The Cobs story began in 2004 when John and Ravit Walys were looking for a healthy snack for their children’s lunch boxes. With limited options available and recognising the opportunity in an underdeveloped Ready To Eat (RTE) popcorn market, John and Ravit soon entered the world of snack food manufacturing.
“We did everything by hand in those early days” John boasts.
“It was really out of necessity, we were testing the market and before investing in mechanisation we wanted to feel confident we were onto something that would be lasting. The snack market was our focus group and it kept telling us it liked what we were doing. So we kept going and going and growing and growing ….. We kept our production capability just a head of the curve to take advantage of opportunities and satisfy a growing demand.”
The range has grown from the Organic Lightly Salted Lightly Sweet product to a choice of 8 varieties in the Natural Range including the limited edition Americana range and the return of the Chocolate Caramel range now known as the Caramel Collection.
“We’ve also turned our attention to other ‘Better For You’ snacks with the addition of Naked Corn Chips, Hip Chips and Popcorn Granola Go Bites to our range”, Ravit said.
John and Ravit are proud of their achievements.
“We persisted, despite many obstacles along the way and can confidently say we have a very loved and recognisable brand in the Australian snack food market,” John said.
After almost 14 years developing the Cobs brand, John and Ravit recently sold their business to a newly formed Australian owned food group – Kin Group.
“It’s a bitter sweet time for John and myself,” Ravit said.
“We love Cobs but know that it makes sense for a larger entity to take the Cobs brand further both domestically and internationally both in terms (additional resources) of capital investment and channels to market. We are well aligned with Kin Group regarding the Cobs founding vision of producing the very best products with only the very best ingredients and are confident that the new ownership will secure and grow the Cobs brand in a rapidly evolving market.”