Black garlic won’t give you bad breath brings the best of both worlds

Black garlic won’t give you bad breath. 

Communicating that is the key to selling black garlic, says Cathy Owen of Garlicious Grown.

Most people assume black garlic is just another variety, but it’s actually a fundamentally different product, made through a process of caramelisation.

Educating their customers is the biggest challenge in selling an unusual product for Ms Owen and business partner Jenny Daniher.

As a large portion of their sales are online, capitalising on the potential for education and promotion online is critical to the success of their business.

The pair have done so well, that Garlicious Grown has been nominated as one of 10 finalists in the Regional Online Heroes Awards run by the Regional Australia Institute and Google Australia. The award aims to recognise small and medium sized businesses who use the online space to grow their operations.

In the three years since they began producing black garlic, the Ms Owen and Ms Daniher have come a long way.

Starting with basic online skills but few social media smarts, they seized on every training opportunity on offer.

Now they use social media to promote their product, a website filled with information about how to use the garlic, and blogging to maximise their search engine optimisation.

“Really, we’ve been opportunists, when we see some education available, we try and go and seize the opportunity,” Ms Owen said.

Whether or not they win, the pair are excited by the training and networking opportunities that come with being finalists. 

“Just being a finalist gets you a trip to Sydney with a masterclass at Google for expanding your skills in working online,” Ms Owens said. 

“We’re thrilled to the back teeth to be doing that.”