Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
The Olive Branch, Tamborine’s premier health food store, is in its eighth year of operation. Owner Amanda Lalor shares with us her story to let us know what keeps a business— and a body— healthy and thriving.
by Kyle Hitchmough
How did you get started in this business?
We’ve always had an interest in health, my husband and I, and it just seemed the most logical step forward was to have a business where you work for yourself and you’re in something you’re passionate about. The store was opened in 2002, and well established for many years, the previous owners wanted to do something else so we saw the opportunity.
For those who might not understand what you provide, can you explain?
We provide whole food bulk options. Obviously, there’s a great environmental benefit to that, because you’re not paying for the packaging, which means it’s cheaper for the customer and also for the environment because you haven’t got all that waste. Because we’re small and can only access so many customers on the mountain, what we can’t offer in bulk we have in packets and prepackaged products. We try to cover all bases, and we pride ourselves on being more affordable than your city mode health food shops that charge a lot more for their health food products.
We’ve got a small range of supplements that we subscribe to, because we like to rely on more of the tried-and-true method of health. We’re not fad oriented. If I see it as a money-making thing, I won’t subscribe to it. If you have a digestive issue have some apple cider vinegar instead, or some Swedish bitters. You don’t need a special little expensive container of whatever. There are easier modes that work that are more cost effective and have multiple uses.
What would you say is your top selling product?
We sell a lot of chocolate! We have a really great selection of chocolates.
Really? It seems unexpected that a health food store would sell chocolate.
Not really, actually. We’ve got organic chocolate, and chocolate coated fruits and nuts and that sort of thing too. I don’t know why ours is nicer, apparently, but we do get a lot of people coming in just for our chocolate.
Do you have any particular favourites among your stock?
Not really. As you refine your products, you like more and more of what you’ve got, you know what I mean? You’re working with your customers and there’s more you like personally. Also, there’s that cross-section what we think is great and what customers don’t think is great, so oftentimes we are relying on the customer to say ‘could you please get me this?’ which we’re always happy to try and achieve for them.
Do you find you a more common kind of clientele than others?
Vegans make up a lot of our clientele, also paleo, keto, they’re all common requests.
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area and community?
I live in Cedar Creek myself. Tamborine is very community based, which is nice. People really care about one another, and in that way, they hold the business more accountable because they can access the owners and provide feedback. You’re able to refine things depending on the style of business and hone your business to suit your clientele. The community is lovely. That’s what’s so nice about having a business on the mountain, you get to know your customers quite intimately, it’s like you’re their personal shopper. You know what they like, what they’re looking for.
What do you think The Olive Branch, above all else, provides to the area?
I guess it’s the old-fashioned customer service. We do get to know our customers and we are able to cater to their needs as best we can. A bigger store might not be as invested in that singular person. They’re just looking at sales. It doesn’t matter to them whether Mrs. Bloggs wants that or not, if it’s only selling once a month, they’re going to get rid of it. But we’d keep that for Mrs. Bloggs!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
All of what I’ve described, really! You have to have a passion for health, and you have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff when you’re looking at products. You’ve got to have a genuine interest in health to be able to work out whether that’s just fatty or if that’s a genuine need.
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Or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com, and follow me on Twitter @realcasualrvws.
