You can take the girl out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the girl.
Such is the case of Roz White who grew up riding horses and mustering cattle at Coalstoun Lakes in the Burnett.
Today Roz and husband Michael run six IGA supermarkets throughout Noosa and the Sunshine Coast.
This month they celebrate 33 years in business but, like a life on the land, it has not been easy – as any small business entrepreneur will say.
Persistence, resilience, initiative, how to deal with and overcome hardships, the elation of a good season and fair prices at the markets.
It is the hard work put in on the Kimber family property at Coalstoun Lakes that has set Roz up.
Now, as a much-awarded businesswoman on a regional, state and national level for business and community involvement, Roz will be at Gympie next month as part of the Gympie Region Economic Summit.
As chair of Sunshine Coast 2032 – a not-for-profit company established to maximise the opportunities provided by the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games – Roz will join in a panel discussion with other government, industry, and community leaders to explore the future of the Gympie economy.
White’s IGA Group employ 530 people at stores from Peregian Beach and Mt Coolum to Bli Bli, Mooloolah Valley, Forest Glen and Baringa.
The growth, from a husband-and-wife convenience store at Maroochydore in 1993 to the present network has come about due greatly to the passion they have shown.
The humble seven-day-a- week convenience store at Maroochydore had a hard-working team of three employees.
Today Roz is a massive advocate for locally produced food. She has done this through her commitment to the local communities and to Queensland by bringing local to the forefront of the minds of consumers through the highly-successful Locavore program.
Through the program White’s IGA sources local food and goods from more than 200 producers, growers, makers and suppliers within a radius of 200km.
These producers are listed on the Whites IGA website but also on the walls of the stores.
While the Locavore program was officially founded in 2013, Roz and Michael have been sourcing local products since 1993.
The program supports and promotes sustainable practice across a range of components such as economic, social and environmental.
As a result Roz has been recognised by Slow Food Noosa as a worthy recipient of the Snail of Approval for those providing good, clean and healthy food for all, that has been produced in a sustainable manner.
Over a coffee at the in-store cafe at Forest Glen, Roz tells me that not only does the Locavore program stimulate the local economy, it creates local jobs, adds diversity to the market, nourishes local families and the community with quality food, and reduces waste and food miles.
White’s IGA recognises fair trade and chooses to partner with fair trade accredited practices.
“We are supportive of sustaining a viable local food system for all players to thrive,” Roz said. “Fair price economies are sustainable economies.”
The benefits of this program will be immense due to the return on the investment dollar that sees money circulate within the community instead of being taken out or sent overseas.
As well as healthier outcomes from fresh food production and practices, there are the benefits of having a local supply chain, especially given the experiences we’ve had in the past five years with the Covid pandemic and floods.
“I have such a deep conviction to be Locavore and to what Slow Food is doing,” Roz said. “I heavily believe in that from having been stung in business.
“When you do see these things happen I know how it works. It just makes sense.
“We all support each other in the money stakes within the community. It supports local families and stimulates the market, the economy and the community itself.
“People and communities flourish when you have those philosophies of supporting local business.”
From her country background Roz has developed an understanding of how a community operates.
In rural areas, communities revolve around such functions as CWA stalls, cent auctions and fetes.
“Everything was handmade,” Roz said. “There were lamingtons, scones, toffee apples, and the ones in the cupcakes.
“There were sugar-coated peanuts because peanuts were big where I grew up.
“As little kids, we used to get in there and make them in the kitchen with Mum, then sell them at the fete.”
Growing up on the land has influenced Roz deeply, but she still feels like a scratchy kid from the bush.
“My parents gave me good values. Dad was a hard worker and we grew up with a strong work ethic.
“He had me working in the yards, so I grew up driving tractors and trucks and riding horses.”
White’s distinctive Locavore culture incorporates a trademarked ‘tractor’ emblem to highlight the locally grown and made products.
It was chosen because behind every Locavore tractor is a family and a story connecting customers to the journey of the food and produce.
The restored ’47 Chev truck the Whites use to promote the brand and the Locavore program is very similar to the one Roz learned to drive with.
“It was a yellow Austin with a tray back. I would do the hay and feed the cattle with it.
“You’d come home from school and load up the truck with bales of hay, and take it across to the yards and feed the weaners.
“We had a grey Fergie tractor as well. At that age I became Dad‘s right-hand girl.
“I was the youngest of four brothers and four girls. They still call me the spoiled brat.
“I was very loved and still look up to my brothers and sisters. You always look up to them as my heroes when I’m with them.”
The boys went away working on properties in Northern Queensland while the girls all went their different ways – Maryborough, Brisbane or stayed in the area.
Roz was it on the farm, whether ploughing the fields or helping muster cattle at the weekends.
“You name it, I did it. It’s a good start in life and teaches you a lot.
“I don’t forget any of those days with Dad. He taught me courage.
“He was more terrifying than the Brahman bull that you had to stand in front of. I wanted to be scrambling up the rails, but he was yelling at me to shut the gate.”
With that background Roz has been able to understand a lot about the fruit and vegetables they stock in the stores.
“It’s a respect to what goes into growing food.”
When Roz finished at school she got a job in the Westpac bank – even working in the Hastings St branch at Noosa Heads.
That is where she met Michael. He had grown up on a dairy farm in the South Burnett and Roz describes him as “a quiet but very astute businessman.”
They didn’t have much money, but started to look around for a business.
“The banking background makes you savvy and you are not afraid to follow your ideas – but I always had a fallback.
“We scratched up enough money to buy a small NightOwl Convenience store in Maroochydore.
“Enough money. … or so we thought. We hadn’t factored in enough money for the value of stock on the shelves.
“We were very lucky in that the sellers allowed us time to pay off the stock. Not only that – but they mentored us and have been lifelong friends.”
While Roz stayed working in the bank until they had enough money to pay the rent and costs, Michael had a confectionery run which gave some cash flow as well as buy more stock for the shop.
“We worked hard – 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
“It’s a lonely place in a shop when you’ve worked in a team at the bank for a long time.
“Yet it allowed us to learn the basics of retailing. If stock came in we had to unload it from pallets and stock the shelves.”
At the same time Roz did university studies including human resource management at University of the Sunshine Coast, which was how to manage people.
A second store in Mooloolaba has gone in land resumption by the Sunshine Coast Council as part of road widening.
Eventually Roz and Michael bought an IGA store at Bli Bli in 2004 … where it is now but it was tiny back then and has recently been dramatically expanded.
Locavore started at the outset when they were in Aerodrome Road, with produce from local distributors.
Oils and creams for skin were some of the first products put on the shelves. They still stock them even though most is now on the national and export markets.
“We’ve been stocking local products from those days. I could see what we wanted to do – that is to create a store full of products that not everyone stocked.
“I was a bit of an early adopter I suppose, and would go to the markets then bring in some of the products.
“At that stage there wasn’t much available and not much of a demand.
“We started stocking Maroochy River lettuce at the Bli Bli store. That was the start of it.
“Then we started to get a few more lines and wondered how to get the message out: Picked and packed in the morning, and on the dinner plate that night.”
Roz found the term locavore in 2007 and created the program around that: Someone who chooses to have food grown within a small area, and where the customer could understand the story behind it. Locally produced, locally made.
Things don’t happen overnight and Roz had to go out to find growers who could supply on a regular basis.
“It was a matter of finding the producer then understanding what they have got. How do I get your product into my store? How do we market or promote it?
“The turning point was when my team became a team of advocates. That’s how you build momentum.
“If they didn’t believe in it, if they didn’t embrace it, then it wouldn’t have come to life.
“As their commitment grew, they all became advocates and locavores. Then they would live the language and think of their own local lines.
“The community started to slowly recognise it. Momentum built and the program expanded.
“It’s a story on a plate. If you put out a platter with Woombye Cheese, Ugly Duck chutney, fresh strawberries, then local honey drizzled over the cheese … imagine sharing that with your friends who are visiting. “What a beautiful experience. We have an abundance now, with produce from the Mary Valley as far as Piggy In The Middle at Kilkivan.
“We sponsor the Chevallum Primary School Strawberry Fest every year. There is seasonal produce whether it be avocados, herbs or greens such as hand-picked green beans and brussels sprouts.
“These are the most glorious fresh green specimens that you could wish for. You would never get a fresher looking product in your life. They are just a joy.
“From farm to store in 24. Picked in the morning and on your dinner plate that night.”
While there may only be a short, sharp season for fresh produce it is top quality and gives producers an outlet other than the markets, Roz said.
“There was a darling man who would come along in his truck and he would’ve planted the pumpkins. He nurtured them, harvested, packed them and delivered them to us.
“Straight from the farm – it was the most beautiful story. How could you not love that?
“It fills my heart. Maybe it’s because I grew up on the land and I have a great love, a great connection to it … an understanding of what it took to get it to the store.
“It’s why I have such a deep conviction in why it is right, and that sometimes things are bigger than yourself.”
The Whites have chosen to locate their stores away from major shopping centres to encourage a sense of community.
Being in business as an independent operation encourages other independent businesses to work in co-operation rather than competition.
Co-opetition, Roz calls it. When you’re in competition but you work together.
“Isn’t that a great thing because you can attract people to the centre when we support each other and be part of a community, without someone coming in and taking it all?”
An avid supporter of education, Roz said her time at university taught her about critical thinking.
It was invaluable. She would have lecture notes – those needed for the exam – and then ideas for her business.
That’s how she learned about due process – legal and procedural fairness.
“It is a fundamental key. Understanding that was a turning point.
“If you get your people right, everything is right. You have to know how to treat people for them to respond. To be respected, valued and treated fairly.
“You need to have policies in place on how to set boundaries and back it up with procedures. How to deal with the situation. There’s a process, there’s a structure involved.
“Otherwise it would be like a tree without roots.”
What University of the Sunshine Coast is doing now by creating bite-size modules of learning, is impressive, Roz said.
For example, wanting to learn more about finance and the economy makes real sense for business people.
“I put myself through trying to do the whole thing with strategic management. The training, the recruitment, the workplace health and safety, job design, how to interview, how to induct – we did a whole list of programs for our business.
“That went on to IGA because I was chair of the Queensland board at that stage – the first female – so I had a voice and encouraged them to have a national training program.
“We need to support our people. We need resilience so that the system remains in place, even if people step away.”
Roz was very fortunate in that one of the national managers was able to release a certain amount of funding and that started the IGA Training Academy that serves 1400 stores Australia-wide and across other businesses such as Mitre 10 hardware.
It was her handwritten content that started that.
Something like that must surely give a sense of achievement. Yet so must coming into a store and seeing the smiling faces of staff, the shelves stocked and benches beautifully set out.
“Independent businesses are usually owned by a mum and dad, and working within the community … it’s one that you love. You have to be part of that community to be successful.”
Slow Food Noosa joint vice president Tania Wiesmayr-Freeman presented Roz with the Snail of Approval certificate at the recent Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show.
“In your Locavore range, you are helping our local community access good, clean and fair food which are the pillars of the Slow Food movement,” Tania said.
“In addition, we would like to recognise your support of the next generation through the local school garden programs, Little Locavores.
“Slow Food International is the world’s largest food advocacy group which supports maintaining biodiversity of our food supply working towards sustainable farming and manufacturing processes, maintaining traditional food knowledge and reducing food miles. This includes supporting local farmers and manufacturers.”
This was deeply meaningful recognition, Roz said. An honour and a privilege to accept the Snail of Approval on behalf of the entire team across the six White’s IGA stores.
“To be acknowledged by Slow Food Noosa, one of the most active and passionate voices in the Australian Slow Food movement, is incredibly humbling.
“We are proud to share your values … and to help amplify the work of our remarkable local producers, growers, and food artisans.
“Supporting our local food economy isn’t just good business; it’s the right thing to do. It strengthens our community, protects our environment, and honors generations of food knowledge and culture.
“It’s something I believe in deeply, and it’s made possible thanks to the dedication of our team, our suppliers, and all those who share this vision.
“To the team at Slow Food Noosa and the wider Slow Food movement, thank you for championing sustainable, ethical, and joyful food systems. Your work is vital and inspiring.
“And to the passionate producers we stock and support – this award belongs to you as well. We are so proud to walk beside you on this journey.
“This recognition means the world.”
On a recent road trip back to Coalstoun Lakes Roz realised her heart will always be with the land, where she was born and raised.
“Visiting my dear grandparents, folks and my lost siblings now means a trip to their resting place.
“The land here welcomes me. I feel at home.
“The recent rain has brought life and vitality to the landscape. The rich red soil is nurturing new crops and the grazing lands are abundant and productive, the creeks are running and grass is green.
“Simple things; a crow’s squawk, reverberating across the gentle sway of gum trees, the blistering heat of summer, welcome storms and the smell of fresh rain, red dirt clinging to every surface, bull heads, thistle and thorn apples, running through paddocks with stinging nettles whipping your bare shins.
“Long hot days chipping peanuts, ploughing and planting crops, mustering cattle from dawn til dusk, every single muscle aching as you rise to do it all again the next day.”
For Roz, her journey has been filled with ups and downs, and learning through trial and error.
“Over time, we learned that the key to sustainable growth is building a solid structure. Good governance, strategic planning, and financial modeling are crucial components.
“Today, we operate six multi-award winning supermarkets with a team of over 560 people. Everything we do is intentional and focused, underpinned by structure and strategy. Today, I love what I do.”
Roz White is not only inspiring local farmers and producers but putting words into action by labelling their produce. At the same time she is showing who the producers are, where they are and what they do … and encouraging people to choose community over convenience to build a stronger identity for the region in which we live.
