Fun Fact
Did you know...
Pineapples represent hospitality, friendship, good fortune, a symbol of wealth and prosperity, also as it represents the strength, determination, and courage(Just like our team).
What a great fruity experience we say!
Our head office is also in the tropical sunshine state of Australia!
We're more than just a Food and Beverage Consultant
Standing at the forefront of the food and beverage, hospitality and coaching industry, renowned for our pioneering solutions and unwavering dedication to excellence.
Our legacy of delivering exceptional services has consistently elevated customer experiences and operational efficiency, setting new standards in the industry. We continue to build our services through being the forefront of content marketing and matchmaking with food and beverage across a range of support levels with venue consulting, brand representation and product sourcing.
At all times we pride ourselves on making sure we hold empathy at the forefront of what we do.
We are Imagine Collective.
A bit more about us
Meet our owner & Director
Introducing
Kristie
Kristie is a purpose-driven, food-loving go-getter food & beverage expert. You won’t see Kristie donning a superhero cape, but we think she should wear one.
Known for her passion for creating rewarding partnerships, her unwavering commitment to excellence and her sales management expertise, Kristie loves to see Australian brands succeed on a global scale and bring homegrown products to national and international food distribution.
This multiple-hat-wearing wonder is no rookie either. Over the past decade, Kristie has developed well-known FMCG brands from the ground up (to international success) and fostered many tight-knit industry relationships along the way.
Former colleagues and clients have described Kristie as passionate, tenacious, creative, engaging, dedicated, loyal, supportive, hard-working, target-oriented, organised, inspiring and a pleasure to work with. And we wholeheartedly agree.
Since her earliest days in the food industry, Kristie has been driven by a zeal for creating holistic, out-of-the-box, food-oriented experiences for partners – a passion that she pursues from farm to plate.
“I see sales management and quality distribution partnerships and networks as key to delivering quality to Australian consumers, who (quite rightly) demand the best. I provide clients with a wide range of services that will help them thrive and grow. Whether it is project planning, business analysis, or crisis management – I am here for my clients, wherever, whenever. I know that sometimes things can get challenging, and I am here to help carry your brand through growth and through challenges.”
If you’d like to learn more about Kristie and her food & beverage consultancy team – and how Imagine Collective’s end-to-end services can help your brand or venue grow – book in an introductory meeting today. A meeting is obligation-free, but coffee and treats are obligatory (at least for Kristie).
From our director
Imagine Collective is about the imagination of food and how we can work together to create great memories.
“I grew up surrounded by amazing food, love and laughter; my parents were the driving force behind it all.
My mother was a great home cook with a real passion for food, and my father had an open-door policy for our friends and loved to have gatherings. We always had a lot of fun together, along with his air guitar to great music.
My father passed away in 2018, but he will always be with me in spirit because he loved family, food, laughter, and life and challenged us, saying we can do anything we put our minds to. He could draw people in from everywhere—he was just one who could make anyone feel welcome.
One night, while thinking about starting something new, I heard John Lennon’s “Imagine”, my father’s favourite song. I sang it to my daughter as she drifted to sleep beside me. Suddenly, the name Imagine Collective came into my head—it seemed appropriate for what I wanted this company to be: bringing people together around great food, emphasising community-building and collaboration.
I wanted to create a company that stood out, that did things differently. Why be an ordinary pineapple when you can be golden?”
Our origin story
Meet the Pineapple Squad
We're the crack team of food and bev-obsessed experts here to help your business grow, make more money, and run like a well-oiled machine. Meet the Pineapple Squad!
From hospitality and operations to branding, design, brokerage, and distribution — we do it all (and then some). Think of us as your secret ingredient for success. We don’t do one-size-fits-all; instead, we whip up custom strategies that fit your business like a chef’s knife fits a pro — perfectly balanced and ready for anything. 🔪
We’ll help you stay compliant, sharpen your ops, and serve up results that keep the tills ringing. Whether you’re looking to refresh your brand, streamline your supply chain, or take your hospitality game to the next level, we’ve got the expertise (and maybe a couple of chef’s hats) to make it happen.
Let’s cook up something extraordinary together! 🥐🎉
Joel
Culinary & Hospitality Innovation
Meet Joel, our Chief of Culinary & Hospitality Innovation, renowned for turning culinary visions into reality with his legendary menus and seamless operations, offering his expertise in venue consulting to elevate your dining experience.
Matt
Operations & Strategy Specialist
Meet Matt: an expert in optimising operations and boosting profitability. He excels at developing high-performing teams, fostering innovation, and building strong client relationships through open communication. With extensive experience in hospitality, retail, and food service, Matt is the perfect choice to elevate your venue’s success.
Paris
Marketing And Web Specialist
Our resident full-stack marketing and web design expert is here to serve up some great ideas! She excels at building authentic connections, crafting engaging content, and turning bold ideas into flavorful campaigns. Whether helping businesses find the right channels to reach new and loyal customers, or stirring up a loyal customer base that keeps coming back for seconds, she’s always ready to dish out the best strategies.
Bridget
Creative Graphic Designer & Brand Creative
Bridget is an experienced graphic designer and brand creative who has worked across Australia and New Zealand with businesses of all sizes — from local cafés to large multi-site hospitality groups. Her work spans brand identity, guidelines, packaging, and print and digital design, with a particular focus on hospitality, food and beverage, venues and wine brands.
Our Values
We pride ourselves on being different- we love banter. 😜
We’re not just another food and beverage consultant – we only work with businesses that line up to who we are.
Why be a pineapple when you can be a unicorn! 🍍🦄
Hospitality and Friendship
Not only do we love working with the hospo industry, we pride ourselves on forging new friendships and welcoming new people to our growing network with gusto.
Collaborate and Communicate
We focus on listening to you and working collaboratively to bring your business success in the areas you are wanting to grow.
Honesty and Passion
We are straight down the line, and we’re not going to beat around the bush. If you succeed, then we succeed, so we will always give you our honest and expert support.
Loyalty and Longevity
We’re here for a long time, not just a good time. We’re fiercely loyal to every business we bring on. We pride ourselves on our relationships.
In the media
We're thrilled to be featured in some of the industries top publications.
Recognised as one of APACs leading food brokers in Food Business Review.
Featured in Business Franchise Magazine Australia and New Zealand with our article on scaling a foodie franchise business.
Published on restaurantbusiness.com.au – Australia’s premier information resource for business leaders in the Restaurant and Venue industry
How We Work
We have worked super hard on creating an easy to understand onboarding process, with a transparent pricing structure and deliverables.
Get in Touch
We're keen to meet venues and brand partners.
Just fill out our quick contact form and let's get introduced!
Let's get to know one another
This is where we will make sure that we both align, and we are well suited to work together. We want to make sure we can really help you before going any further!
Get your proposal ☕️
Get Onboard
This will be far more in depth than our previous conversations, and will be an opportunity for you to list your goals and timeframes.
We have heaps of work to do once you send us all this juicy info! 🍊
For brand partners, we would expect an upfront fee, which after three months will move over a monthly invoice.
If you're a venue or other channel, we will negotiate our fees at this point. You can choose to have a one-off project or set up an ongoing work agreement.
Mapping the Market
We work hard to leverage all of our connections for you, gaining vital feedback from all of our channels. This can include distributors, vendors and potential and current customers.
Every business is different, there is no 'one way' to do things. We make it easy for you by offering this first phase of our work together at a set cost. We will present this cost in our pitch.
We make sure we give you in-depth details on what works for your brand so we can continue to grow and improve together.
Iterate, iterate, iterate!
This is when you will move over to our commission based pricing structure, meaning we succeed and grow together.
We don't just set and forget. We continue to work on making improvements, tweaking our strategy, and being more ambitious with our goals over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who leads Imagine Collective, and what is Kristie's background in food and beverage?
Imagine Collective is founded and led by Kristie, a purpose-driven food and beverage expert with over a decade of experience developing well-known FMCG brands from the ground up — including brands that have reached international distribution. Kristie personally oversees every new client relationship, taking the time to understand each brand or venue story before matching clients with the right team members or industry partners.
Kristie’s expertise spans sales management, quality distribution partnerships, food brand scaling, and crisis management. Former colleagues and clients have described her as passionate, tenacious, creative, target-oriented, and deeply loyal to the businesses she works with.
Why does Imagine Collective use the pineapple as its symbol?
The pineapple is a globally recognised symbol of hospitality, warmth, friendship, and gracious welcome — values that sit at the core of everything Imagine Collective does. It also represents strength, determination, and courage; qualities the team brings to every client engagement. The choice is fitting given Imagine Collective’s head office is based in Queensland, Australia’s tropical sunshine state.
Beyond the symbolism, the pineapple reflects the brand’s guiding belief: that remarkable food brings people together, creates lasting memories, and deserves to be treated with care. As founder Kristie puts it, “Why be an ordinary pineapple when you can be golden?”
What is the story behind the name "Imagine Collective"?
The name Imagine Collective was inspired by founder Kristie’s late father — a man who had an open-door policy, loved bringing people together, and believed that anything was possible. One night, while thinking about starting something new, Kristie heard John Lennon’s “Imagine” — her father’s favourite song — and the name came to her immediately.
The name reflects two core beliefs: the boundless imagination that great food inspires, and the power of working collectively with others to turn ideas into reality. It is both a tribute and a philosophy — a company built on the belief that food creates memories, moments, and genuine human connection.
What values guide how the Imagine Collective team works with clients?
Imagine Collective operates according to four core values that shape every client relationship: hospitality and friendship, collaboration and communication, honesty and passion, and loyalty and longevity. These are not aspirational statements — they are reflected in how the team shows up daily, rolling up their sleeves and genuinely doing the work alongside clients.
In practice, this means:
- Hospitality and Friendship — welcoming every new client and partner into the network with genuine care
- Collaborate and Communicate — listening first, then building strategy together
- Honesty and Passion — delivering direct, expert advice without softening difficult truths
- Loyalty and Longevity — remaining committed to clients through growth phases and challenges alike
Who are the team members at Imagine Collective, and what are their areas of expertise?
Imagine Collective’s team comprises well-known Australian food and hospitality industry professionals, selected for their deep expertise. The venue consulting team includes Joel, Chief of Culinary and Hospitality Innovation, who specialises in menu development and seamless venue operations, and Matt, an Operations and Strategy Specialist with extensive experience across hospitality, retail, and foodservice, food safety and audits. With support from our dynamic duo, Paris and Bridet, helping with ‘full stack’ marketing, web, branding and design, you can be sure you have all the support you need to reach your business’s goals.
Founder Kristie leads the FMCG brand representation and brokerage side of the business, supported by a broader network of industry professionals across packaged food products, physical venues, and council-backed food programmes. Not every team member is publicly listed due to client NDA requirements — the team’s depth is often best understood through a direct conversation.
Does Imagine Collective keep client information and business details confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality is a non-negotiable at Imagine Collective. NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) are required at the start of every project to ensure complete protection of client data, recipes, proprietary systems, and strategic insights. The team operates under strict confidentiality standards and always follows the client’s lead on what is shared publicly.
This is why not all brand partners and venues are showcased on the Imagine Collective website. Many of the most significant partnerships operate entirely behind the scenes — and the team is proud to be a trusted, discreet partner for those clients who prefer to keep that relationship private.
How does Imagine Collective's onboarding process work when starting a new client engagement?
Imagine Collective uses a clear, six-step onboarding process designed to ensure every engagement starts with full alignment and transparent expectations. The process begins with an initial contact and introductory consultation, followed by a tailored proposal covering costings, timeframes, and deliverables. Once onboarded, the team enters a market mapping phase — experimenting, researching, and gathering feedback from distributors, vendors, and potential customers.
The six steps are:
- Get in Touch — complete the contact form to begin the conversation
- Introductory Consult — confirm mutual alignment before proceeding
- Proposal — receive a transparent outline of costs, deliverables, and next steps
- Onboarding — complete a detailed intake form covering goals and timeframes
- Mapping the Market — the first phase of active strategy, research, and channel engagement
- Iterate — move into a comprehensive, commission-based ongoing strategy built on real data
Has Imagine Collective been recognised in the Australian food and hospitality industry?
Yes. Imagine Collective has been recognised as one of APAC’s leading food brokers, featured in Food Business Review — a significant acknowledgement of the agency’s impact across the region. The team has also been featured in Business Franchise Magazine Australia and New Zealand and contributes regularly to restaurantbusiness.com.au, Australia’s premier resource for restaurant and venue business leaders.
In addition, Imagine Collective team members are regular guest speakers at food and hospitality industry events across Australia. These appearances reflect the team’s commitment to sharing knowledge across the sector — not just working within it.
Does Imagine Collective work with international food brands or overseas QSR groups?
Yes. Imagine Collective actively supports international food and beverage brands and QSR groups seeking to enter or expand within the Australian market. The agency’s established distributor network, retail contacts, and foodservice channel relationships make it well-positioned to guide overseas brands through the compliance, positioning, and distribution steps required for successful Australian market entry.
All international engagements are handled with the same NDA-protected confidentiality standards applied to domestic clients. For overseas brands or QSR groups interested in exploring an Australian partnership, the first step is a direct conversation with Kristie and the team.
We thrive on your sucess
We have brought success to businesses just like yours! Find the perfect starting point, browse our packages.
What our clients say
Here are just a few of our glowing testimonials from people just like you.