How a $17.90 weekly budget grew into Cooee's $14M cookie bet
What's the deal? Cooee Native SuperfoodsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a regional Australian startup, is targeting $14 million in revenue by 2027 as it supplies allergen-friendly biscuits to QantasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, catering giant SodexoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and various supermarkets. Roughly a million Qantas passengers will unwrap one of its cookies in 2026.
What does it make? The cookies are plant-based, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and egg-free — built to serve multiple dietary requirements from a single product. Founder Tezzi Daniel says the aim was for someone without allergies to taste one and say, "Oh my god, these are delicious."
Why now? Daniel is betting allergen-friendly food is the future of mass catering, citing that Australia has the highest percentage of food allergies in the world. "One in seven people on your aeroplane or in your dining hall aren't being catered to with your mainstream product," she says.
The backstory: Cooee started in 2019 as a Facebook post offering a gluten-free Christmas cake for $30. A Sydney IGADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → owner soon ordered 500, and Daniel — then a single mother on a pension with $17.90 left over each week — used that spare cash to buy ingredients and test recipes.
Grow without breaking: After COVID-19 stalled early momentum, Daniel's partner backed the venture with $80,000 of his savings. She registered Cooee Cookies as a company in July 2023 and was its only staff member at the start.
The funding: In July 2025, Cooee raised $1.5 million from Ochre VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to support growth, launch dog food, and build a professional leadership team.
What's the endgame? From nothing in 2023, Cooee has moved into national supply deals and expanded into pet food. The $14 million revenue target marks the next step in scaling a product aimed at underserved eaters.
The signal: Cooee shows how a niche once treated as a catering afterthought — allergen-friendly food — is becoming a mainstream commercial opportunity. When a carrier like Qantas standardises on an inclusive product, it signals that "special diets" are shifting from exception to expectation.
Read more: Forbes Australia
Image credit: The Travelista
