from generation to generation

850 565 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
brookfarm byron logo

Brookfarm
14B Banksia Drive, Byron Bay, NSW 2481

www.brookfarm.com.au

Visit Byron Bay Northern Rivers-01
from generation to generation

After buying a rundown dairy farm in the Byron hinterland in 1989, it was another ten years before Pam and Martin Brook made their shift to the Northern Rivers.

During this time the couple and their two young sons would drive up from Melbourne four times a year, slowly planting native trees and regenerating the property, while enjoying the Northern Rivers lifestyle.

Their vision to create quality food products from macadamias was ripe when they finally made the move in 1999 and launched their business.

Brookfarm is now one of Northern Rivers’ great food business success stories, employing more than 70 people. But the foundations for this success stem from a slow and steady approach. And a long-term view is all part of the plan.

“It took us two years to get the first products to market,” Pam says, with Martin working full-time on the business while Pam also worked part-time as a dentist.

The kids, Will and Eddie, who are still involved in the family business, pitched in from a young age – being 10 and 13 when the first products launched. “They used to stick the labels on the bags and be paid in donuts and hot chocolates at the markets,” Pam says. “They’d get up at two in the morning with us to go to Newfarm Markets in Brisbane.”

Brookfarm’s first sales in 2001 were at the Bangalow markets selling toasted and natural muesli and macadamia oils, and they expanded from there up through the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

By 2003 the couple decided to ramp it up. “It’s always a question in business – how much do you risk? You always have to put things in to get things out.”

The risk they took was investing in building a bakehouse on the farm, Pam giving up her part-time work, and bringing on their first employees.

“That’s when we knew we had a business,” Pam says.

Almost 20 years on and Brookfarm now has more than 20 products including muesli, granola and other breakfast products, as well as nut mixes, bars and oils. It distributes across Australia and exports to the Asia-Pacific, Europe, UK, the Middle East and the US.

brookfarm byron 004
brookfarm byron 003

Much of Brookfarm’s popularity can be attributed to it sticking to the values that started on the family farm.

“We only produce real food and we source all our ingredients from farmers who employ sustainable farming practices,” Pam says.

“People need to love the taste of the food they eat, and it also has to fit in with their healthy lifestyle, and that’s what we aim for in the foods we make.”

Pam also attributes Brookfarm’s early success to making the most of networking opportunities in the Northern Rivers and to the support they’ve received from locals.

“You just learn so much from other people, you absorb knowledge, and in a regional community people are always happy to give you advice,” Pam says. “The support for us in the region is the base from which we’ve built the business.”

Pam took part in a Women in Business program run by NSW Regional Development, Martin was appointed secretary to the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce, and Pam joined the board of Regional Development.

Later, the couple were founding members of the Northern Rivers Food group, which is now a member-funded body with more than 130 businesses on board, and fast growing.

“It’s a great organisation,” Pam says. “If that had been around when we started we wouldn’t have had to reinvent the wheel so much.”

This culture of connecting continues for Brookfarm, with Pam and Martin now setting their sites on establishing a regional food hub.

“We’re looking at collaborating with seven or eight other food businesses to build a food precinct in the Northern Rivers in the next two years,” Pam says. This will be one way to overcome the challenge of there being minimal food-grade infrastructure in the region, says Pam, who adds that the approach to overcoming challenges is what shapes a business.

brookfarm byron 009
brookfarm byron 001 copy
brookfarm byron 006

“A successful business is one that takes a really proactive approach to solving problems. When something blindsides you – might be loss of a key member of staff, or loss of a key market, or a financial challenge – there’s always a way you can make it work, and that might take you in a different direction than you thought.”

Pam also keeps it all in perspective by stepping back and considering the long-term view.

“Throughout Europe there are many family generational companies, and I sometimes wonder, ‘What will Brookfarm look like in three generations from now?’,” she says.

In the upcoming generation, sons Will and Eddie – now 30 and 28 – are continuing the family tradition, with Will general manager at Brookfarm and Eddie running Cape Byron Distillery on site at the property.

“We’re here for the long term, we’re here for family and community,” Pam says. “And to enjoy the journey and make a difference along the way.”

Share this story

Read more stories

building a good reputation

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brett Harley
When the only pub in town burns to the ground, it’s a big responsibility being the one chosen to rebuild it. The success of Uki’s new Mt Warning…

spell_designs_byron_bay001

spellbinding growth for a home grown icon

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spell Designs
The scent, texture and aura of Byron Bay is famous, and well-loved. If that Byron Bay feeling was a fashion brand, it would surely be Spell & The Gypsy Collective….

Alstonville quality meats image 1

main street royalty reigns

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Alstonville Quality Meats
There’s a giggle in the undertone of conversation when Ashley and Tina Thomson share their claim to fame as being the multi-award winning Sausage Kings…

nicholson fine foods yamba

eclectic food innovator shines

 1030 1030 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nicholson Fine Foods
The small coastal town of Yamba is home to the one of the world’s best eating prawns, the Eastern King Prawn. It’s also home to the highest…

all the best fine foods casino 001

our kitchen rules in the heart of beef country

 1000 664 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

All The Best Fine Foods
From little things big thing grow, goes the saying, and Casino-based business All The Best Fine Foods is certainly proof that humble….

edmonds conveyancing ballina 001

home is where the heart is

 1920 847 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Edmonds Conveyancing
The legal aspects of buying and selling a property are not normally associated with having a laugh and even singing, but the Edmonds Conveyancing…

cooperative success, sweet for 150 years

 1000 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Sunshine Sugar
The Northern Rivers is home to generations of cane farming families who have not only built the sugar industry, but also saved the local…

spar maclean clarence valley

making history, creating culture

 1535 1025 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spar Maclean
SPAR Maclean’s claim to fame is a doozy. Indeed, it’s something only one supermarket in the whole of Australia can say: that it is the longest…

stone and wood 001

not just a business, a community partner

 960 761 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Stone & Wood
“That’s like asking parents to name which of their children they prefer,” says Jamie Cook, Stone & Wood co-founder. He has been asked which of the…

cape byron distellery 002

spirit of the rainforest

 960 540 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Cape Byron Distillery
Let’s forget the beaches for a moment, as the true lifeblood of the Northern Rivers landscape is surely its rainforests, some of the most botanically…

from generation to generation

 850 565 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brookfarm
After buying a rundown dairy farm in the Byron hinterland in 1989, it was another ten years before Pam and Martin Brook made their shift to the…

yaru water tweed

building bridges with water

 1600 1067 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Yaru Water
“This unique partnership between an Indigenous family and a non-Indigenous family enabled Yaru Water to start changing the way the procurement…

gateway finefoods kyogle

local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town

 960 639 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gateway Fine Foods and Catering
Debbie McQueen has three words of advice for anyone starting a business in Kyogle: flexibility, perseverance and patience. They’re three traits Debbie…

cumulus vfx byron 002

effective creatives have all the fun

 1000 750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Cumulus VFX
They’ve walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Hoges. Gone down the garden path with Peter Rabbit. Flown Katie Holmes over…

old-fashioned approach reaps rewards

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Kyogle Country Store
It feels like a brave decision, buying a hardware and rural supplies store in the age of the corporate superstores. Though it was a challenge…

northern_lights _ballina_northern_rivers_001

let there be light

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Northern Light
“I eat a pot of honey every day and I’ve been stung more than 70,000 times,” says Jeffrey Gibbs, founder of Northern Light, an organic beeswax…

crowd pleasing innovation creates a buzz

 1210 864 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

BeeInventive
It’s difficult to know where to start with the remarkable story of BeeInventive. Perhaps in the humble shed in Byron Shire bushland…

Evans Head Cabinetry 001

carefully crafted business success

 2000 1041 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Evans Head Cabinet Making
“People often say, ‘They don’t build things like they used to’,” says fine furniture and cabinet maker Justin Crisp. “But I can confidently say…”

wrightway products 001

right place, right time, right way

 600 436 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Wrightway Products
The greatest challenge for Jennifer Joy and John Donnelly, the driving force behind Wrightway Products, was getting the world to see the value of…

mountain blue 001 copy

true blue locals making a difference

 1920 1280 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mountain Blue
Mountain Blue is the definition of a twenty-first century business. Not only have owners Ridley and Mieke Bell expanded their blueberry production…

Start Typing

X