Aunty’s Ginger Tonic founder, Yarrie Bangura is a shining example of how determination, courage and passion can help you achieve your dreams, no matter the challenges you face. The Sierra Leone refugee fled her war-torn homeland as a child and started a new life in Australia with her family in 2004. She joined the First Act podcast to share her incredible story of resilience and hope.

What Yarrie Bangura best remembers from childhood in her West African village is the community and spirit of her people, highlighted by afternoons spent with her aunties and grandmothers, singing and brewing drinks together. Aunty’s Ginger Tonic was born from those idyllic memories of her culture.

After a harrowing journey to escape a brutal civil war in her homeland, Yarrie was settled as a young teen refugee with her family in Australia. Starting high school all over again, in an entirely new language, did not stop Yarrie from striving to achieve her dreams.

“I loved my home, but I didn’t love what had happened to me. I don’t think any child deserves to see horror,” Yarrie recalls. “I was excited to see what Australia would bring to me, but it was not easy because during the war I lost so much of my education. I came here as a teenager, ready for high school, but I had forgotten everything that I was taught. So I focused on my studies because, after the war, the only way I could understand what had happened to my life was through education.

“I said to myself, if I come to Australia, I will do everything to give back to the country, because for me it was a second chance to live my life,” she says.

Yarrie did not rest on her laurels. She took every opportunity to learn English, even forcing herself to converse with strangers on public transport to learn her new country’s language.

The mother of all inspiration

Yarrie describes how she was inspired by her mother’s entrepreneurial nous when living in refugee camps in Guinea. To make money to help her family survive, Yarrie’s mother would convince local sellers to let her take a bag of rice or other product to sell by the kilo, to make a profit that she could keep for her family.

“I saw that hustle in her, even in a situation where she had nothing,” Yarrie remembers fondly. “I was always inspired by that because it was courageous of her. I knew then that I also wanted to be a businesswoman.

“I also remembered my aunties and grandmother sitting around in their colourful attire, cooking and making this ginger beverage. They were such beautiful memories to revisit. I wanted to make something from my grandmother’s backyard because I loved our village, I loved the lifestyle and I loved the setting of women sitting together to make this beverage. And that’s how Aunty’s Ginger Tonic was created.”

Listen to Yarrie Bangura on the First Act podcast:

Cultural differences

Despite warnings from her elders that she could face discrimination as a black woman starting a business in Australia, Yarrie reveals that her experience has been quite the opposite.

“My mother told me that I’m a coloured woman and there’s no place here for me to start a business,” says Yarrie. “Back home, if I wanted to start a business and had the capital, I could start straight away. But here, business is a process and there are a lot of protocols to follow. That was a little bit shocking in the beginning.

“So, I joined different organisations, like the Ignite SSI program [a program designed to assist refugees and other newcomers to start up their own business], that showed me the way. I was guided by them and through those connections, people were able to help me.

“One day at the markets, I met a food nutritionist who saw the way the drink was selling and she asked me if I had thought about manufacturing. She helped me find a manufacturer who would do a small-scale for me, and that’s how I was introduced to this side of the business.

“I think once people get an idea of what you want to do and they can relate to it, people are very generous here. They will go out of their way to help,” Yarrie says.

From markets to national retailers

Since these humble beginnings, Aunty’s Ginger Tonic has been taken up by major retailers, Harris Farm and Dan Murphy’s online. It wasn’t always an easy road, but Yarrie says persistence and making great connections have paid off in the long run.

“It was very hard because buyers have their ways of assessing a product. I had to find people who knew someone that could connect me. I was new to the market, so it was about proving the product to them; asking them to give me a try and see.

“My dream is to get into every household and to make Aunty’s Ginger Tonic a household name,” says Yarrie. “In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, ‘I’m gonna try because this is what I want to do now. And even if I fail, I know that I have tried’. Now, I’m so grateful I didn’t give up because people started helping me to get to my dream.

“There was one lady I followed – Boost Juice founder, Janine Allis,” Yarrie reveals. “I followed her story very closely, especially how she started. That gave me motivation because I know she didn’t start with a golden spoon in her mouth. Today, she’s a friend of mine and a business mentor too.

“Most of the people that I work with are generous people who just helped me out,” Yarrie explains. “I now have an advisory board of people from different professions who came together to help me, and who believe in my vision.

“For me, it’s a dream come true. From the very first time I was told I was coming to Australia, I had the urge to give back, even though I didn’t know how yet. I worked and I paid my taxes, but I didn’t feel fulfilled. But after starting Aunty’s Ginger Tonic and seeing people’s reactions and the smile on their faces, that alone is the win to me.”

Yarrie shared more details about her business beginnings and the harrowing experience of fleeing her embattled country as a child. Listen to the full episode of First Act to hear her inspiring story.

Aunty’s Ginger Tonic has big plans to launch THREE new flavours – Lemon, Clove and Pineapple. With more flavours to offer, Yarrie will have the opportunity to sell in bigger retailers to generate profits that go towards supporting female refugees in Australia. Click here to support.

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