The ice cream obsession that built a business

Cian Dawson found a sweet spot in the market, disrupting the traditional dessert category with a high protein ice cream for a new generation of health conscious consumers.

Dessert’s up

Extensive experimentation, after hours and on weekends, saw Cian and Courtney arrive at a world-first formula for high protein soft serve that ticked the taste box. 

After investing in a food truck, the pair spent several months pushing their product to Sydneysiders on weekends before the onset of the COVID pandemic forced them to pivot to an alternative distribution strategy.

Switching from cones to tubs, supplied wholesale to stores and delivered direct to consumers, sent sales soaring. Then, in early 2021, Cian received a phone call that changed the game. 

“I was still working my day job when we found out we had the chance to trial our products with Coles,” she recalls. The opportunity proved transformative. “After 12 months of being on trial, they awarded us a million dollar contract, which meant our range would be available across the east coast of Australia. That was the moment I was like, ‘this has really got legs – let’s go!’”

Going for growth 

Since then Cian has built GYM BOD into a rapidly growing business that is shaking up the better-for-you food category.  She’s sold over four million ice creams and counting, via 3000 distribution points, including Coles, Woolworths and IGA stores around Australia. GYM BOD has become New Zealand’s top selling protein ice cream and it can also be found in freezers in New Caledonia and the Middle East.   

In 2023 – the year Cian eventually quit her day job – she and Courtney established their own manufacturing plant in Brisbane, with NAB providing support in the form of equipment finance. More recently, GYM BOD has diversified into the supplements sector where its quality ice cream mixes and high protein mug cakes have found a ready market. 

It’s been an insane eight years of hard work and hustle, with no shortage of setbacks and lessons learnt the hard way. Worth it though, if you have a big goal and the energy and optimism to pursue it relentlessly, according to Cian. 

“My vision is for GYM BOD to become the APAC region’s leading ‘better for you’ dessert brand,” she says. “We’ll get there in a financially sustainable way, gradually getting coverage in different territories.” 

Maintaining a competitive advantage

GYM BOD is showing how emerging brands can compete by staying closer to consumers and responding faster to change. A deep understanding of its target market, combined with real-time data insights, has helped the brand anticipate consumer needs and react quickly in ways traditional players find hard to replicate. 

“Having lived experience is where we differ from the big FMCG companies,” Cian says. 

“We’re a business run by people who are all super active and love eating desserts. And being small gives us agility. We can act with a speed to market our larger competitors can’t match.” 

Cian’s ongoing investment in data has also served GYM BOD well. Subscribing to the major supermarkets’ scan reports allows her to track evolving trends and gauge how GYM BOD’s lines are performing against the rest of the category.

“It’s useful to see when someone else has trialled something and it hasn’t worked,” Cian says. 

“Taking a data driven approach saves us money on experimentation and empowers us to see the value we can add to the category. Having access to those insights sets us up for future growth.”

Partnering with a bank that supports businesses at every stage 

Creating a successful food brand from scratch is no mean achievement. 

With the right backing at each stage of growth, Cian has been able to think bigger, scale faster, and overcome many of the challenges faced by up-and-coming entrepreneurs as they transform bold ideas into businesses built for longterm success. NAB assisted with transactional banking facilities in GYM BOD’s earliest days, provided the company’s first business loan and the trade finance necessary to mobilise major national supermarket contracts. 

It also backed the establishment of Rocket Creations, a manufacturing business that churns out custom products for other ice cream brands when it’s not producing GYM BOD lines. Asset and equipment finance helped the venture get off the ground and expand its capacity.  

“Our NAB business bankers worked with us to make sure we have the right facilities at the right time for the stage of growth we’re in,” Cian says. 

“They’ve taken the time to educate us because they want to see us succeed. It’s a genuine partnership – when I pitch new markets and product types, I know we have NAB there to support us.”

For NAB Small Business banker, Jack Cui, the partnership has been equally fulfilling. “NAB recognised the strong potential in GYM BOD early on and it has been exciting and rewarding to support Cian and her team through multiple stages of their journey and see GYM BOD grow before our very eyes.”