Natalie Moubarak didn’t have it easy. The 31-year old mum of two children, faced rejection from 13 beverage manufacturers, 19 distributors, seven food technologists, as well as Facebook and Instagram. And yet she kept persisting in pursuing an 18-month journey to develop the first hemp-based beverage in Australia. Her product +hemp is Australia’s first true hemp water, and is currently stocked with 46 retailers, including selected IGA supermarkets and BP stations.
A few years back, armed with her early experience working in the cut-throat world of real estate, Natalie turned a rundown shop in Sydney’s Earlwood suburb into an organic and vegan café. Residents there told her Earlwood was not the “right” market for such a café, and dismissed it saying it would go under. Instead, Natalie turned in a profit in the third month and sold the café two years later for a 45% profit.
Natalie turned a rundown shop in Sydney’s Earlwood suburb into an organic and vegan café, which residents dismissed saying it would go under. Instead, Natalie turned in a profit in the third month and sold the café two years later for a 45% profit.
In 2016, Natalie began tracking the legislative journey for hemp-based foods, wanting to be first-to-market with a high-quality omega-rich hemp water comprising organic hemp oil. Hemp was only legalised as a food in Australia in November 2017 after a major review by Food Standards Australia New Zealand – clearly, Natalie’s risk in believing that hemp would be legalised was immense.
Although hemp is a strain of the cannabis plant, it contains negligible traces of tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis). Natalie worked hard to source a hemp oil that had no levels of TCH.
In selling her first product run, the obstacles were many – distributors declined to meet with Natalie, and Facebook and Instagram wouldn’t let her advertise. But her social media posts were organic and went viral, leading cafes and fitness centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland (and even the US) asking to stock +hemp.
In selling her first product run, the obstacles were many – distributors declined to meet with Natalie, and Facebook and Instagram wouldn’t let her advertise. But her social media posts were organic and went viral.
Last month, a meeting with a rep from a major beverage distributor at a Sydney petrol station resulted in them accepting +hemp on the spot. Riding high on her success, Natalie has plans to release new flavours later this year, and wants to expand globally.
We wish Natalie all the very best in her endeavour!
