Cuisine - Wishbone

Andrea Gibson Scarlett

Andrea Gibson Scarlett and her husband Shayne Scarlett have started a series of successful takeaway outlets. The outlets, named Wishbone, provide a range of fresh food made by professional chefs, for busy people.

They now have 11 Wishbones - eight in Wellington and three in Auckland. Their staff of 70 chefs provides delicious food from a range of 90 items to about 14,000 busy people every week.

Andrea, born on a farm in Herbert, Otago and an accountant by training, and Shayne, who has a background in property valuation, have formed a formidable partnership - both marital and commercial. Their first joint foray into business was the development of Plimmer Apartments, then Café Minnow and Minnow home store, and the Woodward Café and Buttery, which was superb training for their current enterprise.

"We did lunch and dinner at the Woodward and the sandwich team came in at midnight to make food for 6.00am. We worked round the clock," says Andrea.

She says that Wishbone has had terrific support from their clientele of Wellington city workers who appreciate their healthy yet tasty food. "We keep on opening new stores because people complain they don't have one nearby," she laughs. They quickly come up to speed, as it takes only a couple of weeks for businesses to catch up with their more established stores.

Wishbone

Growth has been phenomenal - at 205 percent in 2003 and 157 percent in 2004. Supermarkets now stock their 'Heat 'n Eat' meals that range from lamb shanks to hot and spicy curries and Andrea and Shayne have plans for more new and exciting products.

Current best sellers are lamb shanks in winter, smoked chicken salad in summer and paella for all seasons. Their most popular sandwiches are old favourites - egg/spinach and chicken/almond, and they have recently introduced low GI (glycaemic index) sandwiches.

Andrea and Shayne started Wishbone in March 2000 because they couldn’t find a sandwich in a hurry. They have grown with breath-taking speed and yet more stores are in the pipeline as sites become available. They plan new distribution outlets, possibly selling into motels and hotels, and are eying up export markets, so in the not too distant future we may eat Wishbone lamb shanks from North Cape to the Bluff - and from Alaska to the Antarctic.

Department Details:
Marketing