Wonki is here to “do the world a flavour”.
Meet Max Moolman, Bridget Lansell, and Gabriel Tucker, co-founders Wonki — an Aussie startup that is saving misshapen food waste with their seltzers!
We caught up with the Wonki trio to learn more about their story, their journey thus far, big team milestones, and more. Excerpts from our chat below:
Can you tell us a bit about Wonki, and what led to its inception?
We brewed up the idea for Wonki in the Monash Fastrack Accelerator Program where, as a team, we aligned on wanting to start an impact business around sustainability. The Wonki trio of Max Moolman, Bridget Lansell, and Gabriel Tucker learned from some of the top entrepreneurs in Australia – Shadowboxer, LUNA, Hypershift & the Monash E’ship team to name a few. We were inspired by companies in the UK that infused beverages with funny-shaped produce, as well as Farmers Pick (who are now a key partner of Wonki) who sell imperfect produce. A huge push for more healthy alcoholic beverages in Australia led us to explore Seltzers which is essentially sparkling water with flavouring – this flavouring being a fantastic opportunity to make sure that misshapen produce leaves the farm.
“A huge push for more healthy alcoholic beverages in Australia led us to explore Seltzers which is essentially sparkling water with flavouring – this flavouring being a fantastic opportunity to make sure that misshapen produce leaves the farm.”
What problem is Wonki trying to solve?
There is a lot of doom and gloom around food waste right now. It's a pretty wild issue, with at least a quarter of all produce never leaving Aussie farms because of aesthetics. We thought to ourselves, how could we come up with the most fun and exciting solution possible? As uni students, we wanted our solution to be something fun and exciting, something that people could celebrate and share with their friends. A way of ‘doing the world a flavour’, if you will.
What individual strengths do the 3 of you bring to Wonki? And how have you found working together?
Gabe is a commerce and computer science expert who also brings humour and creativity to the team. He always has a level head and ensures we are making the right decisions when the pressure is on. Bridget, who has just completed her IT/Business degree, keeps our brand and vision in check, asking the right questions to ensure we are staying true to our word and brings an excellent creative angle. Max, with his background in chemical engineering and finance, is the driving force behind progress and ensures that the team is constantly moving forward. He loves reaching out and getting involved with the network to ensure Wonki’s success.
What has been the most exciting part of your journey leading up to the launch?
Being invited out to Four Pillars by their co-founder Cam had us over the moon! Having one of the biggest names in the industry (and world) love our idea gave us a huge amount of motivation. Partnering up with Farmers Pick, one of the biggest names in the imperfect produce movement, was another milestone as it secured us access to Wonki produce all year round. Lastly, teaming up with Market juice was like the last piece of the puzzle. Having access to the top quality equipment meant that we could really road test our solution and bring Wonki to life.
“Having one of the biggest names in the industry (and world) love our idea gave us a huge amount of motivation.”
And what would you say is your main focus for Wonki in the near future?
Currently, our focus is our Pozible campaign. We want to hit our goal of $30,000 to fund the first batch of Wonki, and have the opportunity to make a real dent in the food waste space.
Are you planning on playing with different flavours of Wonki in the future?
Absolutely! How could we really “Do the world a flavour” otherwise. Wonki’s seltzer flavours will fluctuate as the seasons do, pending what fruit and vegetables are readily available at the time (and need saving).
How would you describe success for Wonki? And what is your vision for the company?
On one hand, it is building a business that is agile enough to respond to seasonal produce so we can save it from ending up in landfill. And on the other, it’s building a following of people that are super keen for the next batch, giving them a way of contributing to the environment whilst also increasing their understanding of Australia's food system.
“Success for us is building a business that is agile enough to respond to seasonal produce”
How can we get our hands on some Wonki drinks?
Our live campaign! Check out our ‘Do The World a Flavour Pozible Campaign’. A short and very entertaining video well worth your time, as well as the opportunity to risk-free pledge towards our target of $30,000.
And we can’t leave without saying a huge thank you to you guys at LUNA, particularly Ro & Josh, for being such a massive inspiration and source of help during this journey!
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To learn more about Wonki, head here.
