Your product is stocked in some big-name US restaurants - namely the Musket Room in New York and the Waterbar in California. Can you tell me how you managed to make those connections?
We knew our product would only attract a certain segment of the food and beverage market in New Zealand, but we were content knowing that our business would experience slow and steady growth.
Today 70 per cent of our sales are to some of New Zealand's top restaurants and cafes and the rest to food conscious retailers - all of which we have direct relationships with, since we manage our business from tree to delivery.
It's these strong relationships in New Zealand that have led to referrals in the US. The Musket Room approached us directly after referrals to them by a New Zealand chef.
The Waterbar connection came out of an invitation from New Zealand Trade & Enterprise to participate in the food and beverage showcase in San Francisco as part of New Zealand's America's Cup 2013 business leverage programme. That gave us the opportunity to see just how good our oils were against the Californian oils and discuss with chefs, and the California food industry generally, just what the US market is all about. This really aligned with our approach to always work with end users, and was an invaluable experience.
What have been both the advantages and the challenges of building these kinds of offshore relationships when you're a small Kiwi company?
An advantage was NZTE's awareness of LOT EIGHT as a premium New Zealand product worthy of showcasing in the US. A trade show opportunity that allows participating brands to pool resources to showcase their products is a huge advantage to a small company with limited budget. Being able to fly the New Zealand food and beverage flag on an international stage was also an endorsement for a small business.
One of our challenges, though, is our remoteness, which affects our ability to get products in front of buyers in the US. Budget restraints, lack of local representation and geographical divide are some of the key reasons a business is unable to export and we were acutely aware of this from past visits.
The solution lay in remaining a quality producer in the local market so when an opportunity such as a showcase arose, we could take advantage of it. If the product is wholesome, it's bound to catch the eye of someone willing to represent it in the overseas market and that is exactly what happened.
What's been the biggest lesson you've learnt so far about making these kinds of successful connections offshore?
That when you have a quality product, it's easy to impress a prospective client but the process of actual delivery doesn't happen overnight. Patience, determination, realistic expectations, affordability and the ability to deliver become critical tools.
We spent a year since the America's Cup working on logistics to ensure we could guarantee supply and distribution of products. We didn't want our local customers left in a lurch given our business was built on their loyalty and support. A lot goes into the planning and execution of well thought through strategies before they can come to fruition.
Lastly, what's next for the company in relation to growing offshore?
In the US market, Kai Gourmet is now our importer and distributor based in LA. We were impressed with their operations and the more time we spent with them, the more convinced we were that our businesses have identical philosophies.
Having a representative in the market that is available to the customer is critical. Our relationship with Kai Gourmet means we can ship in quantities that make it more viable for our existing and new clients to purchase our products. We're now working on identifying ways to achieve the same result in retail in the US that we have with the foodservice industry.
As a result of further work with NZTE, we're also working with people in another country to achieve a similar result by the 2015 season, and have agreed to deliver to an online company in the UK, with work in progress to send the first order.
Coming up in Your Business: What are the factors that allow some businesses to endure over time? What strategies have they employed to stay relevant to the market over a long period? If you've got a story to share about longevity in your business, get in touch: nzhsmallbusiness@gmail.com.
