Springhill Farm

Rooted in Family, Growing with Purpose

Expertly creating healthy and delicious plant-based snacks while staying true to its family roots

“Springhill Farm is where I grew up,” begins Fiona Whatley, General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Springhill Farm. Reflecting on the farm’s beginnings, she recounts how her parents, Ray and Jo, combined their skills, her father as a farmer and her mother as a kindergarten teacher, to host schoolchildren on the farm in the 1980s.  “It’s funny when we look back on the photos from the farm visits, and how so much has changed since the 1980’s.  Farm visits would look very different these days, but the kids, parents and teachers alike all had a wonderful day.  We still have the thank you books which children would send, which are great to look back on.”

The visits offered children hands-on experiences, from milking goats and collecting eggs to seeing how wheat was milled into flour. “At the end of the day, they’d all sit on hay bales before heading home and have a muesli slice,” she explains. “It was a very early paddock-to-plate concept—showing kids where their food comes from and how it’s grown and produced.”

The muesli slice quickly became more than just a treat for farm visitors. “It was such a new product back then,” Fiona says. “It was even featured in Vogue Living as part of the ‘new vogue of snacking.’” Though commonplace now, in the 1980s, muesli bars and slices were groundbreaking. “The question kept coming up: ‘Where can I buy this?’” she says. This unanticipated demand opened the door to selling the slices at health food stores and markets.

The family’s shift from farming and teaching to baking was gradual but transformative and Springhill Farm slowly became a full-fledged baking business. As production outgrew their home kitchen, they began renting space. “Initially, they hired a corner of a waffle factory,” Fiona reflects. Later, they moved to a converted abattoir with custom-built food-grade rooms.

In 2008, the family made a significant leap. “We decided to buy a block of land and build what would be the home for Springhill Farm moving forward,” Fiona explains. The factory they built now serves as the heart of their operations. “Today, we have 90 staff and three production lines,” she notes. The business continues to expand, with a new warehouse added last year.

With its roots firmly planted in family and tradition, Springhill Farm’s journey is now guided by the next generation, who are continuing to grow the business while staying true to its core values.

Keeping It In The Family 

For Fiona  and her husband, James, taking over Springhill Farm meant carrying forward a cherished family tradition. “Ray and Jo transitioned out of the business officially about 10 years ago,” Fiona comments, joining the business herself 16 years ago, with James following three years later.

Their transition into the business was driven by both necessity and opportunity. “We were looking for a change from our careers, I was a physio by trade,” Fiona shares. “James had studied Agricultural Science and Commerce.” Initially, she worked part-time at the farm while practicing physiotherapy, but balancing both roles proved difficult after the birth of their first child.

Today, the couple’s complementary roles form the backbone of the business. “James oversees the operational side of things—production scheduling, pricing, logistics—while I handle sales, marketing, and product development,” she explains. “99% of the time, that works really, really well.”

Though her parents have stepped back, they remain involved in small ways. “Ray and Jo are our landlords now,” Fiona notes. “They are still involved in the business in that way and are supporting from the sidelines, they’re big supporters.”

From Nostalgia to New Frontiers 

Staying competitive at Springhill Farm means balancing innovation with tradition. “From a development point of view, it’s been a crazy 12 months for us,” Fiona shares, highlighting the launch of eight new products into the Woolworths health food aisle. 

One of their most exciting developments is the Boodles brand, a modern reimagining of nostalgic treats. “Boodles was a really new and innovative idea that came to market two years ago,” she explains. “They’re a 50% less sugar chocolate confectionery, a 21st century healthy chocolate crackle.” The brand’s success has seen it expand to major retailers, along with outlets such as Ampol, Officeworks, and Viva.

This year, Boodles introduced Lunchbox Clusters, designed with health-conscious families in mind. “It’s a five health star, source of fibre, source of protein, gluten-free, plant-based product for kids,” Fiona says. 

The flavors—vanilla sprinkle, cocoa crunch, and strawberry—underwent rigorous taste-testing by the family’s youngest members. “The thing with having four kids at home is that they’re brutally honest with the feedback,” she explains. “They want to make sure that whatever we bring out is up to standard and something they can be proud of.”

Alongside the boodles brand, Springhill Farm also has a range Slice’s which is an extension of the original muesli slice that was enjoyed on the hay bales nearly 40 years ago. This range continues to thrive as a go-to food service product, showcasing the brand’s commitment to quality and tradition.

In addition to their own brands, Springhill Farm collaborates with smaller businesses as a co-manufacturer. “From a co-manufacturing point of view, we’ve found a niche,” Fiona says. “There are really big manufacturers out there and really small ones, but not many in the middle. That’s where we sit.” By offering manageable batch sizes, in-house product development, and sourcing assistance, they provide a “one-stop shop” for growing brands.

Crafting Snacks That Make a Difference

Springhill Farm’s commitment to making a difference extends beyond the snack aisle. The company has built partnerships with prominent organizations, ensuring their products reach diverse audiences while aligning with meaningful causes.

Their signature Slice range is a familiar treat for travelers and donors alike. “You will find it in flight on airlines like Qantas, Rex, Jetstar,” Fiona says. “You’ll find it after donating blood at Lifeblood—one of those sweet snacks that you get afterwards.” The range also features prominently in corporate catering and loyalty gift programs, while recently moving into retail.

A key motivator behind their recent innovations is a desire to encourage healthier lifestyles for kids. Their new Slice for Busybodies range promotes healthy snacking and active play to combat childhood obesity

“What’s truly unique about these products is they actually have little images on the top—like running, playing basketball, or juggling—to make movement fun,” Fiona reveals. Early feedback suggests the concept resonates. “Kids at home are doing the hula hoop or skipping on the spot after pulling out a snack with those images.” 

“So what we’re hoping to encourage is exercise for children, but also healthy eating, because, we’re not anti snacking, we love snacks, clearly, we make a lot of them. It’s about finding that balance and making sure that you’re ticking both boxes,” she asserts. The goal is simple yet profound: inspire healthy snacking habits while making exercise enjoyable.

Springhill Farm’s ethos is underpinned by its emphasis on authenticity and storytelling. “We need to put a lot more emphasis on telling our story,” Fiona says. “Our story is unique and real, which is not always the case.” As a second-generation family business rooted in regional Australia, the company prides itself on employing locals and crafting its own products—something rare in today’s food industry.

“There are a lot of brands who never actually touch their products.  For us, the fact that we make our own products is a key point of difference,” she notes. 

“Right now, we need to consolidate all of the work of the past 12 months, and really make our new ranges a success, before we embark on our next challenge.” 

Empowering Communities and Embracing Technology

Springhill Farm is dedicated to supporting its local community through initiatives such as encouraging staff to donate blood, offsetting their time from a wage perspective, and contributing to the local Soup Bus. “Next year we are going to be supporting the Ballarat Marathon, so we will be focusing on kids activities for that,” Fiona notes. They also support local groups with food donations and hampers while boosting the regional economy through employment.

Springhill Farm has embraced cutting-edge technology to streamline operations and promote sustainability. The company transitioned to NetSuite in 2015 to improve visibility across the business. “We wanted a product in the cloud that gave us a much better view of our operations,” explains Director James Whatley. This cloud-based system powers key areas of the business, from accounting and sales to CRM and purchasing. They also use RFSmart warehouse software to handle picking, packing, and inventory control.

A significant shift has been moving towards a nearly paperless manufacturing process, with most record-keeping now done via tablets. 

The company is also working to implement real-time data capture on production lines to further enhance efficiency and reduce errors. By integrating advanced technology into operations, Springhill Farm continues to innovate while reducing waste and increasing efficiency.

A Focused Path to Future Growth

Springhill Farm is entering a new phase of growth after a rapid expansion, with 40 new staff members added in just two months. “We feel like we’ve just had a really rapid growth period,” says Fiona. “Right now, we need to consolidate a little bit… and really make [our new ranges] fly.”

Springhill Farm is set to launch into the Coles bakery in February.  “We’re really excited about the opportunity to collaborate with an international brand, and to put our twist on some new and exciting products.”

With a continued focus on innovation, quality, and sustainability, the family business is committed to driving growth while staying true to its values. Looking ahead, Springhill Farm is poised to build on its legacy and make an even bigger impact in both the local and global food landscape.

AT A GLANCE

Springhill Farm

What: A family-owned business producing healthy, plant-based snacks with a focus on quality, sustainability, and community engagement

Where: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Website: https://springhillfarm.com.au/

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