WATCH: Influencer-backed Aussie probiotic protein bar firm eyes Asian expansion

Keep It Cleaner is the brainchild of two well-known Australian social media influencers, Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw. Together, both ladies have well over a million followers on Instagram.

“[Steph and Laura] are directors of the business and have very clear guidelines on how the products should be manufactured, and what ingredients should go into them,” ​said Tom Paton, CEO of Metro Foods, which manages and operates the manufactured products arm of Keep It Cleaner.

He added that clean label, minimalist ingredients were key guiding factors in their product manufacturing process.

“Our chilled probiotic protein bars, which are sold out of the chilled health category and are currently [generating the most sales volume] use really minimalist ingredients, we’ve introduced probiotics [which will benefit] gut functionality and health, and there is 10g of protein in each bar.”​

Possibly due to Smith’s and Henshaw’s influences, the company’s products are currently most popular amongst the female audience, though Paton said that many of their newer products would be targeted at males and seniors in order to broaden their scope.

The company has mainly grown via on-shelf sales in Australia’s Coles supermarkets, and will be entering 7-Eleven petrol and convenience stores next.

“We’re also looking at expansion via the pharmaceutical [route], so we’re looking at going through three different pharmaceutical chains in Australia. [We will likely also] be entering the Hong Kong market through this path,” ​said Paton.

He added that within the Asian region, Keep It Cleaner has plans to establish its presence in Singapore and Hong Kong before moving on to conquer the Chinese market.

“Given the rise of health food products, I believe that our [basic strategy of a] clean ingredients list and [providing] strong nutritionals is really translatable into any market,”​ he said.

Watch the video to find out more.