On The Up: Small Business - reigniting the need for breakfast with Fuller Overnight Oats

Kiwi Dane Fuller, founder of Fuller Overnight Oats, talks to Tom Raynel about starting a business during the pandemic across the world, and why he wants to reignite the passion for breakfast. Each Monday, we interview a small business owner, which is now a regular feature of NZME’s editorial campaign On The Up, showcasing uplifting stories of success, inspiration and possibilities.

What is Fuller Overnight Oats?

Fuller Overnight Oats is a protein-packed breakfast in a bag that’s energising for athletes and active people.

What inspired you to start the business?

Firstly, I was a nutritionist for quite a number of years. I found that a lot of my clients ended up sacrificing their health by skipping breakfast, or they didn’t have a decent breakfast. It meant that they became really tired and then they would start reaching for energy-dense foods which then resulted in weight gain and poor health over time.

One of the biggest changes that we could make to their life to get the biggest impact was actually looking at their breakfast. I started recommending to people to have the type of breakfast that I had when I was a rower, it was an oat-based meal with fruits and high in protein.

When I became a father to three young kids, I found it really difficult to try to make this type of meal, because it was quite time-consuming. So then I started to look for ways that I could still have this type of breakfast without all the extra time and not taking a shortcut. That’s where I came across the idea of overnight oats.

There was none of this in New Zealand, but it was really big in the US. I thought right, this could be a good idea.

Fuller Overnight Oats is a protein-packed breakfast in a bag, just add milk.

How did working in the United States change your view of business?

I started over there in the US and that allowed me to really refine the product, the brand and my target market before bringing it back here to New Zealand. Some parts were difficult in terms of me being here in New Zealand creating a product from a distance. There were issues with shipping stuff from America to New Zealand and then getting stuff the opposite way as well.

There were some challenges there, particularly through Covid, and just financially it was really expensive. There are good things about operating in New Zealand, the friendliness and the willingness to help out and work together to achieve something.

I guess the opposite side of that is when you’re working in the US there is a much higher bar for customer service and professionalism. That’s probably the difference I’ve found between the two is that working in the US I became accustomed to doing things properly, making sure that things were done really well, that all my systems were in place, you know, be more precise.

That mindset I’ve been able to bring back here in New Zealand when it comes to production, manufacturing, and the quality of my ingredients. It’s a more professional edge to the business rather than being more casual and just “we’ll do this as we go along”.

Did you self-fund the business, and did you think you would be in this industry?

Yeah, absolutely. I had to sell my house to get the money that I needed to go into this, and so that was a big commitment. It’s been an expensive process because of my commitment to two things.

One is quality, I just wasn’t willing to skimp on quality. And then secondly, I was committed to feedback and improving the product over time. That meant I was committed to small manufacturing and packaging runs because I knew that I would get the feedback to then go back and improve the product.

I never had any ambition to start a business like this. My ambition around business has been helping people. My first business I set up straight out of university was to start working as a nutritionist. I set a business up and employed a number of people and had clinics around Christchurch and also here in Auckland.

I had absolutely no idea about food manufacturing and that’s why it’s been an expensive process for me because I’ve done all this myself.

I’ve had to start from the ground up and create these recipes in my kitchen by myself with my kids as taste testers, and then take it to the market and just trial and error.

Fuller Overnight Oats won the start-up category at Foodstuffs Emerge in 2024, getting Dane Fuller's products into New World stores across the country.

What would be your advice to other budding entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?

When I look back at what I’ve done in my life and the process of going through this business, it’s been really purpose-driven. I think it’s easy to fall into a career path, particularly listening to your parents about chasing money and being financially secure. Be willing to risk that financial security to chase your dreams.

I think you have got to be happy and you have got to chase your dreams that bring you happiness. Often, in my experience, it’s about making sure that you are doing something that helps other people, not just helping yourself.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.