The Secret Ingredient
How Carême Pastry perfected a classic to wow a new generation of home cooks
In today’s culinary world, a quiet revolution is happening in our own kitchens. With the growing trend of “premiumisation” and at-home dining, more people are seeking out high-quality, premium ingredients to elevate their cooking. This is where the magic of a strong brand story and a commitment to quality can truly shine, and where small, passionate suppliers can find an incredible opportunity to grow.
Carême Pastry is a shining example of this movement. Founded in 2005 with a vision to create artisan, preservative-free butter pastry, this Australian-owned business has captured the hearts of home cooks and professional chefs alike. Made using traditional methods in the picturesque Barossa Valley, their pastry is known for its unparalleled flavour, texture, and impressive lift.
We sat down with the founder of Carême Pastry, Claire Wood, to talk about Carême’s journey, their philosophy of “butter tastes better,” and how a collaborative partnership with Woolworths is helping them bring their premium product to a national audience.
Q: Thanks for joining us, Claire! Tell us about yourself and how Carême came to life?
Claire: Carême began 20 years ago as a joint venture with our former co-founder, William. At the time, I was working in the wine industry, having spent my career in hospitality and then selling premium Barossa wine around the world. We were based in the beautiful Barossa Valley – still home to Carême today. William convinced me that starting a pastry business was a great idea. I was perfectly happy in my wine job, but somehow he talked me into giving it up and jumping into this new adventure. And here we are, two decades later!
Q: It sounds like a big leap. Why was puff pastry the focus?
Claire: Puff pastry is the most technical pastry to make. It’s the most time-consuming. It’s the most challenging for chefs to master. Good puff pastry, made with butter like Carême’s, needs a cool environment, and that can often be difficult in your average restaurant. William looked at that and went, “You know, there’s definitely an opportunity here to supply high-quality puff pastry. Nobody’s doing it. The products that are available are commercial, low-quality, and all made with vegetable fat. Here’s an opportunity to come and supply chefs with a chef-quality, ready-to-use product.”
Q: So you developed the product for restaurants. How did the partnership with Woolworths come about?
Claire: We’ve only been supplying Woolworths for about 18 months, so it’s still a relatively recent move. While William was focused on taking the product into restaurants, I was thinking, “Hang on, there’s also a real opportunity to take this direct to consumers.” Woolworths actually approached us over two years ago—they were keen to have Carême in select stores to offer something truly special to their customers.
Q: With the cost of living rising, more people are replicating restaurant-quality meals at home. How has this trend impacted your business?
Claire: For many consumers, Carême is a special occasion product, something they reach for when they want to create something really impressive at home. Even with the cost-of-living pressures, we’ve seen that people are dining out less and looking for ways to treat themselves at home instead. It’s that mindset of, “I’m not going out for dinner this week, but I’ll make an amazing pie with beautiful butter puff pastry.” And at times like Christmas, people want to indulge a bit more, try something adventurous, create that wow factor and enjoy the satisfaction of putting something special on the table.
Q: Your business started in the Barossa Valley. What advantages come with being an Australian-owned and run business?
Claire: Yes, there’s definitely a level of trust that comes with being a home-grown brand. While our name has a French origin, we make a point of letting people know we’re proudly Australian-owned and based in the beautiful Barossa Valley and that really resonates. But what connects most with our customers is the clean label. No preservatives, no additives, just all-natural ingredients and 100% butter. That’s what people really respond to. We often see them sharing it on Instagram, holding up the pack and saying, “Look at this, it’s all clean and all butter.” They love it.
Q: Your website mentions the “Artistry with Science” behind your products. How do you innovate a product that is such a staple?
Claire: Pastry is incredibly scientific. You have to understand the fundamentals. It’s not just throwing in a bit of flour and butter and hoping for the best. But it’s also an art form. It’s hands-on, and dough is a living thing. It changes with the seasons, and our team needs to know how to work with that. That’s where the artistry comes in. We don’t mess with what’s already been perfected, but the innovation comes in how you use the pastry, what you create with it. That’s where we focus: inspiring people with what’s possible. Interestingly though, no matter how creative we get, the tried-and-true classics always win. We’ll develop something new we’re really proud of, and then we look at the data and it’s the chicken pie that steals the show. So we stick to our knitting and focus on doing what we do best, really well.
Q: Your focus on recipes and education seems to be a key part of your brand. Has that always been part of your business?
Claire: It’s been part of the business from day one. I recognised early on that education was essential, because our product is different to work with compared to more commercial brands. If someone’s spending a premium price on a packet of pastry at Woolworths, they want it to work. They want to feel proud of what they put on the table. I don’t want them to fail. So making sure we support them with recipes, tips, and guidance has always been a core part of our marketing. Helping people get the best out of our pastry is really important to us.
Q: With Carême available in Woolworths stores, what benefits have you seen from this partnership?
Claire: Absolutely. It’s all about being more accessible. The most visited page on our website is “Where to Buy.” Before Woolworths, it could be tricky for people to find us. So having the product there has been a game changer. We often hear things like, “I’ve always wondered what that pastry is when I see people unrolling it on Instagram,” because ours is packaged unlike anything else in Australia. Then they walk into Woolies and go, “That’s the one!” It’s made a huge difference—just so much easier for people to get their hands on it, which has been fantastic.
Q: What’s next for Carême, and where do you see this partnership heading?
Claire: We’d love to see Carême in more stores, but we’re also mindful that it’s a premium product and it’s not going to suit every store. That said, we definitely have ideas about where we’d like to take the brand. Pastry is such a versatile category, and when you look at it more broadly, there’s a lot of opportunity to explore value-added options. That’s the direction we’re excited about.
Q: As a final question, what advice would you give to other small and medium-sized suppliers trying to establish their business?
Claire: I could talk about this for ages! It’s so important to really understand your channels – how you’re getting your product to market and what it costs to get it there. You need to make sure it lands on the shelf at a price the customer is willing to pay, and that there’s still a margin in it for you. You’ve got to have a clear route to market. And just as importantly, you need to ensure your brand has clear points of difference that the consumer values and recognises. That’s what helps you stand out. We’ve also benefited from strong word-of-mouth and endorsements from people in the food industry, which has been incredibly powerful. We’re still very much an artisan producer, but we’ve worked hard to build a business with solid systems and structure—so we can scale to a reasonable size without ever compromising on quality.
Leveraging the trend of “premiumisation” and at-home dining
Dan Cashin, Woolworths Specialty Range Category Manager said, “Carême Pastry is such a great example of our successful collaboration with small artisan suppliers, demonstrating how we’ve tailored our product range to perfectly align with the preferences of premium-focussed shoppers in select Woolworths stores.”
Have an idea about how this trend could work for your brand or products?
Speak with your Category Manager about leveraging this trend to elevate your brand and meet evolving customer expectations.
Read also
7 min readGrowing the perfect cherry: How Howard Hansen’s love of the game led to long-term success