It Started in Her Kitchen — Now It’s Feeding Families Everywhere

By HTE Founder, Erin Hughes

It didn’t start with a strategy.

It started with a mum — standing in her kitchen, trying to work out what to feed her kids that felt quick, nutritious, and actually worth serving.

Which, if you’ve ever been there, you’ll know isn’t always that easy.

That’s where Coco & Lucas began. Not as a business idea, but as a solution to a very real, everyday problem. And like most things that come from that place — it grew.

Before Coco & Lucas, there was Berger Ingredients — a business built behind the scenes, grounded in experience, relationships, and a deep understanding of how food gets made.

As traditional European smallgoods makers stepped away, a gap opened in the Australian market. Not just in product, but in knowledge and craftsmanship.

The approach was simple: keep it practical, make it work, and don’t overcomplicate it.

Coco & Lucas came from a more personal place — finding convenient meals that were nutritious, trustworthy, and something kids would actually eat felt harder than it should be, especially with a fussy eater and food allergies in the mix.

So she created what she couldn’t find.

Meals made with real ingredients. Full of flavour. Nothing artificial. The kind of food you don’t second guess.

What started at home is now on tables across Australia — but the intention hasn’t changed. It’s still about making life easier at the end of a long day.

Over time — and more than 60 products later — one thing has stayed true:

Kids don’t care about trends.

They care about what they know — and what tastes good.

Which is why the classics still lead — spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, butter chicken, cottage pie. Not reinvented, just done properly.

There’s no attempt to make Coco & Lucas feel overly polished.

It reflects real life — a bit messy, a bit chaotic, but full of care. And that’s exactly why it connects.

Every product is something that would be served at home. If it’s not, it doesn’t make it to market.

While Coco & Lucas lives in kitchens and supermarket aisles, Berger Ingredients continues behind the scenes — developing and scaling products with precision.

One brings the technical expertise. The other brings the human understanding of what families actually need.

Together, it works.

There’s a focus on doing things properly. On long-term relationships, not quick wins. On trust — with customers, suppliers, and the team behind it all.

And behind the business, there’s a story of starting over. Of losing everything, and rebuilding with more clarity, resilience, and purpose.

Now, with Coco & Lucas in more than 2,000 stores nationwide, the focus isn’t just growth.

It’s staying grounded in what made it work — creating food that fits into real life.

Because at the end of the day, food isn’t just food.

It’s the rhythm of family life — the quick dinners, the small wins, the in-between moments.

And if something can make that feel even a little easier, it matters.

Click here to learn more about Coco & Lucas.