1 January 2020
The Unexpected Guest is an Indigenous business aiming to produce extraordinarily tasty breakfast products and snacks for the healthy and sustainable conscious consumer. All of their ingredients are sourced from Australian owned companies, farmers and beekeepers, ensuring farmers and small businesses are supported.
Department of Defence were introduced to The Unexpected Guest at a Supply Nation Trade Event held in Canberra. Following further meetings and introductions, the Indigenous Procurement Policy team/ Department of Defence connected them with AAFCANS (Army and Air Force Canteen Service). Following on from provision of samples to AAFCANS, a trial was commenced for supply of their Prebiotic Health Bars in sites across NSW and ACT.
As a result of this trial, AAFCANS opened up all their sites in 2020 for supply of The Unexpected Guest’s Prebiotic Health Bar products.
Engaging with Indigenous businesses such as The Unexpected Guest enables them to continue employing people from their communities, both within the business and across the supply chain. As an example, The Unexpected Guest currently purchase their wattle seed from a remote community in NT, where Aboriginal women are involved as in aspects such as harvesting, cleaning and processing the product before forwarding it on to The Unexpected Guest for production.