Bondi Chai
Karmer Pty Ltd t/a Bondi Chai has been selected as an ABA100® Winner for Marketing Excellence in The Australian Business Awards 2023. The Australian Business Award for Marketing Excellence [MXA] recognises organisations that have successfully implemented initiatives that demonstrate excellence in marketing.
“One of the main drivers behind The Faces Of Bondi Chai campaign is to applaud the real heroes of Bondi Chai’s success… Bondi Chai fans everywhere.
“While the concept was imagined fairly quickly, execution was an enormous task involving meticulous attention to detail and the co-operative efforts of dozens of people around the country and around the world. Directing a photoshoot in a Dutch café via desktop video link in NSW was no mean feat.
“Our business model sees a micro-team of direct employees managing a large and diverse team of contractors who manufacture, pack, store and deliver Bondi Chai to every corner of Australia and many parts of the world. This award is shared by them all.”
Bondi Chai Latte is a premium chai latte pre-mix produced and marketed by Karmer Pty Ltd. Bondi Chai is mainly sold into the foodservice channel via some 120 distributors around Australia, Europe, and China. Bondi Chai is also sold directly to cafes and consumers via an online shopping platform. The product was launched in two varieties and three pack sizes in 2005 (a third, non-dairy/vegan-friendly variety was added in 2019).
A company website revamp in early 2021 led to the Bondi Chai team putting more focus on the people who gain enjoyment from this product. The new direction was well-received and adopted in the upcoming product packaging review. During the review, the company decided that the messaging and design of Bondi Chai’s doy pouches could be more regularly/frequently modified.
A marketing campaign was devised that highlighted a variety of real-life “Bondi Chai fans” by using a portrait photograph as the main feature on every pack and including customer stories on a dedicated web page accessible via a QR code. This campaign was named The Faces Of Bondi Chai.
Since its launch in March 2022, twenty-two people who serve Bondi Chai, enjoy drinking Bondi Chai or do charitable work that Bondi Chai supports have been featured on the packaging. New faces/stories will continue to be added in the foreseeable future.
The key aims of the program include publicly recognising/celebrating Bondi Chai customers as the lifeblood of the business; enhancing Bondi Chai’s reputation as a fun-loving, innovative company; bolstering an already high level of brand loyalty by reinforcing a sense of belonging around the product; helping to create a more optimistic outlook after two years of pandemic despair, particularly in the café sector, and highlighting Bondi Chai’s international reach and reputation.
For information about Bondi Chai, visit bondichai.com.au