Franjos Kitchen

From a chance meeting to a thriving business...

Sometimes the stars align and you meet the perfect person at exactly the right time. No, you haven’t accidentally clicked on a dating site. We’re talking about the meeting of Fran and Jo, two mums on a mission to help families live healthier and happier lives.

In 2014, Jo was out for a walk with her first baby, Matilda. She noticed another mum pushing a pram and decided to introduce herself. It was Fran, out for a walk with her first baby, Phoebe. As they waited at the traffic lights, Fran and Jo struck up a conversation and by the time the little green man appeared, a wonderful friendship had begun.

Jo was running her own naturopathy business and had also developed a range of healthy biscuits called Kooka’s Natural Cookies (a homage to her dad’s popular Kooka’s Country Cookies). Fran was (and still is) a practising lawyer. Despite their very different careers, they soon discovered a shared passion for baked goods. Fran would pop over to Jo’s place in Kingsville with a container of homemade biscuits and they’d chat about food, motherhood and everything in between.

At the time, Fran was worried that her baby Phoebe wasn’t gaining enough weight and had asked Dr Google, “How do I produce more milk?” She found a recipe for lactation biscuits and after baking a few batches, they were working a treat. Fran had more milk and Phoebe was gaining weight!

It was then that Fran had her ‘lightbulb’ moment. She thought – why can’t Jo use her naturopath knowledge to make a healthier version of my lactation biscuits? She called Jo and said, “I’ve got a business idea.”

From small beginnings – trialling biscuit recipes in Jo’s home kitchen and testing them on local mums – Franjo’s Kitchen is now an international brand with a factory in Tullamarine. What started with two flavours of breastfeeding biscuits has expanded to a delicious and functional product range that supports every stage of life – from pregnancy and breastfeeding through to toddlerhood and beyond.

Fran is now mum to Phoebe and Matilda while Jo is mum to Matilda and twins, Charles and Florence. While their kids will always be their greatest achievement, Fran and Jo are incredibly proud of the thriving business they’ve created. They are proof that if women work together to support other women, sensational things can happen.