Gathar goes global
A concept that was created as part of a CQUniversity assignment has just gone global.
Digital hospitality platform Gathar' which currently services 27 locations around Australia has now officially launched in the US with co-founder and celebrity chef Curtis Stone set to help launch and grow the business in Los Angeles.
Gathar CEO and co-founder' CQUniversity alumna and Cairns local Jodie Mlikota said the time was right to go global.
"We've spent the past four years developing the Gathar platform with the idea of expanding globally and now feels like the perfect time to do that'" Ms Mlikota said.
"We've built an incredible team and platform and we are in a really good place for this expansion'" she said.
"Curtis is the perfect co-founder to bring our Australian-born platform to the States. He has an incredible brand and reputation and comes with a world-class team of industry experts around him who really understand the US market and have a wealth of connections and insights we're able to leverage."
Gathar is an Airbnb of dinner parties' pairing chefs' or 'Culinarians'' with customers.
"Your Gathar Culinarian (chef' caterer' or grazing stylist) arrives with everything needed to cook' serve' and clean up afterwards' so all you need to do is 'gathar' everyone together for a feast'" Ms Mlikota explained.
"Simply choose or create your menu' and our dedicated Gathar concierge team will take care of every delicious detail."
Gathar has been in existence for four years and despite the COVID-19 pandemic potentially throwing a spanner in the works' the business has gone from strength to strength.
Ms Mlikota has been recognised on a number of occasions for her dedication to the innovative start-up' from CQU's 2021 Alumnus of the Year for Early Career Achievement Award to the Courier Mail Queensland Business Entrepreneurs top 20 under 40 (2021) and more recently the nbn Women in Regional Business Award.
"It has been an absolute honour to receive the awards'" she said.
"So often we are deep in the weeds and don't see the big picture of what we are doing' so these awards are moments when we can stop and celebrate the journey so far.
"I'm extremely proud of Gathar's growth over the past four years. It has come from a lot of hard work and is also thanks to the team who have come on board during this time' from our technical co-founders through to our investors' advisors' staff' and of course our Culinarians and customers.
"It makes me incredibly grateful to have such a strong team who have already achieved so much and are ready to take on the growth ahead."
Ms Mlikota said people's dining habits had changed since COVID and the past few years had increased people's appetite for dining at home' so there was no better time than now to branch the company out.
"Towards the end of this year and early next year' we plan to roll out to more US locations. We have a roadmap of 10 more US locations that we expect to be 'Gatharing' in within the next 12 months'" she said.
"Our vision is for Gathar to become the number one global destination for amazing culinary experiences."
Gathar is now live and cooking in all eight Australian states and territories including in Adelaide' Brisbane' Byron Bay' Cairns' Canberra' Central Coast' Coffs Harbour' Darwin' Geelong' Gold Coast' Hobart' Hunter Valley' Lord Howe Island' Melbourne' Mission Beach' Mornington Peninsula' Newcastle' Perth' Port Douglas' Port Macquarie' South Coast' Southern Highlands' Sunshine Coast' Sydney' Tablelands' Wollongong and Yarra Valley.
"There's definitely still room for us to grow here at home."
