Our Story
We Believe in the Power of Nature’s Gifts
There’s a quiet kind of magic in the natural world, a comfort, a vitality, a joy that can’t be manufactured. It’s in the scent of wild herbs, the fizz of a good ferment, the nourishment of a home-cooked meal. These moments remind us how deeply we belong to nature, even in a fast-paced world.
At The Cottage Collective, we hold onto that connection.
We’re a small family-run fermentary based in the lush Scenic Rim, QLD, driven by the belief that food is nature’s most powerful medicine. To us, good health begins with whole, living ingredients, ethically grown, lovingly prepared, and shared with intention.
The Cottage Collective began as a humble kitchen project in Bel’s kitchen, where the first jars of sauerkraut were lovingly packed. After Lizz’s life-changing walk across Australia, a journey that deepened her connection to the land, her passion for whole, living, fermented foods grew into a calling to share them with others. Justin, a self-taught home cook with a flair for traditional flavours and bold experimentation, soon joined her at the bench. Together, they began fermenting vegetables, brewing kombucha and kefir, and making miso the slow, old-fashioned way, in ceramic crocks and oak barrels, always unpasteurised, always alive. Today, The Cottage Collective supports a growing community of stockists, food co-ops, and home fermentors across South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers. Our offerings like Pink Caraway Sauerkraut, Juniper Berry Sauerkraut, Kim Chi, Sprouted Brown Rice Miso, Kombucha and Water Kefir can be found on fridge shelves, at local markets, and in kitchens that care about real food.
But we’re not just here to make ferments.
We’re here to help rebuild a stronger, more independent food culture. One that values people over profit, quality over convenience, and life over shelf-life.
Through workshops, fermentation demos, and lively community events like the Fermented Food Festival at Summerland Camels and the Lost Culinary Arts Festival, we share what we’ve learned and help others rediscover the traditional knowledge that nourishes body, community, and soil.
Whether you’ve found us through a jar, a class, or a conversation, we’re so glad you’re here.
Fermented, by hand. Shared, with heart.
