Healthy food delivers for @panache

Having established a strong following with the CBD professional set since opening in 2012, wholefood cafe @panache has launched a new home-delivery business.

The cafe has become a popular option just off St Georges Terrace for those seeking a more nutritious alternative.

Mother-and-daughter team Michelle and Jenna Stummer said they initially set out to take what was a generic operation and target a growing niche.

They recognised a gap in the market for wholesome, ‘clean’ food and cold-pressed juices, which had become very popular in the eastern states and not yet spread west.

The change proved fruitful.

“It resulted basically in a mini-explosion (of business) for us,” Michelle Stummer said.

Within six months of opening, sales had doubled, and then doubled again in the following six months.

“Historically this area (on Mill Street) … was a little bit tucked away on the Terrace and very reliant on people in the immediate area,” Michelle Stummer said.

“The biggest surprise for me was that we discovered, after a period of time, that people were willing to walk a (long) distance.”

That level of customer loyalty and willingness to travel sparked the idea for the home-delivery business.

The new business, Kale and Co, is Jenna Stummer’s project; it produces pre-packed, pre-prepared meal plans designed to help people adopt healthy lifestyles.

Two packs are currently on offer – ‘the cleanse’ and ‘the nourish’, with both available in three- or five-day prepared packs, starting at $215.

A benefit for Jenna Stummer will be the use of her mother’s kitchen, which is freely available when the cafe isn’t open.

That will minimise capital costs, and improve the kitchen’s asset utilisation, providing a very similar product to its existing offering.

Her mother has underwritten the business, too.

“You’ve got to put a lot of love into your food for it to taste good,” Jenna Stummer said.

“As soon as you start talking big numbers you lose the personal touch.”

She said the product was having broad appeal, with executives, new mums, fifos and young adults among the demographic groups that had been buying the packs.

Wholesome eats are becoming increasingly prominent as consumers become more aware of food’s effect on their health.

It has been so widespread that even fast food giants such as McDonald’s have been at pains to expand their menus to adapt to their clientele’s changing needs.

A recent report by Euromonitor International suggested that the global health food market would reach $US1 trillion by 2017.

Self-styled health food spots that have opened their doors in Perth include Lime Cafe in West Perth, and the vegan and paleo CNR Kitchen in Northbridge.

The Raw Kitchen in Fremantle, Little Bird Cafe in Northbridge, and Source Foods in Highgate are three further examples.

Health food delivery is emerging as a trend in WA, too, with innovations like Dinner Twist, which encourages home cooking with quality ingredients.