Just a short drive from lakes and beaches in the New South Wales Great Lakes region lies a lush pocket of farming land.
A 60-hectare property covered in 20-year-old native tea tree plants is among the farms in the area.
For Allan and Jane Hutcherson, purchasing this property fulfilled a long-held dream.
"We have a contract manufacturing business … and one of the things we always wanted to do was to create our own brand," Mr Hutcherson said.
For almost three decades, the couple has been making soap for big companies in their factory in Sydney's Northern Beaches.
But the tea tree farm presented the chance to finally start their own skin care line, using essential oils produced from the plants on the property.
"It's totally vertically integrated," Mr Hutcherson said.
"We're actually producing oils from all of these wonderful botanical plants, and we're using them in our manufacturing facility."
Regenerating the farm
The couple purchased the property in 2018 and have spent the past four years regenerating it.
"It was a little bit run down, but we've given it a lot of love and planted a lot more trees and introduced new species," Ms Hutcherson said.
The pair have expanded to include lemon myrtle, old man saltbush and kunzea to the mix, and they are not stopping there.
"At the moment, we are working on preparing an area for about 4,000 Melaleuca ericifolia, which a lot of people know as Rosalina," Mr Hutcherson said.
"We see that as one of our new oils and new products we'll launch in probably 12–18 months' time."
Mr Hutcherson studied food science at university and later did a horticulture course.
He said the farm allowed him to put his skills into action.
"It's just great for me because I love it," Mr Hutcherson said.
"I grew up on a farm, and I missed it when we didn't have it."
From farm to factory
The plants are mechanically harvested and processed on the farm.
The essential oils are extracted from the trees and poured into large barrels, which Mr Hutcherson transports about three hours south of the property to his factory in Sydney.
They also have 10 beehives on the farm to create manuka honey, another ingredient used in their products.
The business is a family affair involving their children and their partners, who manage sales and marketing, human resources, and operations at the factory with a staff of 50.
The Hutchersons' son-in-law Grant Dempsey oversees contract production, as well as that of about 40 of their own products that incorporate essential oils from the farm.
"It's pretty rare to actually produce a product from scratch, basically from the raw materials first," Mr Dempsey said.
Small businesses work hard to succeed
The Hutchersons' goal was always to get their products on supermarket shelves.
Their son Sam Hutcherson, who is the business's sales director, helped make that happen but said competing with global brands was a constant battle for the family.
"It was a difficult process getting in there [supermarkets] and getting in the door … and I guess the hardest thing is staying in there," he said.
"Being a small business and being at the mercy of big businesses is hard. It's stressful, but we back ourselves because our product is really good quality.
"We don't have millions and millions of dollars to pump into marketing like the multinationals [international companies] do, and so you really are fighting for your life."
Business sustainability
The Hutchersons' daughter and business manager Amy Dempsey said ensuring their company was sustainable was important.
"We've recently just launched our refillable glass bottles and our soap pouches. These save about 80 per cent of plastic, and you can re-fill your bottle twice with them," she said.
Handwash also comes in clear glass and plastic bottles, which can be recycled, and online orders are sent in plastic-free packaging.
Recycling is just as important on the farm.
"Once we finish cooking the tea tree or the lemon myrtle, we have the biomass which we compost," Mr Hutcherson said.
"We put it back onto the plantation, and so we reuse it."
Ms Hutcherson said she felt lucky to have her family help run the business.
"Having our kids come on board has been fantastic," she said.
"They've brought their own skills to the business, and their partners have also been able to join our business, bringing a completely different set of skills."
Family is at the heart of this farming business, but it's the farm that is its essence.
"The soul of our business is this wonderful farm and using the botanicals that we produce here in our products," Mr Hutcherson said.
Watch this story on ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm on Sunday, or on ABC iview.
