19. Mr Indeva

Revenue: $5.77 million
Growth: 38.54%
Founders: Melinda Farley and Robert Farley
Head office: Melbourne, VIC
Year founded: 2017
Employees: 7
Industry: Consumer goods
Website: kollektive.com.au

How Mr Indeva started

Melinda Farley was only 23 when she founded consumer brand BABYink, using old FBI tech to offer a way for parents to capture inkless hand and footprints for their babies.

She sold it in 2013 before buying it back five years later through Mr Indeva, a company she founded with her husband Robert Farley. From there, they’ve turned their Kollektive brand into a powerhouse for high-quality baby and children’s consumer goods.

Growth

Focusing on the ‘unloved’ B2B market, they zeroed in on smaller, independent retailers across Australia and New Zealand, and partnered with up-and-coming Australian brands to offer outsourced services in wholesale sales and distribution.

Sometimes, that meant saying ‘no’ to larger retailers, and the avenue of fighting on price.

It worked a treat, with the company now servicing 2,500 points of sale across both sides of the Tasman, and revenue increasing from $3.1 million to $5.77 million in the past three years.

With great growth came the acceptance that certain products need to be placed in large retailers like Woolworths to meet the high demand.

Where to next

Alongside Kollektive, Mr Indeva now owns 20 company brands across baby, kids, pets, gifts and lifestyle. While the company enjoys year-on-year growth, it’s looking to formally introduce new divisions in vertical markets.

It has clear pathways to market after developing great relationships with independent retailers, and is next looking to high-margin brands to drive better profits.

Mr Indeva was shortlisted in the Retail Award category at the 2023 Smart50 Awards.

Back to The Smart50 Awards 2023.