Multi-million dollar acai bowl empire started by a teenage dropout who fell in love with the berries while on holiday collapses – after she admits to having no strategy and just wanting to ‘have fun’
- Sarah Miller, 25, started acai bowl and smoothie chain Kiss The Berry in 2013
- At the time, she was a 19-year-old university-dropout-turned-entrepreneur
- The company hauled in $4.4million at its peak with three stores across QLD
- The collapse follows the closure of the South Bank store in May this year
- Two years ago Ms Miller admitted that she struggled to manage the finances
A multimillion-dollar acai bowl empire has crumbled two years after its teenage founder admitted she launched the business without a strategy.
Sarah Miller opened Brisbane’s first acai bowl and smoothie-focused chain Kiss The Berry in 2013 when she was 19-years-old after dropping out of university.
During its first four years, the popular health food cafe hauled in $4.4million operating three Queensland stores, in South Bank, West End and Burleigh.
Miller placed the blended-berry enterprise into liquidation on Tuesday two years after revealing in an interview that funds were initially poorly managed, The Courier Mail reports.
Sarah Miller, 25, launched the Kiss The Berry acai bowl chain when she was 19-years-old after dropping out of university
‘We were having fun, we were doing big beautiful bowls, I had no concept of portion control or wages or proper management, properly dealing with cash or anything like that,’ Ms Miller told Whim in 2017.
‘I had to teach myself how to use an accounting system and how to run that side of the business.’
The collapse comes months after the South Bank store was shut down in May.
The teen-aged entrepreneur ‘fell in love’ with the acai berry while visiting Austin, Texas.
When she returned to Australia and grew the business from a stall at the Eagle Farm Markets into a successful chain.
Ms Miller (pictured with Edward Bernstein) admitted during an ominous interview two years ago that she struggled to manage the business’ finances during the early years
The first Kiss The Berry store opened at South Bank in 2013 with a vision ‘to be the world’s greatest acai bowl creators’.
At its peak earlier this year the chain counted 60 staff.
The Kiss The Berry Group Pty Ltd has been handed over to Pearce and Heers liquidator Michael Dullaway, who Daily Mail Australia has contacted for comment.
In October last year, Ms Miller was a inspirational speaker alongside fellow female business founders at the Brisbane Lady Powers event.
‘What an absolute pleasure it was to be sitting next to 3 other incredible women,’ she wrote about the event on social media .
‘I can’t wait to talk more about all things purpose and self love.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Miller for comment.
Kiss The Berry (pictured) is an acai bowl and smoothie-focused chain with an emphasis on healthy food and lifestyle