It wasn’t too long ago when Scotty Baragwanath was on a road trip with his family when the idea for Blue Frog was born. He wanted to do something worthwhile. Something different.
With the idea to give his children something delicious, quick and nutritious for breakfast, and after spending 20 years working for the confectionary giant Mars, Scotty founded Blue Frog in 2015.
Fast forward to today, and the company has become New Zealand’s most awarded breakfast cereal with a presence in both Australia and Aotearoa.
Blue Frog just certified as a B Corp. To celebrate, we invited Madeleine Smart, Marketing and Sales Manager, to tell us more about how they are contributing to a better tomorrow, today.
Blue Frog Breakfast is not only a product that’s good for the planet but also New Zealand’s most awarded breakfast cereal – we love that. Can you tell us a bit more about what you do.
Blue Frog creates crazy delicious and sustainably-made breakfast cereals that just so happen to be good for you too. It’s a start to the day that empowers you to live your best life and be the best version of yourself.
Innovation is at the heart of what we do, so whether it’s using cutting edge probiotics or premium marine collagen, we’re always looking for exciting new ingredients and flavour combinations to have you jumping out of bed.
But beyond that, we work hard to ensure our team feels valued, give back to our community, and leave our planet a little better than we found it.
Image Source: Blue Frog Breakfast
You’re one of just a handful of certified breakfast companies in the world. Why did you want to certify as a B Corp?
Creating change starts with individuals and the choices you make every day, right down to what you eat. This is us showing our commitment to our local community and to our environment for now and years to come.
It goes beyond impacting our shareholders – looking at our team, our community, and our environment as a whole. It has encouraged us to create change and set a framework that benefits all these groups.
Most importantly, it’s holding ourselves accountable and sets a standard for us to build from – all the while continuing to produce great tasting cereal.
It’s been a huge amount of work to get here, but we couldn’t be prouder. It’s a declaration of our long-term commitment to our team, our community and our environment. And it’s just the beginning of the journey!
What makes Blue Frog unique as a business? Tell us some of the areas where you have the biggest impact, or some of the little changes you’ve made to make a difference.
We are constantly innovating and discovering, ensuring we are always putting our best foot forward. From probiotic granolas to the world’s first probiotic porridge to collagen, hemp, and keto cereal – we do it all, and nothing is off limits.
And the best part is we never compromise health for taste. Our cereals aren’t only good for you, they taste damn good too.
But we don’t stop at your bowl. With a big focus on our people and environment, we have a bunch of initiatives to look after our planet, wider community and workers.
For the environment
At Blue Frog, we’re continuously looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint.
We have a commitment of Zero Waste to Landfill 2025, and our bags are 100% soft plastic recyclable and made from 26% recycled plastic.
We’re working to reduce our water usage and waste and are proudly running our manufacturing on 100% renewable energy. We’re also Ekos-certified Climate Positive, meaning we offset 120% of our carbon emissions.
For our community
A person is judged by the company they keep, and at Blue Frog, we like to be in good company. That’s why we partner with damn good people, doing damn good things.
We donate more than 20,000 breakfasts a year to City Missions and KiwiHarvest, reducing food waste and providing food security all in one.
We also support parkrun events around Australia. parkrun is a positive, inclusive experience where everyone is welcome to join, have fun and keep active at the same time.
For our team
More than anything, we celebrate diversity and are committed to maintaining this inclusive culture. Because we know people work better when they feel valued and we all have something special to bring to the table.
We value every single one of our workers. That’s why we’re Living Wage Accredited. Just one step towards helping reduce poverty in New Zealand. We also offer free health checks, counselling services and flexible working.
Because we understand that breakfast tastes better when it’s helping the planet and our people.
Image Source: Blue Frog Breakfast
B Corps want to help transform our economy to one that is inclusive, sustainable, and regenerative. What business practice do you want to see become the norm?
Change starts with people. It’s absolutely key that all businesses keep diversity and inclusion front of mind in all business activities and hiring processes.
Having different voices at the table brings fresh perspectives and ways of doing things, this is how we continue to do better.
Was there a B Corp that inspired you to certify, or one that you look to for inspiration?
In reality, all B Corps were an inspiration to us. We have learnt valuable insights from various companies, and to see a range of industries working hard towards collective change for a better tomorrow is truly inspiring.
Do you have any tips for aspiring B Corps about the certification process?
Before anything else, make sure everyone in your team is on board – right from those at the top. Going through the certification process is time consuming and involves input from all sides, so it’s imperative everyone has an understanding of how it works and the value of it.
And persist! It’s easy for other tasks to take priority, but set aside time each week to work on your B Corp tasks and catch up with others on it. This way you ensure you stay on track because, trust us, it really is worth it!
A big thank you to Blue Frog Breakfast for sharing more about their work. To find out more and explore their range of healthy and delicious cereals, visit: bluefrogbreakfast.com.au
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