“Being new and quite small, I wasn’t expecting anything much to happen – I just saw it as a way to get my brand out there and do some marketing,” she says. “But it turned out brilliantly.”
The annual food and beverage trade show, which will be held at Crown Perth on October 22 this year, brings together buyers, chefs, educators, importers, sommeliers and distributors to sample a range of Western Australian products.
One of the people Sharon met was Gary Lay, head of merchandise at Tucker Fresh. 
“He asked me if I was interested in doing some products for their (Tucker Fresh) Selection range,” she recalls. “The process was involved but it’s been so amazing and they have been very, very helpful guiding me through it all. It’s now in 11 of their supermarkets.”
Not bad for a “side hustle” that Sharon, who also runs EQ Pathology, and her wife Linda first started toying with during Covid in Melbourne. “I love brittle but my issue was that it was always too thick and I just knew I could make a product that was easier to eat.”
Linda’s devastating cancer diagnosis put everything on hold and the family decided to move to Perth, which Kiwi-born Sharon had always loved and Linda had yet to visit.
“She got four months in this beautiful state before she passed away, and then I needed something to fill my time and I thought ‘you know what, I’m going to make it a West Australian business and give it a go’,” she says.
Perth Brittle Company took off quickly, with the thin shards of nut-filled deliciousness proving a hit with brittle lovers at markets around Perth.
There is also an ode to Linda in the packaging. “The ribbons are a take on the cancer ribbon – it’s just a little way to honour her,” Sharon says.IGA stores.
Those ribbons will be back on show at Meet the Buyer this year, with Sharon booking a double stall to cater for Perth Brittle Company’s growing product range, which she also sells wholesale via West Australian Brittle Company.
“I don’t like to waste anything when I’m cooking and when I do my nut range, for instance, there is a lot of byproduct leftover,” she says. “I’ve turned that into sugar, so I have a gourmet sugar range, including vanilla macadamia sugar and Cointreau orange pistachio sugar.”
The former early childhood teacher, whose brain is always buzzing with new ideas, recently invested in a freeze dryer so she can make brittle to withstand the hot Perth summers.
Sharon would also like to expand into duty-free stores with her Australiana range of brittle, which includes ingredients such as wattleseed and saltbush. “They are already in Aspects of Kings Park and selling really well,” she says. “Everything’s going really well — and Meet the Buyer was a big part of that.”
Raising the bar for everyone
Gary Lay says the value of Meet the Buyer, now in its fourth year, is being realised by a wider audience every year. 
“Having suppliers under one roof all with the same goals to develop WA business is gold dust to me as the head of merchandise at Tucker Fresh,” he says. “There are very limited events held in the WA calendar where you can access locally manufactured products under one roof.”
One of the best things about the annual event is that it is not predicated on making sales on the day. “It’s a non-pressured environment for suppliers and manufacturers to meet and greet with buyers who can, with the right guidance, develop their business into the future in a cost-effective manner,” Gary says.
With the promotion of local products a cornerstone of the independent grocer, which runs a dozen IGA stores from Atwell to Treeby, Gary spends a lot of time advising others how to do business with Tucker Fresh. Asked what boxes suppliers need to tick to earn space on their shelves, he says:
- Exclusive product that is not ranged in the chains
- A willingness to develop products for supply under the Tucker Fresh Selection brand, and
- To actively contribute to developing promotional plans and samplings for our customers.
Aside from helping to spread the word about Tucker Fresh’s house brand development, Gary says Meet the Buyer provides a great platform to get to know the people behind the brands.
“Making a face-to-face connection and understanding the supplier’s products and direction is very powerful,” he says. “Meet the Buyer’s value to independent operators such as Tucker Fresh cannot be underestimated. How good would it be if the event ran twice a year?”
Sharon’s and Gary’s experiences are two of the many good news stories to come out of Meet the Buyer. Chefs Paul Lange, of Smokey Q rubs and sauces, and Blair Allen, of Amelia Park Restaurant, tell us why they see great value in the annual event.
Meet the Buyer 2024 exhibitor registrations are sold out. Delegate tickets are still available. Secure your tickets here.