Handmade Food + High-Growth Systems: How Fishbowl scaled up Adelia's Operations

Twelve years after starting out in Ocean Grove, Adelia Fine Foods & Bellarine Brownie Company has grown into a thriving regional food manufacturer with more than 20 local staff and a reputation for handcrafted quality.

Their kitchens turn out a diverse range of muesli, granola, snacks, pancake mixes, brownies and rocky road. Around 80% of this is sold wholesale to retailers like IGA, independent grocers, cafés, hamper businesses, boutique accommodation and restaurants.

Founder, Amelia Trethowan, who started the business alongside her husband Adam, says her passion is “to fuel everyday adventures with wholesome and delicious foods that nourish the body and elevate the soul”.

Despite their growth, the company maintains a hands-on approach. “We have limited automation and we’re still very hands on,” Amelia said. “People are involved in every element of our product.”

Scaling up: ‘Better Before Bigger’

As demand rose, the team confronted the complexities of scaling handmade production while preserving quality. Amelia credits their success to an innovative mindset.

“We’re always still learning and growing,” Amelia said. “Scaling was a challenge, but we’ve been lucky because we have an innovative, process-improvement approach to business. We don’t look at things as obstacles, but as a pathway to growth.”

Their internal mantra, “Better Before Bigger”, became essential as the business expanded. It shaped decisions, reassured staff, and guided the search for systems that could support their next stage of growth.

Why Fishbowl? ‘When Enough Was Enough’

By the time production volumes increased significantly, the team knew they had outgrown spreadsheets and manual processes.

“We got to a point in the business where we needed an inventory management system,” Amelia explains. The first system they tried caused “a lot of headaches”. Eventually, she says, “When enough was enough, we went searching for another option and discovered Fishbowl.”

Integration with existing systems was essential, which Fishbowl could deliver. But what impressed Amelia most was the standout onboarding experience.

“Fishbowl was just so wonderful with the onboarding,” continued Amelia. “Compared to the other system, it was like chalk and cheese. Fishbowl onboarding support made the decision to proceed just so easy.

“The support you get from Fishbowl is phenomenal. I appreciate being able to brainstorm an idea for a report and work out a way to do something similar.”

Full traceability from ingredient to dispatch

Today, Fishbowl underpins the company’s entire production workflow.

“It logs everything from the moment we place an ingredient on order, to arriving on site, to going into production, to then that ingredient being used in a finished product and being dispatched to our customers,” said Amelia.

For a HACCP-certified business supplying major retailers, the ability to track and trace is non-negotiable.

“If we had a recall, or if there was some faulty ingredient from a supplier, we can easily identify the products associated with that issue and notify the right customers,” said Amelia.

Better planning, better data, and better decisions

Fishbowl has brought new clarity to production planning and purchasing, continued Amelia.

“It’s real data and not based on anything subjective. We can see what we’ve produced in a month, what’s being prepared, and what’s being cooked by the team.

“The system also helps us predict ingredient needs, manage resources, and plan labour. The staff no longer have to rely on one person to tell them what to make. It gives them a lot of independence. They can discover when stock levels are low. They’re more in control of what their day-to-day looks like.”

Next steps: Integrating online ordering

The business is now preparing to take the next leap, extending Fishbowl’s functionality to integrate online ordering systems.

“The next project we’ll work on with Fishbowl is to cross over with the online ordering and setting that up,” Amelia says.

A system built for growing producers

For Amelia, Fishbowl is best suited to businesses reaching a certain level of complexity, especially those supplying major retailers.

“You have to be at a certain point of your business growth and company size where the benefits really kick in,” Amelia said. “It’s important when you’re working with bigger retailers like IGA who need this level of accountability and traceability.

“When you get to our point where we are now, we couldn’t do this without Fishbowl. I would recommend it.”

Book a Demo today and find out how Fishbowl can streamline operational efficiencies and scale operations for growth in your business.