From a single Melbourne CBD store to 15 million rice paper rolls a year, this is the story of Roll’d.

In the final episode of this incredible series, Chelsea Ford sits down with Bao Hoang, CEO of Roll’d, to unpack how a simple idea inspired by family recipes became one of Australia’s most recognisable quick-service food brands.

Founded in 2012 with co-founders Ray and Tim, Roll’d set out to bring fresh, Vietnamese-inspired food into Australian shopping centres: fast, affordable, and built for modern lifestyles. On opening day, 30 people queued outside. They sold out in 45 minutes.

What followed was rapid growth, national expansion, and the challenge of scaling a product that’s still made fresh in-store every single day.

Bao shares the realities behind building Roll’d; from labour, training and SOPs, to maintaining consistency at scale (yes, including internal Rolling World Championships).

The conversation also dives into Roll’d’s move into grocery during COVID, bringing Vietnamese pantry staples into homes through Coles, leveraging brand recognition while navigating entirely different margins, buyer expectations, and retail strategy.

A conversation about instinct, data, scaling operations, and what it takes to evolve a hospitality brand beyond the counter.

Guest info:

rolld.com.au / @rolld_vietnamese

Host info:

foodpreneursfestival.com / @foodpreneursfestival

chelseaford.com / @chelsea.ford.co

Connect with POH:

principleofhospitality.com / @principle_of_hospitality

For Brand Strategy, Design & Creative Support:

principledesign.com.au / @principledesign

From a backyard tradition to one of Australia’s fastest-growing pantry brands, this is the story of Bippi.

In this episode, Chelsea Ford sits down with Ben Circosta, founder of Bippi Foods, to unpack how a brand built on family, flavour and fire scaled from a home kitchen into a nationally recognised name.

Launched at the start of COVID, Bippi was inspired by Ben’s Nonna Amelia and the Calabrian rituals of growing, preserving and sharing food. What began as a way to recreate that experience has evolved into a 16+ SKU range, now stocked across the country.

Ben shares how he identified a gap in the market through in-store research, validated the product through blind taste tests, and scaled production while keeping everything in-house, from de-stemming chillies by hand to hot-filling jars, to protect quality at every step.

We get into the realities of building a food brand today, sourcing locally and internationally, expanding a team across production, sales and marketing, and navigating retail from shelf placement to sell-through.

At its core, this is a conversation about consistency, customer trust, and building a brand people genuinely advocate for.

Guest info:

bippifoods.com / @bippi.foods

Host info:

foodpreneursfestival.com / @foodpreneursfestival

chelseaford.com / @chelsea.ford.co

Connect with POH:

principleofhospitality.com / @principle_of_hospitality

For Brand Strategy, Design & Creative Support:

principledesign.com.au / @principledesign

In this episode, Chelsea Ford sits down with Elizabeth Hewson, Australian food writer, cookbook author, and founder of Saturday Night Pasta, to unpack how a personal ritual turned into a nationally stocked product brand.

What began as a simple act of self-care, cooking pasta at the end of a long week, has evolved into a business now sitting in 400+ stores across Australia. Elizabeth shares how her “patchwork” career across restaurants, media and brand building has shaped a business grounded in comfort, quality and honesty.

We explore the realities of scaling from kitchen to shelf, from launching with limited-edition drops to building out a seven-SKU range, and partnering with distributors like Cartel & Co to rapidly expand from 50 to 200 stockists in just six months.

The conversation dives into what actually drives sell-through in retail, why brand and packaging matter, how margins and data access work with distributors, and the operational shift required to grow beyond a founder-led business. Elizabeth also reflects on the role of mentors, manufacturers and collaborators, including Archie Rose, and her commitment to Australian-made ingredients, transparency and taste.

A grounded look at what it takes to build a food brand that people come back to, again and again.

Guest info:

saturdaynightpasta.com.au / @saturdaynightpasta

@elizabethhewson

Host info:

foodpreneursfestival.com / @foodpreneursfestival

chelseaford.com / @chelsea.ford.co

Connect with POH:

principleofhospitality.com / @principle_of_hospitality

For Brand Strategy, Design & Creative Support:

principledesign.com.au / @principledesign