Founded in 2009 on the Sunshine Coast, COYO is a coconut-based yoghurt and ice cream company built on entrepreneurship, a passion for coconuts and high-quality products. COYO started with the ingenious idea of Henry Gosling, Co-Founder of COYO, to make yoghurt out of coconuts. After months of trial and error, Henry and his wife Sandra Gosling, commenced their business journey, to start Australia’s first coconut yoghurt alternative.
The COYO product is coconut based, with the premise of the business being to produce functional products. The key consideration is the probiotic and prebiotic content of the products and what they are doing for consumers’ gut health. COYO is certified organic, meaning their products are not only free from chemicals and pesticides, but they are also ethically produced, socially responsible and support the environment.
Starting with just the two of them, Henry and Sandra have grown COYO to approximately 50 staff, which continues to grow, and Sandra describes as, “A great team of people who've been with us for a very long time”.
Sandra and Henry realised as they were growing exponentially, and they needed a far greater level of financial services. That's when they found BDO Business Services, Partner, Marc Robinson. “I don't know how it could have happened without Marc and his team,” said Sandra, “they were there every step of the way to advise. When scaling up, there are all kinds of things to consider.”
“The advice BDO gave us was valuable in our growth period and still is as we continue to expand.” Sandra Gosling, Co-Founder, COYO.
“I've grown to know a lot of the other staff within BDO and they're all fantastic people. I met Marc many years ago now, and he is so easy to deal with and a great communicator. He knows our business really well. He is very much a part of our business, and I think that's terribly important,” says Sandra.
The accessibility and reliability of Marc and BDO’s Business Services team, have proven to be major factors. “They’re always so accessible, it’s important as a business leader, that if you need to know something, you need to know right now,” Sandra said, “it’s just wonderful to be able to access the expert advice when you need it.”
With no signs of slowing down, the COYO team look forward to their continued expansion, growth and awareness of their yoghurt alternative. Henry and Sandra are looking forward to scaling and expanding their COYO products, and business into the future.
If you would like to learn about optimising your business processes, contact your local BDO adviser today.