10 Quick Questions with Elizabeth of Nestar

Over the last 6 months, we have had the opportunity and pleasure to meet Elizabeth and learn about this wonderful business that she and her partner Issy have created called House Of Nestar

We even got the chance to try a whole lot of it and seriously you need to try their vegan honeycomb!

So we thought it would be great to ask Elizabeth a few quick questions and get the run down on how this business and vegan journey got it’s start!

Enjoy the chat.

1. How did your vegan journey begin?

Owning a vegan brand being meat-free was always part of our lifestyle. one day a friend posted a video of a cow in a dairy farm, and the connection was made where the suffering of the cows for the dairy/cheese industry is too hard to ignore. it inspired me to be even more focused on animal welfare in a farming context. so that weekend pizzas first dropped the prosciutto, then the dairy cheese.

2. What continues to inspire your vegan journey today?

I think for myself the passion gets stronger every day and the need to share the realities of the way animals are treated everywhere just keeps growing. i do get very vocal about it. I know I’m representing our brands first & foremost but in my lifestyle page ( @greenologyliving ) there is a lot more animal-oriented content.

3. What is your favourite vegan eatery?

Lona Misa totally blew our minds, the crispy chicken… the presentation and ambiance is amazing, the service great too, it just feels amazing to walk around a busy restaurant on a week night and know everyone there is eating plant based! it feels so good.

4. What is your favourite vegan brand?

Oooh! hard one, there is just too many! I love Green Vie Parmessan and mozzarella cheeses, in love with Plantasia Roasted Duck! & Herb & Son’s nuggets are a killer! gosh, the list goes on & on!

5. One ingredient that’s always in your kitchen?

LOTS of extra virgin olive oil, i use it even for cooking and Tahinni, black and white, addicted ( of course CHOCOLATE )

6. Tell us a little bit about Nestar & how you got started

Back in 2005 Issy & I had a small boutique branding/advertising Firm while I was attending Swinburne doing a Design/Branding Degree, then one day a Celebrity Chef client of ours wanted his own brand and that lead us into our own food brand creation starting with chocolate coated macadamias and in 2007 Nestar was born.

The journey after that was a very interesting one, it involved denial of product supply to our brand as our popularity grew, being in David Jones stores, and the acquisition of a chocolate factory when our new supplier went bankrupt! and so Issy learnt how to make chocolate and even had training in Paris. By this stage we were exporting to Japan, New Zealand, UK and later on middle Eastern countries and Malaysia. At the same time Issy chose to specialise in a very traditional and authentic form of hand panning which is done in our 120-year-old solid massive copper pans. He uses a slow chocolate dripping process instead of the commercial chocolate spray that’s very quick. His method is more costly as it is slow, the result is a very different high-quality product that makes him Australia’s leading specialist hand Panner.

Because of my journey in business, I became a guest speaker on multiple forums talking about creating a successful brand, exporting Aussie goods, and about our journey to get there.

In reality our brands are still evolving and growing and reaching wider audiences and changing common perceptions.

Our Nomination this year as best Vegan Chocolate in Australia by the prestigious Nourish Vegan Awards was a total surprise to us but not to our customers! And i must say the single biggest impact to our brands and to us personally was me reaching out to Animals Australia offering to fundraise for them and that is when the word ‘vegan’ first came into our vocab. That was in 2012 and ever since then it had been my dream to have a commercial chocolate factory that was fully vegan certified and it took seven years to achieve that, and that was in 2019.

From then on our main goal and sole purpose was to create the foods us vegans gave up because of so much sneaky animal content like gelatin, colors such as carmine, honey, palm oil, egg and above all, awful dairy, a shameful industry indeed.

I also understood that to create a real 3 dimensional brand, people seek above all to connect with people, and the fact that people buy people before they buy product. As such, our own personal ethos and journeys and what we stand for and the lifestyle we chose is directly connected to our brands. it becomes a wholistic approach where the makers, the brand, the finished product all works together to create something real and not a ‘me too’ contract manufactured brand owned by investors, where the human connection is just not there.

Our unique point of difference is that our customers can buy a packet of Nestar, and even from the Middle East or Asia, and they can reach out to us immediately and share with the makers their delight and feel good moment, this is how we connect along the entire purchase journey, it starts with us and it can end with us if customers wish.

This exclusive and niche approach makes the House of Nestar a family with our customers and buyers, we are all connected not only by the love of the best product, but by our mindsets and values. And after 15 years this has in turn, created a strong and stable brand we are so proud of and im totally to this day absolutely addicted to!

It must too be mentioned that we had amazing people along the way who totally believes in what we do, sales reps, distributors, collaborators and friends at many levels that have helped share the love and spread the word, their support has been fundamental to our success. so yes, it takes many years and many people and countless customers to have made the House of Nestar what it is today.

in the meantime i am for ever thrilled to create all our branding and the feel good yum factor content with our huge audiences accross @nestarmisssweetie, @nestarello and my page @greenologyliving

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7. Where do you hope to see Nestar in 3-5 years?

The House of Nestar is going from strength to strength, our growth has been astronomical, now in Kuwait, Dubai and New Zealand. the direction is creative & innovative foods designed specifically to spoil plant based eaters. the vision is steady growth as the demand grows and more availability across Australia, possible franchises along the way also with our Nestarello brand.

8. What products can we expect to see in the future?

Interesting food lines, crazy inventions by Issy who is for ever inspired by his curiosity and love of machines! he sure has a collection now.

9. Tough question – What is your favourite product that you make?

Oh, hands down Nestarello Obsession, fully handmade and raw most people dont know what it is! it’s Issy’s secret recipe and it is a GENIOUS one! spicy, salty, sweet, natural, smooth, a hint of rich nuttines… and chcolate coated, i cant get enough!

10. Where can our readers find your amazing products?

So we are available primarily in independant stores and health food stores, IGAs Foodworks and othe groups like the Ritchies Group, Ryans, Lemax, Lamanna & others.

Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for insanely good vegan chocolate, treats and sweets then Elizabeth and her various brands and products are for you. What’s great is knowing you are supporting a genuinely 100% vegan business run by passionate vegans. It’s a win-win! So make sure you go and follow them and grab some vegan chocolate while you are at it!

To read more interviews like this one. be sure to visit our vegan chat page today.

LGV!