After acquiring a run-down property in Newstead, New Farm residents Massimo and Samantha Guida found the inspiration to build two successful, Australia-first businesses from scratch – Liquid Laundry and Chewy Chews.
“Samantha and I found the neglected building on Austin St at the end of 2019 and bought it at auction with no direction in mind,” Massimo said. “I began to look into who can occupy the building and found out that it was zoned for the service industry for businesses like laundromats so there begun infinite research into the idea,” he said. “Becoming parents with two young children also resulted in never ending laundry. We knew there was a huge gap in the market for a multipurpose laundry venue, that is how Liquid Laundry was born,” he said. After a rigorous process setting up the property, Liquid Laundry is now Australia’s first high-end laundromat offering a range of services such as 24/7 self-service machines, a wash dry & fold service, ironing service, dog wash, bike wash, ev recharge and a pop-up Bahn Mi Factory.
With COVID-19 and social restrictions in full force at the time of design, Liquid Laundry is also fully automated and contactless. “We spent a lot of money on the fit out to change people’s perception of your typical laundromat,” Massimo said. “Once people go to the venue and check out the laundromat, they never look back. As a mum I understand the struggle, dropping off my bedding and linen to Liquid Laundry takes just over an hour which at home would take me all day long,” Samantha said. “We have customers located 45 minutes away from Newstead who drive all the way just to come to us,” she said.
The pair’s second business, Chewy Chews, a premium range of dog treats, naturally flowed on from Liquid Laundry’s dog wash service. “We wanted to offer dog treats so that customers who were using our dog wash stations at Liquid Laundry had a way to reward their pets,” Samantha said. “Knowing Mussi and his entrepreneurial nature, instead of getting another company’s dog treat range, we decided to do our own,” she said. “Our Chewy Chews treats are a premium product that are human grade quality, made from 100% Australian meat with absolutely no chemicals, additives or preservatives whatsoever,” she said. “Our treats have even been endorsed by Dr Thiago from Newstead Vets who said that he highly recommends Chewy Chews as they are made from single ingredient meats that will add nutritional value to your pets’ diets,” she said.
Besides Chewy Chews being an ecommerce brand where everything is available online, Massimo and Samantha took Chewy Chews one step further by bringing in the concept of dog treat vending machines. “We came up with the idea of vending machines as we wanted people, who go to Liquid Laundry to wash their dog at 2am, to still be able to access our treats,” Samantha said. “After introducing the first Chewy Chews dog treat vending machine to Liquid Laundry, we started to have shopping centres reaching out to us,” she said. “Our second machine was placed in New Farm’s Merthyr Village and then it was Gasworks and Westfield, and now our Chewy Chews vending machine concept is in 27 different locations,” she said. “We are Australia’s first dog treat vending machine and it really has blown up,” Massimo said. “We are currently in the process of doing a national rollout and, by the end of the year, we will have 90 machines nationwide,” he said.
For Massimo and Samantha, their great success has been a result of hard work, determination, and a deep passion for what they do. “Massimo has worked nonstop since he was 12 years old,” said Samantha. “He is a risk-taker, is the smartest and most determined person I have ever known and starts his day at 2am,” she said. “I would never work in a job that I am not passionate about,” Massimo said. “I just love waking up for the next day,” he said.
On the 9th of July, Massimo and Samantha will be celebrating Liquid Laundry’s first birthday. To celebrate, they are offering half price off all their wash & dry machines to thank the community for the support. There will be balloons, cupcakes, music, giveaways and a Chewy Chews doggie stall where all fur parents can get free treats for their pets. Come join in on the celebrations and meet them in person.
Written by Clare Coulter, My Village News
