From products sold to science in development.

Big M soft-serve ice cream

The founder reports developing a Big M soft-serve ice-cream product for the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority's dairy-promotion programme. In correspondence written in June 2015, he recorded that the product underwent a successful commercial trial at the 1985 Royal Melbourne Show, where it was manufactured and sold profitably. The founder recalls that, following the trial, the Victorian dairy industry promoted the Big M soft-serve product more widely, leading to sales elsewhere in Victoria over subsequent years. This sequence is his account of the pilot, industry promotion and subsequent rollout; the original promotional campaign materials are still being sought.

He describes the original motivation as creating an appealing treat for children while helping increase milk consumption and supporting Victorian dairy farmers. The founder recalls that three brand-new triple-flavour soft-serve machines, requiring three-phase electrical power, were sent from Perth for his use at the 1985 Royal Melbourne Show. The company responsible for supplying the machines has not yet been conclusively identified: the founder recalls that O'Brien Catering may have arranged their provision, rather than Four’N Twenty. Contemporary invoices, transport records and correspondence have not yet been located. The founder also recalls being offered a substantial payment in connection with the concept and choosing not to accept it, wishing instead to contribute to the dairy industry.

The soft-serve product was sold inside the Victorian dairy industry's building at the Showgrounds, according to the founder's recollection, beneath a prominent “Big M Ice Cream” banner approximately four feet high and twenty feet wide (roughly 1.2 × 6.1 metres). Contemporary Melbourne Royal documentation confirms a dedicated Dairy Industry Pavilion, rebuilt in 1979 at Degraves Street and Lennon Avenue, and identifies the Dairy Foods Pavilion as map location K7 in the 1985 Show guide. The size, lettering and installation of the particular banner remain to be verified against original photographs or exhibit records. 1985 Royal Melbourne Show guide ↗

The founder identifies Douglas (Doug) Weir as the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority executive photographed eating his Big M soft-serve ice cream in historical press coverage. Independent dairy-industry biographies confirm that Weir was General Manager of the Authority from 1986 to 1995 and helped build the commercial value of Big M and Rev. The founder reports retaining a copy of the photograph and a newspaper article mentioning him, his Big M ice-cream development and the Authority; those original items have not yet been examined for this website. He also recalls contemporary discussion of a potential Asia-Pacific rollout. The timing of the photograph and any specific export forecast remain to be established from the original printed material. Dairy-industry historical profile of Doug Weir ↗.

The founder has explained that intellectual-property disagreements affected the product's subsequent development. Detailed transaction terms, the reported payment offer and later distribution figures have not been independently verified from the historic dairy authority's primary records.

Big M: the historical industry context

The Big M flavoured-milk brand was introduced by the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority in the late 1970s, before the founder's soft-serve initiative. The founder's account relates to his distinct soft-serve ice-cream invention, not ownership or authorship of the original Big M brand.

Melbourne Royal's oral history of Michael O'Brien documents that the O'Brien family ran catering outlets at the Showgrounds for decades and sold the original family catering business in 1985. This establishes a relevant historic catering connection but does not identify the supplier of the specific ice-cream machines.

Historical accounts document Big M's central role in promotion of the Victorian dairy industry and the industry-wide objective of encouraging milk consumption. The product story is included here as part of the founder's pre-ItisScientific commercial record.

Background: Australian Food Timeline: launch of Big M and Dairy Industry Association of Australia: the Big M story.

Mirro Majik mirror paint

Mirro Majik is the founder's mirror-paint research and product concept, involving a proprietary reflective-coating formulation. In a June 2015 account, he reported having obtained a provisional patent filing relating to the invention and having sold mirror paint profitably to a Melbourne stained-glass retailer named in his correspondence as The Australia Stain Glass Shed.

The retailer's proprietor reportedly expressed interest in Australian distribution rights. In correspondence with the ATO dated 12 May 2021, the founder again described mirror paint as a product he had developed for sale and referred to his earlier provisional patent.

Patent status: The original filing number, specification and any subsequent complete patent grant have not been recovered for publication here. A historic provisional filing is not represented as a currently granted or enforceable patent. Proprietary coating composition and processing details are not disclosed.

Soy-based soft-serve ice cream

The founder's June 2015 correspondence also records developing a separate soy-based soft-serve ice cream and making profitable sales in South Australia and Melbourne. He reported receiving expressions of interest from Melbourne ice-cream retailers.

This was a distinct product-development effort from the Big M-related dairy soft serve. Its sales history is presented from the founder's contemporary account, without claiming current manufacture, market share or a continuing trademark licence.