COYO

Year of Local– Meet the Producer, with Maple Street Co-op

Run by the community for the community, the Maple Street Co-op in Maleny celebrates ‘Year of Local’ for 2023, highlighting local producers, farmers, suppliers and growers, whose organic, wholesome and ethical products and produce can be found in this homely store.

COYO founder Henry Gosling, the grandson of a shipwrecked mariner from England, was born and raised in Fiji. He went on to create the world’s first coconut yogurt, and its international base is right here at the iconic Big Pineapple site on the Sunshine Coast. We caught up with Henry to find out more about this food business and the people behind it.

How did COYO become established in Australia, on the Sunshine Coast?

COYO was established in 2009 and the idea was actually seeded here on the Sunshine Coast. My wife Sandra and I had been talking about coconut yoghurt, which at the time seemed like a farfetched concept simply because no one had done it before. As we were walking on the beach contemplating it, a coconut washed up out of the ocean right in front of our feet. It was a sign!

From there, we embarked on this huge journey with a steep learning curve, starting off in our home kitchen, trundling these containers of yoghurt across our paddock to our cool room out the back.

Fast forward to 2019 and we moved to our fourth and current site: a renovated former macadamia nut factory behind the Big Pineapple in Woombye. Here we are able to produce over 80 tonnes a week. I pinch myself thinking how far we’ve come. We have a close to 60-strong team of locals working on site across R&D, quality, sales, customer service, marketing and production.

Tell us about your products?

Our specialty is delicious dairy-free, better-for-you coconut yoghurts, frozen yoghurts, ice creams and desserts, using organic coconut as the base for all our products and using carefully sourced, local ingredients where possible.

Most recently we launched a dairy free vanilla coconut custard which has flown off shelves to our delight, just in time for Christmas! It shows that there is a big market for people seeking dairy alternatives, be it for dietary or lifestyle reasons.

What is your relationship with Maple Street Co-op in Maleny?

Maple St Co-op was one of our first customers and continue to be a very supportive of COYO to this day. They pride themselves on supporting local producers so walking into the store you know you’ll find the newest innovations and highest quality goods in the region. They have always supported us by stocking our new products and we have enjoyed hosting lots of in-store tastings over the years.

What has the feedback been to COYO in the Sunshine Coast?

We would be nowhere without our loyal Sunshine Coast customers, many of whom have been COYO fans since day dot. In fact, the whole reason we were first stocked is because people who had tried our yoghurts started asking for them at their local stores!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Sandra is an integrative nutritionist and incredible chef so when I'm not at COYO you’ll find me enjoying her latest culinary cook up that uses fresh ingredients from our garden. Either that, or I’ll be at the local golf course.

Do you have a favourite quote which inspires you?

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

You can find COYO products at the Maple Street Co-op, Maleny, and you can find delicious dairy free recipes on the COYO website: coyo.com