Carolyn Creswell


Carolyn Claire Creswell is an Australian businesswoman and television host. She is best known as the founder of Australian brand Carman's Fine Foods.

Early life and education

Creswell was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia; her parents are Marcia and David Tennent. Creswell graduated from St Catherine's School in Toorak, Victoria, before attending Monash University where she received her BA in Arts in 1994. She completed a year of a law degree at the University of London in 1996.

Career

Carman's Fine Foods

At the age of 18, Creswell purchased a small local hand-made muesli business, for whom she had worked and founded her own brand, Carman's Fine Foods. In 1993, Carman's Fine Foods obtained its first interstate distributor in New South Wales. The turning point for Creswell came when Coles Supermarkets agreed to trial her muesli in some of its Melbourne stores. By 1997, Coles stocked Carman's muesli nationally; Woolworths followed in 2001.In 2002 Carman's Fine Foods expanded into the muesli bar category. In 2003, an Austrade Export Development Grant aided Carman's introduction to international buyers. As of 2019, Carman's Fine Foods is an Australian brand distributed in more than 35 countries around the world including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

Television

In 2013 Creswell joined Network Ten as a mentor and judge on Recipe to Riches alongside Darren Robertson, Russel Howcroft, and Jess Gill. Creswell has also appeared on the panel of Network Ten's The Project and Studio Ten.

Recognition and awards

Creswell was formerly a board member for the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and the Human Rights Law Centre. She's currently an ambassador of the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and Smiling Mind and the patron of St Kilda Gatehouse. Creswell is also a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Young Presidents' Organization. Among other roles, Creswell currently works on the professional keynote circuit.

Personal life

Creswell lives in Melbourne with her husband Peter Creswell and four children.