By Manu
- Type: Retail
- Total Round Size (min): AUD$300,384
- Total Round Size (max): AUD$2,000,376
- Price per share: AUD$0.63
By Manu
Founded in 2019 by chef Manu Feildel, all sauces are created by the man himself. The Company has crafted the perfect range of finishing sauces, and is looking to create more products that make it easy and convenient for the everyday home cook. The company uses local ingredients with no preservatives, no additives and no added sugar and manufactures in Queensland. The range of six, delicately-made finishing sauces is ranged in a variety of flavours nationally across Woolworths, sold online and into commercial kitchens.
The success has accelerated plans to bring new fresh food offerings to the Australian public using the same ethos of By Manu’s Sauces. Looking forward, By Manu will continue to accelerate its rapid domestic growth (90% FY21-FY22) through new Australian retailers and further expansion of product range. There is already strong interest for the product in overseas markets with conversations commencing on key markets to expand into in the Asia Pacific region.
- Fees Paid by Issuer: 6%
- Cooling Off Period: 5 Working Days
- Security Type: Fully Paid Ordinary Shares
- Minimum Parcel Size: $504
Terms of Offer
Key Documents
In addition to your fully-paid Ordinary Shares, By Manu is offering exclusive investor rewards. See section 3.2 of the Offer Document for further detail
Investor Rewards
For investments between: $1,007 - $5,039
- The Sauce By Manu Coolbag with 4 By Manu sauces
- The Sauce By Manu T-shirt
For investments between: $5,040 - $9,575
- The Sauce By Manu Coolbag with 4 By Manu sauces
- The Sauce By Manu T-shirt
- The Sauce By Manu cap
For investments between: $9,576 - $14,999
- The Sauce By Manu Coolbag with 4 By Manu sauces
- The Sauce By Manu T-shirt
- The Sauce By Manu cap
- Personally signed cookbook from Manu
For investments above: $15,000
- The Sauce By Manu Coolbag with 4 By Manu sauces
- The Sauce By Manu T-shirt
- The Sauce By Manu cap
- Personally signed cookbook from Manu
- Invite to annual Sauce party
Investment Highlights
- Category Defining Brand with Real ingredients & ‘No Nasties’
By Manu is the first refrigerated fresh sauce range in Australia, made with fresh ingredients with no added ‘nasties’, preservatives, additives or artificial sugar. The sauces have been developed to perfectly accompany any meal, so that customers can enjoy unique fresh flavour profiles and dishes - something that doesn't exist through traditional manufacturing methods.
- Australian-made sauces, with a small batch feel
After extensive research, trials and tastings over 5 years, Manu and the team selected a local manufacturing partner that could deliver to the quality required. All products are locally produced in Queensland ensuring a delicious, authentic and consistent product is delivered to customers.
- Exceptional traction and growth across Australia
In only 3 short years since launch By Manu is currently distributed nationally with over 990+ Woolworths stores and several online retailers, with talks underway with other major Australian grocery stores. In FY22 the team achieved $1.5m in revenue.
- Brand & Founder Reputation
As one of Australia’s leading food and TV personalities, Manu has understood the need to help the home cook achieve the best authentic, home-style cooked meals, using the freshest of ingredients. Manu is not just a brand ambassador, he is the founder, creator and driving force behind the brand. Manu brings over a large following and community of food lovers with over 270k+ Facebook followers, 74k+ Twitter followers and 197k+ Instagram followers.
- Growth Opportunities
By Manu has recently commenced a trial with Coles across NSW Coles local stores, which if successful could see the brand rolled out across larger format stores nationally. This would double revenue in 12 months. In addition, Woolworths are looking to expand By Manu across 300+ New Zealand Countdown stores by the end of the year.
- Growing market for ‘no nasties’ in food products
As consumers become more and more aware of the ingredients being used in the products they buy, they are increasingly demanding food products to have no preservatives or added ‘nasties’. Approximately 30% of respondents, would prefer ‘no hidden nasties’ as something noted on food products’ packaging. And By Manu’s products tackle this trend well, by creating products that are made from fresh, local ingredients, with no added preservatives, additives and added sugars.
Sauce Range
The recipes for our current product range have been hand-crafted and created by Manu Feildel himself, taking inspiration from traditional and local ingredients. The current products include 8 restaurant-quality finishing sauces, Where is the Sauce By Manu. 3 of the sauces are currently stocked at Woolworths, 4 flavours are stocked at Coles Locals stores in NSW and with an online grocer - Delish Deliveries providing our customer base a variety of different sauces to try in their cooking.
Coming Soon
After successfully launching the By Manu finishing sauces across Australia, we are also looking to expand our product range to soups, La Soupe! Manu’s new soup range offers fresh, hatted-chef quality cuisine, made by Manu in your own kitchen.
Development work has started on expanding the range further to include stocks, flavoured butters and more.
Business Model
By Manu manufactures its products locally in Queensland and distributes through three main channels: grocery retailers, hospitality venues and other online distribution partners. These main channels are outlined below:
Grocery Retailers
Woolworths were the first major grocery chain to stock and sell By Manu sauces, with the first contract signed only months after launching the business. Currently the sauces are distributed through 990+ Woolworths stores nationwide, in every State and Territory. This channel comprises 80% of gross sales as of FY22. By Manu is also stocked in select IGAs and is the latter stages of conversations with other major Australian grocery chains.
Commercial (restaurants, pubs)
In recent times, the Company is focusing on diversifying its revenue streams, with strong interest from restaurants, hotels, pubs and other hospitality venues. As demand for local hospitality staff increases due to staff shortages since the pandemic , this has consequently increased the need for more restaurant-quality yet easily prepared food products. By Manu’s high quality finishing sauces, reduces the need for trained chefs at a cost effective price point. The commercial channel comprises 15% of revenue as of FY22, but this is forecast to grow in FY23 with By Manu’s major client, Laundy Hotels, looking to roll out the range across several new venues. The channel is growing fast with several large clients in the pipeline. It provides strong growth opportunities for By Manu to diversify its revenue channels.
Online
Distribution of By Manu products through online retailers such as Delish has allowed for the By Manu brand to be accessible and easily deliverable to consumers. As the products must be stored cold, it is currently not economical for By Manu to distribute their products D2C. The company will continue to leverage Delish (and other online retailers) in the short term as the brand scales, but may look for additional solutions mid-term.
Growth Strategy
By Manu is more than a sauce brand. It is spearheading a movement to change the way Aussies eat. The vision is to create one of Australia’s most loved and respected food brands. The foundations of the business have been set up over the previous 3 years, and the Company is now looking to accelerate growth by executing on 5 strategic growth pillars over the next 24 months.
The success of the By Manu brand nationally across Woolworth’s stores to create a new category has enabled it to engage actively with other major retailers. In February, Coles launched the By Manu sauce brand in its NSW Coles Local’ format stores. If the rollout is successful, we believe the products will be expanded to cover additional Coles stores nationally. The Coles opportunity has the potential to see revenue nearly double over the nex 1-2 years should the store footprint be similar to that of the current Woolworths channel. Engagement with other major retailers continues to progress as we continue on our journey to turn By Manu into one of Australia’s most loved food brands.
Whilst there is still tremendous growth in the Australian market, By Manu is looking to expand across the region. Preparation is underway to launch in New Zealand in 2023. Woolworths has a strong presence in New Zealand through its Countdown stores, and with the success of the By Manu brand in Australian stores, it will be launching to 300+ Countdown stores across NZ starting in late 2023. Manu has a strong brand presence in NZ with My Kitchen Rules Australia & previous series of MKR NZ. Manu has just completed filming for My Kitchen Rules in NZ, and this provides an incredible opportunity to capitalise and push brand awareness for the By Manu brand.
In FY20 By Manu launched initially into 330 Australian Woolworth stores. During that period it generated just under $400k in revenue. The launch into Countdown will see a similar store footprint, and hopefully provide a similar uplift in revenue over the first 12 months from launch. This also opens the potential for additional New Zealand retailers. It is the intention that the By Manu sauces sold in New Zealand will be made locally from fresh similar produce, true to the ethos of the brand. Our current manufacturer in Queensland has operations and facilities in New Zealand that would allow us to replicate our current production in New Zealand for that market. This would also remove any international freight and logistics costs and greatly reduce any environmental impact from trans-tasman shipping.
We truly believe that once you taste our sauce, you won’t go back. However, customers are used to buying their sauces from the ambient shelf in the ‘sauce’ aisle. Made from real food with no added preservatives, our sauces need to be kept refrigerated within the grocery store. This requires us to educate consumers and slightly shift
their shopping behaviours. We have previously run successful in-store tastings nationally and have seen significant increase in sales in those stores following the tastings.
To ensure we acquire customers we will be investing in above the line marketing and in-store tastings. Our initial plan is to do quarterly tastings across 900+ Woolworths stores. This may be adjusted depending on funds raised. Should other retailers be brought on, the strategy may also be adjusted to incorporate these new stores.
In addition, we plan to leverage our strong relationships with Woolworths to roll out additional in-store marketing campaigns to drive awareness amongst shoppers, including POS and digital campaigns.
By Manu is constantly investing in NPD, with Manu himself spending time creating recipes. The team has been working with our manufacturer to take these recipes and prepare to roll nationally. New products currently under development include a new range of By Manu Soups and By Manu Stocks.
As we expand our product range and distribution to other retailers at the beginning of 2023 we launched our new packaging for our products. The new pack designs are brighter giving a more appealing look on the shelf. New packaging also includes QR codes that will give consumers direct access to the By Manu website in order to access a variety of different recipes, cooking videos with Manu for serving suggestions, tips and meals etc. in relation to that product.
The commercial channel provides a strong opportunity for the brand. This includes selling our sauces to hotels, restaurants and pubs that require restaurant quality finishing sauces at a cost effective price. The channel is already providing strong promise. We have secured a major hotel client, Laundy Hotels, and have our sauces in 24 of their venues. To really leverage this channel we will need dedicated sales staff, with funds from the raise used to bring on a dedicated team.
Key Team
Manu Feildel
Manu Feildel is already a major household name and is a significant driving force behind Australia’s love for home cooking. He is well known as a TV personality but what many don’t know is his history as a chef actually working in kitchens.
Manu has been a Chef for over 30 years after joining his dad as an apprentice at 15 and finding a love for food. After a year, he progressed to a fine dining restaurant where he finished his apprenticeship. Shortly after, the travel bug bit Manu and he packed his knives and headed for London, where he stayed for 6 years working in restaurants such as The Café Royal and Livebait (where he received a nomination of best seafood restaurant in the UK in 1998 losing to Rick Stein).
Australia was his next destination landing here in 1999, shortly after this Tony Bilson approached Manu to open his new venture Bilsons at the Radisson Hotel in 2004. In its second year of opening, the restaurant won 2 Chef’s Hats, and in its third year, this accolade had increased to 3 Chef’s Hats. In 2008 Bilson’s won three chefs hats for the third year running. In March 2009 Manu opened his first restaurant L’etoile in Paddington, Sydney, where he was awarded a Chef’s Hat in August 2009. He is the author of 4 cookbooks - Manu’s French Kitchen, Manu’s French Bistro, French for Everyone and More Please!
His transition from chef to Managing Director took a detour through TV as the host of My Kitchen Rules, which has provided him a tremendous platform to build the ByManu brand and educate Australian’s on how they can achieve authentic, home style cooked meals, using only the freshest of ingredients.
Manu is hands on daily with the ByManu brand and has been instrumental in building the business from our first few sales, to its position today, as a nationally recognised brand.
He remains the key driving force behind the business, and involved in everything from Creation to R&D, through to Sales & Marketing, where he lives and breathes the brand on a daily basis.
Natalie Street
Combining an extensive range of business experience, with 13 years’ involvement in broadcasting and television, Natalie is perfectly positioned to successfully lead the By Manu brand as its General Manager. Drawing from her former experience as a producer in the United Kingdom for BBC, and more recently for Channel 7 here in Australia, in conjunction with having held a number of key roles during her time working with Manu, Natalie brings a unique perspective to how she conducts business.
Natalie commenced working with Manu in 2010 and has been involved in a variety of successful business ventures. In addition to being pivotal to the growth and success of the By Manu brand since its inception to its release in 2019, Natalie has been key in the opening of four restaurants, the production of four cookbooks and more recently the business planning for La Botanique, a multi-functional production, catering and event space.
With a vast array of skills ranging from creatively overseeing concept design and branding, to the management of events and other promotional activities, and being involved in strategic and financial business planning, Natalie inspires those who work with her, and is able to genuinely connect with potential customers (evidenced by the fact that By Manu is now available in all Woolworth stores across Australia).
In 2023 Natalie was also appointed as a director of By Manu Feildel Pty Ltd.
Key Financials
For further detail see section 2.12 of the Offer Document
Use of Funds
For further detail see section 3.3 of the Offer Document
Key Risks
The fresh, no-nasties finishing sauce category is nascent in Australia. By Manu one of the first brands to develop this category and as such holds a strong position in the market. As the market grows, new entrants will provide greater competition, possibly impacting market share and margins.
Mitigation
The By Manu team strongly believe that new entrants into the space further validate the commercial viability and opportunity the segment presents. By Manu will look to build its defensibility through consistent, quality products. Beyond this, By Manu is firmly committed to becoming more than a sauce brand, diversifying its product range, further insulating it from new entrants into the segment.
By Manu currently has 80% of revenue coming through its contract with Woolworths to distribute to 900+ stores. Should this relationship be impacted, the Company’s revenue and operations may be significantly impacted.
Mitigation
Woolworths is strengthening its relationship with the By Manu brand as it looks to expand the range across 400 Countdown stores in New Zealand. The By Manu team are also looking to further diversify its revenue stream through a 7 store pilot with Coles which may lead to a more comprehensive store rollout in the latter half of 2023. Furthermore, the commercial kitchen market currently holds 15% revenue share and is on schedule to grow strongly with several new venues coming on-board in the coming months.
By Manu sauces are made from real, natural and locally grown ingredients. Impacts to local food security and supply may impact availability of ingredients and put upward pressure on input costs, eroding margins which may lead to price increases for consumers.
Mitigation
By Manu works incredibly closely with its manufacturers to ensure ingredients are seasonally sourced from around Australia. As the brand moves overseas, initially into New Zealand, it will set up similar local manufacturing arrangements in that region. Ultimately By Manu customers are comfortable paying a slight premium to ensure they are eating real, locally sourced ingredients. Any impact to price will be a last resort.
By Manu relies on a sole Queensland based manufacturer to produce its products. Any issues with respect to that manufacturer or unforeseen delays may result in the unavailability of stock and loss of sales opportunities.
Mitigation
Although By Manu relies on a sole manufacturer they are part of a larger parent company based in New Zealand. If needed production could be moved to this facility in an emergency as they have the same equipment and have been a part of the development process.
The team is currently a very lean, founder led business with long-term employee and Managing Director, Natalie Street. Given their strong operational involvement in the day-to-day operations of the business, anything that would see them abruptly removed from the business may have a negative impact on operations.
As the Company continues to grow, the Company may also need to hire additional key personnel. A delay or inability to recruit such key personnel may have an adverse effect on the management and financial performance of the Company.
Mitigation
Part of this raise is bringing in key personnel across sales, marketing and operations to set the team up for growth and reduce the reliance on the current team members to drive every aspect of the business.
The Company is aware that the strength of its brand and reputation is critical to its short term success. Accordingly, the Company must maintain consistent levels of quality and service in its product offering.Similarly, as the Company is closely associated with Manu Feildel, Manu must ensure that he continues to grow and maintain his own personal brand. If either the Company or Manu are unable to achieve the above, the Company’s brand and reputation could be damaged.
Mitigation
A part of the raise plan is to increase brand awareness to grow the profile of the brand as a stand alone company. Manu’s profile is still growing due to his current media contracts and he will commit to maintaining his brand for the company.