Wild Foods has launched an online marketplace to bring food from remote First Nations producers to Brisbane customers.
The company marked its August 28 launch at Food Connect Shed in Salisbury, where guest chef Chris Jordan of Three Little Birds prepared wild-harvested food from Northern Australia.
Founded by Esparq in Far North Queensland, Wild Foods is building commercial systems to support Indigenous producers while supplying ethically caught, responsibly farmed and Indigenous-owned food.
Torres Strait Islander man and Esparq's chief executive and founder, Darryl Majid, was born and raised in Cairns and has family from the Torres Strait and local region.
He described the company as an effort to strengthen the Indigenous food economy.
"Wild Foods is building a stronger, more connected Indigenous food economy, built on trust, provenance and shared systems," Mr Majid said.
"We're building a community around eating wild, where every product carries the story of where it came from, connecting you to Country and strengthening First Nations business."
Mr Majid described a lack of commercial infrastructure and difficulty securing fair prices as ongoing barriers for remote Indigenous producers.
"Wild Foods is the sector enabler bringing together culture and commercial sustainability to create something genuinely new while uplifting the Indigenous food ecosystem," he said.
The company is the exclusive distributor for its first two producers and will provide logistics, food safety compliance, marketing and market access.
Its first products come from Bush Beef, operated by the Normanby Aboriginal Corporation on Balnggarrawarra Country in Cape York, and Salty Monkeys Seafoods, a Torres Strait Islander-owned enterprise based on Badu Island in Zenadth Kes, the Torres Strait.
Balnggarrawarra man Vince Harrigan, a Traditional Owner and managing director of the Normanby Aboriginal Corporation, described Bush Beef as an opportunity for Country and the local community.
"We're turning a cultural and environmental challenge into an opportunity for our land and community," Mr Harrigan said.
"Cattle were introduced to Normanby Station over a hundred years ago, and, in time, have impacted native vegetation and sensitive wetlands. Now, we're restoring the balance by turning wild cattle into an authentic paddock-to-plate experience, giving people Australia-wide a wild food like no other."
Bush Beef is sourced from Normanby Station, where cattle graze native grasses in open savanna without grain or feedlots.
The range includes mince, beef pies using pepperberry, saltbush and bush tomato, and cuts for food service businesses.
Torres Strait Islander man Dennis Fay, the founder of Salty Monkeys Seafoods, described the enterprise as a way to recognise the skill, risk and ocean knowledge held by local divers.
"Salty Monkeys Seafood is a Torres Strait seafood venture built to connect local fishermen, premium Kaiar and customers who value provenance, quality and story," Mr Fay said.
"Our lobsters are hand-caught by local divers, handled with care, and brought to market through a pathway that recognises the skill, risk and value of the fishermen behind every Kaiar."
Salty Monkeys supplies hand-caught Kaiar, or tropical rock lobster, from divers working with Traditional Owners in the Torres Strait.
The food range includes whole tropical rock lobster and Kaiar gyoza made by Melbourne business House of Yum Cha.
Wild Foods will initially sell and deliver to customers and wholesalers in Brisbane and Sydney, with plans to expand nationally.
Melbourne restaurant Attica, owned by chef Ben Shewry, is the first restaurant to add Bush Beef to its menu.
Mr Shewry outlined why the product suited the restaurant.
"We're always looking for delicious, unique, and sustainable ingredients to add to our menu, and Wild Beef is a perfect fit for us," Mr Shewry said.
"Wild Foods sources real food with no shortcuts or compromise, adopting an 'eat the problem' attitude. This food is harvested with respect for the planet, and we are proud to cook and serve it."
Wild Foods' supply-chain partners include Brisbane Cold Storage, Cool Couriers, Food Connect Shed, Fraser Isle Seafood, Harbourside Transport, Rocky Creek Abattoir, Seaswift and SLR Trans.
The marketplace includes information about the provenance of each product and the people who produce it.
Wild Foods products and information about the producers behind them are available through the company's website.