David Prior (distiller)

For other people named David Prior, see David Prior (disambiguation).

David Prior is an Australian businessman who became notable in the yoghurt business. He built up the yoghurt brand five:am from scratch in 2009, and sold it in 2014 to UK-based consumer products company PZ Cussons for $80 million.[1] In 2013 the company employed 65 staff, supplied over a thousand outlets around Australia, delivered 250% increase in revenue over the previous year and won the 2013 "Company to Watch" award.[2]

Before that, he partnered with his father in 1997 to create the sustainable packaging company Baroda, running it successfully for ten years, and then selling it to packaging giant Visy.[3]

In January 2015 Prior bought the mothballed Scotch distillery Bladnoch and said he plans to resume production from the 200-year-old establishment.[4]

Education

Prior attended John Paul College before Haileybury college in 1986. He gained a Bachelor of Business degree from Monash University and an MBA in Marketing/Finance from the Melbourne Business School of the University of Melbourne in 1999.[5][6]

Philosophy

A tub of five:am vanilla yogurt

Prior named his yoghurt company five:am, aiming for those people who, like himself, begin their day early. He practices an organic, healthy, mindful, and balanced lifestyle. He says, "The problem with sleeping in is that you're always playing catch up. You just feel like you're running all day. If you get up early, everything moves slower. I've got time to do a bit of meditation, practise some yoga, maybe go for a run. I sleep better and I wake up feeling more energetic."[7]

The company's growth was aided by innovative social media marketing campaigns. "We have live, genuine conversations with our customers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter every day," said David. He also fostered staff engagement programs such as "Idea of the month" to encourage teamwork.[2]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (8 August 2014), How David Prior grew yoghurt brand five:am to an $80m company in five years, Business Review Weekly, retrieved 28 July 2015
  2. 1 2 "2013 Company to Watch Award". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Kirk, Danielle (11 March 2013). "Rise and shine". Wellbeing. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Lynch, Jared (28 July 2015), five:am yoghurt founder David Prior buys Scottish distillery, Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 28 July 2015
  5. ↑ "Vedanta Property - About Us". Vedanta Property. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. ↑ LinkedIn profile, LinkedIn, retrieved 28 July 2015
  7. ↑ "What happens at 5 AM?". Medibank.com.au. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
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