Sh*t The Bed Hot Sauce: $1m item ‘too naughty’ for Woolworths, Coles

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: NEWS.COM.AU

Renae Bunster’s hot sauce empire rakes in millions every single year – but you’ll never find her popular products at your local Coles or Woolies.However, she realised she couldn’t go down the traditional route of approaching supermarket juggernauts Coles and Woolworths due to her signature product’s “too naughty” name – Sh*t the Bed Hot Sauce – which she joked would leave customers “fainting in the aisles”.

Instead, the Perth mum sidestepped the major retailers and sold her cheeky range online and via IGAs and butchers.Since launching her business from her own kitchen, sales have doubled every year and now, it rakes in more than $1 million annually.

We blame you for ghost town, Dan

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Fury and frustration have boiled over with businesses savaging Premier Daniel Andrews for his government's virus failures as they brace for more pain during Melbourne's second lockdown.

Chapel St Precinct president Justin O'Donnell lashed out at Mr Andrews demanding he resign for botching management of the pandemic. The precinct's general manager, Chrissie Maus, back her president up saying it was "a crying shame" that businesses were suffering through a second lockdown, despite having strong hygiene and social-distancing practices.

“Everybody realised they couldn’t cook”: Aussie hot sauce brand smashes equity crowdfunding goal following COVID-19 sales spike

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: SMART COMPANY

A Perth-based hot sauce business with a global cult following has raised over $400,000 through an equity crowdfunding campaign, following a sales spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in 2012, hot sauce lover-turned-entrepreneur Renae Bunster set out to create a healthier source of spice, using Aussie-grown fruits and veggies wherever possible. Bunsters’ flagship Shit the Bed Hot Sauce has been the number one selling hot sauce on Amazon in the US, and that plus three other products are on the shelves in 600 independent supermarkets around Australia. The business now generates about $1 million in revenue every year.

And even during the COVID-19 crisis, and the economic hardship that has come with it, the business is growing. In March 2020, sales were up 100% compared to the same month last year.

Uncertain Future - Lockdown will Cost Victoria $1 Billion a Week

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: SUNRISE

Just as the light was at the end of the tunnel, Melbourne small businesses have taken a devastating hit with the re-instatement of stage three lockdowns. Many Chapel Street traders have pivoted and adapted to survive the first lockdown, and are ready to meet the challenge head on. Chrissie Maus, General Manager of CSPA, has said "We've had the dress rehearsal already, we are prepared."

Chapel Street traders shared their thoughts and feelings with the upcoming lockdown with Sunrise.

Chapel Street traders slam Andrews Government over crisis

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: HERALD SUN

Australia’s biggest shopping and dining strip has slammed Victoria’s handling of COVID-19, saying the second wave is crippling already struggling businesses.

“Every day seems to be getting worse — Daniel Andrews’ failure will now cost our great city tens of millions of dollars and lost jobs, and that is devastating for all our businesses that are doing the right thing,” the association’s general manager Chrissie Maus said.

Devastated businesses call for Andrews to resign

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Melbourne businesses are calling on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to resign over the hotel quarantine debacle that led to a fresh COVID-19 outbreak and forced the whole of Melbourne into a second lockdown.

Chrissie Maus, general manager of the Chapel Street Precinct Association, which represents more than 2000 businesses in the area, said those at the top should take responsibility, and called for Premier Andrews to resign.

“I can’t trust [Mr Andrews'] government to effectively manage this, given the hotel quarantine debacle. But not only that. The fact he won’t answer questions on his leadership.

“As a leader, anyone needs to admit their faults. The fact he can’t stand there and admit he has driven this state into billions of dollars of more debt is very concerning. I feel like he has to fall on his sword because the trust has gone," she said.

She said businesses on Chapel Street had been doing the right thing, with rigorous hygiene practices and social distancing. But she said the botched hotel quarantining system was forcing them to pay a heavy cost through no fault of their own.

WA brand behind cheekily named viral hot sauce set to ride 'Australian Made' wave

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: SYDNEY MORNING HERALD | THE AGE | BRISBANE TIMES | WATODAY

Perth woman Renae Bunster’s cheekily named S--- the Bed hot sauce has gone viral several times since its launch in 2015, gaining cult status in Australia and overseas.It has even topped the list of most popular hot sauces on Amazon, but even Ms Bunster couldn't predict the coronavirus-driven jump in sales across her range. Since the pandemic hit, Bunster’s sales doubled to about $400,000 or five tonnes of sauce. More than half of that was in the US.

She said as the pandemic wore on, people placed more value on Australian-made products using Australian ingredients. With that behaviour change in mind, Ms Bunster turned her attention to the rest of the condiment shelf and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to ride the wave of Australian-made popularity.

“We’re Australian, our sauce is made in Australia, by Australian people, using Aussie ingredients and our money stays on Aussie soil,” she said.

A cult hit Aussie hot sauce brand has raised over $300,000 from fans in an equity crowdfunding round

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: BUSINESS INSIDER

Fan favourite Australian hot sauce brand Bunsters has shot straight out of the gate in a round of equity crowdfunding, landing over $300,000 in the first week from fans of the brand – before the raise was even made public.The equity raise, which is handled by Birchal – the equity crowdfunding “sister platform” to Pozible – was initially launched privately to fans of the product. They ponied up $300,000 within a week, blitzing the initial goal of $100,000.

The reason for the capital raise is twofold, according to Bunster. Firstly, it is money to bolster production of the company’s core hot sauce product. Secondly, Bunster wants to expand the company’s product range, with the same ethos of Australian-made with Australian ingredients.

If You Can't Handle The Heat - Get Out Of This Aussie Mum's Kitchen

CLIENT: BUNSTERS

OUTLET: A CURRENT AFFAIR

Renae Bunster is a humble Perth mum with a not so humble hot sauce empire.

Sidestepping both Woolies & Coles, the straight-talking former TV journalist found viral success selling her sauces online - leaving Australia’s lacklustre supermarkets behind with their ‘hot sauce ranges that were weaker than an old man’s bowels’ (and about as tasty as them too!).

Bunster's Sh*t the Bed Hot sauce is regularly the #1 selling hot sauce on Amazon USA and is loved by celebrities including Natalie Portman, Wiz Kaleefa, Russell Brand and Rafael Nadal.

This second lockdown will spell the end for many Victorian businesses

CLIENT: CHAPEL STREET PRECINCT ASSOCIATION

OUTLET: CHANNEL TEN NEWS MELBOURNE

Retailers, restaurants, and small traders who have spent months struggling since the pandemic began say they may not survive the economic strain of another lockdown. Chapel Street traders seemed to be at the end of the tunnel, however now they are pushed back. Many Chapel businesses have pivoted and innovated to survive lockdown and will continue to do so for the next six weeks and beyond.