What began as a journey through motherhood and a desire to make more conscious choices for her family ultimately led Nikki Hutt to create Real Rustic Sourdough. After discovering the benefits of sourdough for her own family, she saw an opportunity to make traditional breadmaking less complicated and more accessible for busy families. A small range of carefully chosen tools and sourdough essentials has grown into a standalone Australian brand, built around quality products, practical education and a refreshingly simple approach to sourdough. Through Real Rustic Sourdough, Nikki is helping families discover that baking delicious homemade bread doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Here, she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the passion behind her business, her biggest breakthrough, and the challenges she has overcome along the way.
The passion: What inspired me to set up the business?
My business journey began in 2017 with the birth of my first daughter. Like many new mums, I became much more aware of the products we were using in our home and wanted to support other Australian mums in business. That led me to open Babyhutt Co, a curated online store for babies and mums featuring brands I genuinely loved and trusted.
As my family grew and my interests evolved, so did the business. Babyhutt Co naturally became Ecohutt, with a broader focus on eco-conscious and low-tox products for the whole family.
My children have always been my biggest inspiration. They have shaped not only the products I choose to use, but also the businesses I’ve built. I hope that by following my passions, I’m showing them what’s possible while encouraging them to make informed choices about the products they bring into their own lives.
About a year after starting the business, my daughter’s eczema became severe. Her skin was raw, bleeding and incredibly painful. Around that time, we discovered Melvory Skincare, which helped soothe and repair her skin, and we became one of their early stockists.
While treating her skin was important, I wanted to understand what was causing it. After seeing a paediatrician, allergy testing revealed severe allergies – there was nothing we could do, that she was at a higher risk of developing asthma as she got older, and bleach baths were the solution.
That answer didn’t sit well with me.
I continued searching for answers and consulted multiple naturopaths, who recommended further testing. One identified a gluten intolerance and suggested replacing regular bread with sourdough or rye bread, alongside other dietary changes.
After making those changes, her eczema improved dramatically. Today, at nine years old, she has healthy skin and, thankfully, has never gone on to develop asthma.
That journey changed our family forever – and ultimately changed the direction of my business.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
When we switched to sourdough, I quickly realised there weren’t many simple, affordable options for people wanting to make it themselves.
The more I researched, the more I felt there was room to make sourdough approachable for everyday families.
I began designing products that I wished had existed when I started – carefully curated kits, quality tools and simple resources that removed the overwhelm. We launched bannetons, bread lames, dough scrapers and beginner-friendly kits at different price points so more people could get started with confidence.
At the heart of it all was our dehydrated sourdough starter, which I personally maintain, feed, dehydrate and hand-pack in South Australia. More recently, we’ve also expanded the range to include a rye starter.
Initially, these products were sold through Ecohutt, but when another retailer approached me wanting to wholesale the range, it became clear sourdough had grown into something much bigger.
On the advice of a business coach, I made the decision to separate the brands.
It was a huge undertaking – new branding, new packaging, new websites and countless hours behind the scenes – but it was absolutely the right decision.
Real Rustic Sourdough was born as its own standalone brand, allowing it to grow into the business it is today.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for your business?
The biggest breakthrough came from solving my own problem.
As a busy mum running two businesses, I simply couldn’t keep up with the complicated sourdough routines I saw online. I was only baking once a week because it felt like too much.
So I simplified everything.
That became our No Fuss Method – a hands-off approach designed for busy homes. Mix, combine and leave. No endless stretch and folds. Less pressure, less overthinking and methods that fit around real life.
Today, we use the same dough to make bread, focaccia, scrolls and pizza bases.
We’ve never chased perfection. We’ve simply wanted to make incredible bread that’s achievable, tastes amazing and doesn’t upset our guts.
When I shared this approach in our Facebook community, it clearly resonated. Our community grew from around 2,000 to more than 12,000 people, confirming that many others were looking for a simpler way to enjoy sourdough.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Balancing family and business is easily my biggest challenge.
As a stay-at-home mum of four, my business has always had to fit around family life – not the other way around.
That means working late into the night, getting things done during nap times or school hours, and making the most of small pockets of uninterrupted time.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes wonder what the business could look like if I had full workdays to dedicate to it.
Growth has been slower because of those realities, but I’m proud that we’ve built strong systems and automation that allow me to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time connecting with our customers.
At the end of the day, I’ve built a business that supports the life I want, rather than competing with it.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Cash flow has probably been the biggest challenge.
Like many small business owners, I’ve had to wear every hat – product development, marketing, customer service, packing orders, bookkeeping and everything in between – all while raising four young children.
Our growth has been almost entirely organic, without paid advertising, and I’m incredibly proud of that.
The biggest personal lesson has been letting go of perfection. Progress will always take you further than waiting for everything to be perfect.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The greatest reward is seeing something you’ve created with your own hands become part of someone else’s home.
Seeing Real Rustic Sourdough stocked in stores, or watching customers confidently bake their own bread because of something I’ve created, is incredibly rewarding.
The downside is that there really isn’t an off switch. The to-do list never ends, and there’s always another idea, another project or another improvement waiting to be tackled.
Running a household and running a business both require constant attention, and balancing the two can be exhausting – but I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to build something meaningful.
Hopes and dreams: What’s next?
My goal is to continue growing Real Rustic Sourdough while staying true to the reason it began – to make sourdough simple, practical and accessible for everyday families.
I’d love to see our products available in even more retail stores across Australia, giving customers the choice to shop locally as well as online.
We’ll continue developing products, resources and education that remove the overwhelm from sourdough and help more people discover that homemade bread really can fit into busy, everyday life.
To find out more about Real Rustic Sourdough, visit their website and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
To find out more about Ecohutt, visit their website and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
