellent customer feedback and a high repeat purchase rate of 35%.
- “Better for you” is booming
The “Better for you” snack market is projected to grow at 6% over the next five years as consumers distrust big brands and are increasingly seeking “purpose led”, healthy alternatives.
- Robust growth strategy
We’ve established a robust growth strategy to drive towards our target of over $20m revenues by FY2026. Our plan includes growing our product range and distribution channels, with plans for international expansion through an online-led strategy in the US.
- Rapidly improving margins
We’ve recently achieved significant cost savings across our supply chain which is resulting in large bottom-line gains over the coming 6 months.
Team
Brock Hatton
Over 13 years in Health and Wellness. Founded and sold Revivol, co-founded international success story Nuzest.
Justin Babet
Over 20 years in start-up, leadership, HR, technology, health and fitness, operations and marketing including 4 exits.
Libby Babet
Trainer on TEN’s ‘The Biggest Loser’, fitness expert for Prevention Magazine and HIT Network. Founder of 3 successful wellness businesses.
Veronika Larisova
Nutritionist, exercise physiologist, ultra marathon runner and one of Australia’s top health and fitness influencers.
Financials
For further detail please see section 2.12 of the Offer Document.
Use of Funds
For further detail please see section 3.3 of the Offer Document.
Key Risks
We rely on packaging suppliers, ingredient suppliers, third-party contract manufacturers and distributors. With current global supply chain and delivery constraints, this may hinder our expansion plans when entering new markets. Likewise, we may not be able to receive stock from interstate suppliers on time within Australia. This may result in significant delays or cause certain products to go out of stock, potentially delaying revenue or impacting our ability to grow sales.
The cost of our products are dependent upon many factors including packaging costs, ingredient costs and manufacturing costs. Increasing costs of goods may result in significant reductions in margin, or significant increases in prices passed on to consumers which may affect our ability to compete in the market.
With our main channels of distribution including wholesale and major retailers, consumers may not be able to access on-the-shelf products at gyms/fitness centres, cafes, beauty salons or even supermarkets, in light of COVID-19. This may severely impact revenue streams from these channels and reduce consumer awareness and brand promotion. Additionally, our outsourced warehouse staff may need to isolate due to COVID-19 and this may impact timely delivery of products.
We pride ourselves on delivering healthy products, a strong sustainable ethos and a local appeal that differentiates itself from similar competitors. If competitors begin adopting a similar approach, this could lead to a reduction of market share within Australia. This will impact our revenues and impact our growth prospects and customer retention rates.
Our brand is centred around providing sustainably sourced and 100% real ingredients that support local Aussie producers and minimise our carbon footprint. In a case where quality controls are not met, this can harm our reputation and perception of the brand, leading to a fall in sales and potential loss of a loyal customer base.
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