Serving in the Royal Navy, Pike jumped ship in Australia, finding work as a jackaroo on remote cattle stations.

He became enchanted by Australia's outback and its unique wildlife, and devoted his free time to nursing injured and orphaned animals back to health.

Decades later, after a successful career in advertising, Pike drew on these early bush experiences and his love of wild places to create the Yowie Kingdom, a fictional magical realm free of the destructive influence of humanity, where threatened wildlife finds a safe haven.

To represent the threats facing the world's natural habitats and threatened species, Pike created the Grumkin, careless creatures constantly seeking to destroy the harmony of the Yowie Kingdom.

Pike enlisted the aid of long-time friend, fellow advertising man and best-selling author Bryce Courtenay.

After three years developing the characters and the manufacturing process, in 1997 Cadbury launched Yowie as a foil-wrapped character-shaped milk chocolate shell containing a plastic capsule.

[3] Pike and Courtney retained the intellectual property rights in the Yowie concept, which was licensed to Cadbury by Kidcorp.

Written by Geoff Pike and Bryce Courtenay and illustrated by award-winning artists[citation needed] Christopher Minos and Helen Steele,[6] the series sold more than 2 million copies, topping the Australian best-seller lists for children's books.

The third series of Yowie, released in early 1999, was composed of fifty figurines and six limited edition mini Grumkins.

The packaging was overhauled so that the wrappers of the Lost Kingdoms Yowies could be distinguished by the sign and shovel being held in their paws.

A series of 24 solid one-piece collectables, including 18 animals and six Yowie character models, was designed and manufactured.

[9] Its early success in the US was partly attributed to being the only novelty-containing confectionery permitted for sale in the United States at the time.

A longstanding ban in the US on such "surprise inside" chocolates as choking hazards meant direct competitor products were absent from the marketplace.

Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, Yowie Group ('YOW') saw their share price decline precipitously after making several revised revenue forecasts in 2018 and 2019, which predicted lowered earnings.