Image about the unexpected guest
Do you know when you are sitting at home and a friend or family member comes by unexpectedly?
This is your moment to feel unprepared for hosting.
That's a feeling you can forget thanks to Jenny Khan.
Ms. Khan bought The Unexpected Guest four years ago and started operating it in southwest Sydney, shipping products across the country.
Ms. Khan's indigenous heritage is embedded in the foods the company produces.
“Our cereal contains Australian ingredients,” she says.
"Our business model has evolved into one that introduces our culture through food, and adding other Aboriginal businesses to our space is part of our culture."
Ms. Khan continues to discuss her influences: “Sharing space and supporting one another while we continue to develop our own products is culture.
“We make sure that reciprocity is demonstrated as much as possible – this is culture, and we do it by sharing knowledge, platforms and space with other First Nations companies as well as our supply chain that ensures the community is supported – Reciprocity in action. "
In addition to its processes, The Unexpected Guest even incorporates Aboriginal culture into its logo.
“Our logo tells my story,” explains Ms. Khan.
Image about the unexpected guest
“… The kangaroo paw with the flow of dots is the logo and was created in consultation with my cousin – the artist Mark Kilpatrick – three years before we were founded.
“The name of our company is Wambool Dreaming Pty Ltd. The word Wambool is the Wiradjuri word for the Macquarie River, and this is the river I grew up fishing and swimming with my family. The dots represent the WAMBOL, my story. "
Like most people, the company faced a number of challenges over the course of 2020.
“We really had to build our social media presence and learn how to generate sales through our website,” says Ms. Khan.
"At this stage, we focus on staying open and continuing to provide quality products with clean ingredients that promote health and wellbeing."
At theunexpectedguest.com you can see what The Unexpected Guest has to offer.
This article was originally published in the Australian Ombudsman for Small Businesses and Family Businesses.
