A ‘Bonza bonanza’ is the wind beneath the wings of several Sunshine Coast businesses as their products on the fledgling airline’s in-flight menu really take off.
When Australia’s only independent, low-cost airline launched on its first commercial flight from Sunshine Coast Airport to the Whitsundays on January 31 this year, locally made products went along for the ride as refreshment options for passengers.
Over the six months since that first flight, Bonza had a steady rollout of its 27 routes to 17 destinations, with those proud, locally prepared and packaged products onboard each flight adding a little extra pizzazz to general airline fare.
And while changes to the number of routes and scheduled flights will come into effect from August 1, a stronger-performing airline is also likely to have positibve flow-on effects for its partners.
Coast suppliers include:
- Your Mates Brewing Co’s Larry Pale Ale;
- Sunshine & Sons’ vodka and gin and Nil Desperandum rum;
- Silver Tongue Foods’ lavosh crackers; and
- Happy Snack Company’s Kids’ Happy Snack Pizza Flavour.
Bonza is also working with Groundskeeper Willie to offer its cold-drip coffee product.
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But it’s not only travel miles making the difference to production figures.
Artisan producers including Silver Tongue Foods, based in Maroochydore, and Woombye’s Sunshine & Sons distillers report that word of mouth is ‘spreading the love’ for the products with increasing direct-to-customer sales. Passengers are also seeking out the brand names online or on their hometown shelves.
Kristina Kucan, who founded Silver Tongue Foods’ organic, preservative-free sourdough lavosh crackers and condiments with partner-in-life Andy Tolson in 2020, can hardly contain her excitement.
“We are the top-selling menu item at the moment,” she said from their Denna Street commercial kitchen.
“With the four planes that have launched, Bonza have been really good (for us).
“They’ve opened up new avenues for our business, being a part of that journey.”
Silver Tongue Foods supplies just one item to the in-flight menu: a 30g pack of all-natural Sea Salt Sourdough Bites.
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Kristina said the item, known in the commercial kitchen as a ‘Bonza pack’, was an ideal size for consumption aboard aircraft.
“The feedback that we’ve got has been really good from customers,” she said.
“We’ll quite often get customers who have had crackers onboard looking for where they can buy (the Sourdough Bites) in their town.
“So that’s opened that channel as well. It’s pretty cool.
“We are looking at launching that into possibly retail and schools within time.”
Kristina and Andy estimate that Bonza packs have accounted for a 20 per cent increase in production.
Two days of production a week are devoted to those orders, but the couple is gearing up for an expected supply peak over the airline’s first Christmas holidays at the end of this year when “it will be a week per month of baking just for Bonza packs”.
Kristina and Andy had been looking for bigger premises for about a year before being approached to supply the airline. But the agreement necessitated quicker action.
They will move into new facilities, being built at Chevallum, in August.
“Our new premises are about seven times larger than where we’re at right now,” Kristina said.
“(Bonza) also gave us the confidence to make that big decision.
“We’re looking at new equipment now as well to assist with packaging to facilitate what we’re trying to do.
“We’d love to do more products but that’s works in progress. Once they get more and more planes in the air, that’s our hopes that we can expand our range, but we’ll see where that goes.”
Silver Tongue Foods had previously been a two-person business but the increase in production required two more part-time staff members: one working four or five days a week, and the other two days.
“We’ve always been positive in engaging with Bonza,” Kristina said.
“We took that opportunity to grow up as a business and learn more about new channels that we can engage in.
“It has surpassed our expectations. And we’re just enjoying the journey that it’s giving our business.
“We still don’t get time off,” she laughed.
“Nothing’s changed.
“We’ll probably start looking at (schools and more retail stockists) towards the end of the year. Once we move, it will take some time just to settle into the new premises.
“So, probably 2024. I don’t want to be too ambitious and commit us to anything.
“But it’s really cool to see local brands doing well.”
Bonza also has been a boon for Sunshine & Sons, which created a new, more sustainable ‘eco pouch’, similar to a two-glass cask wine sack, for its gin, vodka and rum products.
Bonza chief commercial officer Carly Povey applauded the initiative.
“Just as we’re the only airline to have reusable cups on board instead of single-use plastics for drinks in Australia, our partners have also come to the table,” she said.
“(Sunshine & Sons) created this eco pouch. Aside from the fact it’s made from recycled materials and is fully recyclable, it also saves weight on the aircraft, which saves fuel.
“It stacks one on top of the other in the storage units on the aircraft. So, the more product we can have on board, the better from a customer perspective. It’s very lightweight, clearly comes with broader sustainability credentials and cuts out any use of glass or single-use plastic.”
The Bonza in-flight menu offers Sunshine & Sons’ vodka and gin and Nil Desperandum rum.
The business also works in partnership with Melbourne-based distiller Ned Whisky to co-pack its onboard product.
“Bonza passengers have the choice of four spirits, and three of them are proudly ours,” Sunshine & Sons co-founder Matt Hobson said.
“Bonza wished to offer a whisky product, which isn’t in our portfolio, so it was a way of broadening and helping another rapidly growing business. We are very proud to play our role in facilitating that.
“The pouches have been an amazing success. We worked with Bonza on introducing that product to market. They’re a unique and novel packaging format. It’s been really popular with their passengers.”
The pouches, which also are available at the distillery, had proven to be a popular and convenient size for handbags, festival backpacks and camping. But their airline agreement had been “a great way to establish a new product in our line-up at quite some scale”, Matt said.
“We’ve packed over 20,000 pouches, the vast majority of which is going to Bonza,” he said.
“That’s increasing direct-to-consumer sales through our distillery door at Woombye, which is open every day from 10am.
“We’ve seen an uptake from conference and event organisers, who are able to offer, particularly here on the Sunshine Coast, that strong brand proposition of having a product in the gift bags and other promotional merchandise.
“It’s the gift that keeps on giving for us. And we’re very grateful for Bonza to be there at the beginning, cheering us on.”
A new full-time staff member (officially known as the ‘fulfilment dude’ in the characteristic humor of the business) has been added to the Nambour Connection Road team to meet the increasing production requirements for Bonza, as well as supporting growth in other distillery products.
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“We made that decision just at the beginning of Bonza,” Matt said.
“With any small business, when thinking of putting a full-time person on, you’re always very cautious, and possibly it was an optimistic decision but it’s proven invaluable.
“We absolutely needed him (for us) to keep up.”
And the Bonza association is already opening doors and introducing Sunshine & Sons products to a much wider audience – to the envy of many.
“It goes without saying, in the world of amazing distilled Australian craft spirits, there is envy from some of those good friends of ours,” Matt said.
“That exposure for a small brand on board an aircraft really allows your business to project well beyond its home and again that’s created countless opportunities for that same product through other channels.
“In the industry … we talk about the unparalleled value of ‘liquid on lips’.
“You can’t move very far when you’re in your airline seat. If you’re after a gin and tonic, it’s a great way to experiment at an affordable price.
“I thank Bonza that their in-flight menu is exceptionally well priced. That allows the willingness for people to experiment and try a brand that they may not have tried before.
“We’ve seen ongoing interest from all over Australia through our direct-to-consumer online channels. We absolutely believe that that awareness through Bonza is part of that. It’s always hard to quantify but our online traffic and sales volume is increasing.”
Matt said feedback from dnata – one of the world’s largest air services providers of ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services to airlines, including Bonza – had been “very good” regarding the distillery products.
“We do have other products in our portfolio, and although there’s nothing planned currently, we’ve always got a receptive ear when we’re talking potentially new products or limited-edition products that may fit part of Bonza’s offering,” he said.
“Airline-wise, (the signature pouch) is only on Bonza currently.
“But that product we know is being considered by others.
“They’re lightweight, very efficient to store on board and they’re very efficient to dispose of, which is an important consideration.
“The passenger appeal is very, very high. They’re a loved product on Bonza’s inflight menu.
“Fingers crossed, we’ll be able to put those products on other airlines including the national airlines with dnata’s help and Bonza’s encouragement.
“Bonza champions local and points of difference. All hats off to Carly and her team for wanting to innovate and be willing to innovate. It’s really exciting to be a part of.
“Now that we’ve invested, we’ve got the equipment, the people and the packaging, we can react really quickly. So, we’re excited to continue those discussions.”
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