Qantas to serve 196,000 Cooee Indigenous Christmas cookies

Cooee Native Superfoods has secured a seasonal supply deal with Qantas that will place almost 200,000 Indigenous-owned, allergen-friendly Christmas cookies on selected domestic and international flights during the peak holiday period.

Qantas will serve 196,000 Cooee Christmas cookies across its network from mid-December until the end of the year, or until stock runs out. The agreement gives the Lake Macquarie-based business national exposure during one of the busiest travel windows in the airline's calendar.

The move highlights growing interest in Indigenous-owned food brands among major corporate buyers. It also extends Qantas's use of locally produced snacks on board.

The festive cookie is a gingerbread and wattleseed recipe. It comes in four Christmas shapes: a circle, star, bell and tree. Each cookie has a light icing sugar dusting, which gives the product a more traditional seasonal appearance.

Young artist Kate Webster created limited-edition packaging for the product. The design focuses on Christmas themes and promotes Indigenous creativity through its artwork for Qantas.

Terri-Ann "Tezzi" Daniel founded Cooee Native Superfoods after starting to experiment with recipes at home. She is a Wiradjuri woman and mother of eight who launched the brand using a weekly budget of AUD $17.90.

"To see something that started at my kitchen bench now being shared with families flying home for Christmas is incredibly special," said Daniel, Founder, Cooee Native Superfoods.

Daniel said the cookies target a broad consumer base through their formulation and positioning.

"These cookies are about inclusivity. They are made so everyone can enjoy them together, and sharing that on Qantas during such a meaningful time of year feels like a full-circle moment," said Daniel.

Cooee positions its range as allergen-friendly and uses native Australian ingredients. The business operates a dedicated peanut-free production facility in Australia and produces more than 90,000 cookies each month. Its recipes use wattleseed, Davidson plum and other native inputs.

Passengers on flights departing Australia will receive the Cooee cookies on selected services during the Christmas period. The airline describes the rollout as a way for travellers to encounter a distinctly Australian taste as they depart for holidays or return home.

The partnership extends beyond the Christmas window. Qantas plans to add Cooee's Nan's Jam Drop cookie into its broader catering program from January.

Nan's Jam Drop uses native Davidson plum in a jam-style centre. Forecast orders show hundreds of thousands of these cookies scheduled across the summer travel period on Qantas services.

The expanded volume gives Cooee a more predictable production pipeline into the new year. It also places the brand in front of a mix of leisure and business travellers across multiple routes.

Growth strategy

The Qantas deal follows a period of rapid expansion for Cooee Foods Australia, Cooee Native Superfoods' parent company. The group has moved from a small-scale operation into a broader food business with interests in ingredients, retail and pet products.

Cooee recently acquired Creative Native Foods. Creative Native Foods is one of Australia's longest-running suppliers of native ingredients for restaurants, tourism operators and hospitality venues.

The acquisition brought the 25-year-old supplier under Indigenous ownership for the first time. It also increased Cooee's presence in both retail channels and food service, giving the business an entry point into professional kitchens and tourism operators that already use native ingredients.

The deal adds an established ingredient portfolio and long-standing client relationships to Cooee's existing packaged snacks line. It also places Indigenous ownership at the centre of one of the better-known names in the native food supply chain.

Move into pet food

Cooee has also diversified into pet care. The company has launched Bunji, a dog food and treat range that it describes as native-inspired.

Bunji products are now available nationally through Bunnings Warehouse. The range uses Australian ingredients and native botanicals. Cooee positions this extension as an expression of its focus on Country and inclusion across the whole household.

The step into pet food gives Cooee exposure in a different retail channel and category. It also broadens the company's revenue base beyond human snacks and ingredients.

Between the Qantas inflight partnership, the Creative Native Foods acquisition and the national rollout of Bunji, Cooee has shifted from an early-stage brand to a multi-channel Indigenous-owned food business with a growing domestic footprint. The company expects demand from the airline agreement and summer holiday travel to underpin production volumes across its Australian facilities in the coming months.