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<\/p>\nA locally loved chai business is brewing big things on the Bellarine.<\/p>\n
Frank n Al Chai is an 100 per cent organic, caffeine, cane sugar and gluten free chai, created and blended by Wallington resident Kristen Carroll.<\/p>\n
The Bellarine business found its feet in farmers’ markets and is quickly becoming a local favourite, now available in cafes, grocers and markets across the Bellarine, Surf Coast and Greater Geelong, and a finalist in the 2022 Geelong Business Excellence awards.<\/p>\n
Carroll launched Frank n Al Chai, affectionately named after her grandparents, from her Wallington kitche in the middle of 2020.<\/p>\n
She said while she didn’t originally plan on starting a chai business, things fell into place.<\/p>\n
“It started in COVID, I was a yoga and meditation teacher, and I was building up a business doing that when COVID Hit, so I had to rethink everything.<\/p>\n
“Around that time as well, I was trying to give up coffee, so I was sort of making my own chai and testing out different chai’s as well because I found that most of the chais weren’t up to scratch – not for me, anyway, because they were just too sweet or not strong enough.<\/p>\n
“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll make my own’. I really loved it, and I thought, well I may as well continue with this, I’m enjoying it so much I may as well continue.”<\/p>\n
After that, Carroll set out to find the perfect chai blend.<\/p>\n
“I spent about six months just experimenting with how to do it – mortar and pestle, crushing it up, or just having it leaf form, but I found when I ground it really finely it worked out to be a lot stronger for me so that made me go ‘Great, okay I want to do powdered chai’. I worked out the recipe to be exactly what I wanted it.”<\/p>\n
“I had the idea in my head and then when I happened on it, it was like ‘Yeah, great, this is it’.”<\/p>\n
From there, Carroll jumped into full-time chai-making.<\/p>\n
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“I was enjoying it so much it thought I should continue… so I started selling there and the response I had was just ridiculous,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I was so good, people were just really supportive, especially locals. They were all just so supportive of me starting a business.”<\/p>\n
Kristen said this support from theGreater Geelong community has been a significant highlight of her business journey so far.<\/p>\n
“They’re amazing, they’re so supportive it’s ridiculous.<\/p>\n
“I know it’s a beautiful product, but people are embracing me as well with my journey and it’s just lovely. I get so many comments on Instagram, and people passing and telling me ‘OMG I love your chai!’<\/p>\n
“You meet people who are total strangers, and they just gush about your chai and I just feel really blessed, very very grateful for everything that’s happened to me.”<\/p>\n
Carroll still blends Frank n Al Chai from her beautiful home kitchen by large floor to ceiling windows that overlook the luscious Wallington gardens.<\/p>\n
Just recently, Carroll’s son Buddy joined the Frank n Al Chai team, with the 19-year-old helping run the business and making chai blending a family affair.<\/p>\n
“Everything is done from home, it’s a registered kitchen and I’ve cleared out one of the bedrooms, I’m lucky enough to have a spare room as my office so we just run it from here. Big things are afoot.<\/p>\n
“it’s just me and my son and that’s all… we make it all ourselves, and stamp all the packaging.”<\/p>\n
The powdered chai can be found in several local grocers and cafes including Bliss & Co Wholefoods, The Native Co, Kiosk Foodstore, KET Baker, Wallington’s Pantry, Bricktown Queenscliff, Grow Anglesea and more.<\/p>\n
In Geelong, the chai is stocked at Eastside Wholefoods Geelong Freshfoods, Paddington Cafe Belmont and more.<\/p>\n
Further afield, the chai can be found at Friends of the Earth in Collingwood, Leongatha Wholefoods in Gippsland and Lifeforce Wholefoods in Western Australia.<\/p>\n
“And we still do local markets,” Carroll said.<\/p>\n
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Looking to the future, Carroll has big plans for Frank n Al Chai, including a new product \u2013 canned sparkling black chai \u2013 and selling more chai interstate.<\/p>\n
“This year I just got my organic certification.<\/p>\n
And this year I am bringing out a can of chai, and I do a sugar-free version and this year I am bringing out cans of black fizzy chai.”<\/p>\n
“And I’ve got a beautiful van so I could cruise around Australia and go to different states and just sell chai, so this year I’m going to South Australia and Sydney, and Tasmania.<\/p>\n
“So that’s what I’ve got in my diary, I’ll be spreading the word and getting into outlets around there so people can get the chai again.”<\/p>\n
To help her along in her bus<\/p>\n
inessjourney, Carroll also completed a course last year for entrepreneurs hosted by local business Runway.<\/span><\/p>\n “They are a Geelong company that really helped me formalise my business and gave me a great structure to work from.”<\/p>\n Carroll said this course, and being a finalist in the 2022 Geelong Business Excellence awards, had been two highlights in the business journey so far.<\/p>\n
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