Alan Bougen, co-founder of Comvita. Photo / Supplied
With the risk of recession growing by the day, many businesses are looking at how to survive the coming months. One businessman who knows all about growth through adversity is Comvita co-founder Alan Bougen.
Today, his honey and health products business has a turnover of around $200 million. But it
all started in a Te Puke basement with Alan and co-founder Claude Stratford in 1974. Despite a 40 year age gap, the pair found they were kindred spirits with their love of honey as a health product, and Comvita was born in 1974.
But just as they were starting to take off internationally, the 1987 crash hit.
"We were paying 18 per cent for overdraft money, we were trying to capitalise the business by borrowing money, we had everything on the line all the time, they were tough times. We got to the 87 crash, we thought we'd lost it all".
Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and they limped through. "It was touch and go. We got to 1989 and we decided a restructure of the business was necessary, and I funded two partners out of it, so by the time 1990 came, my wife and I had a 75 per cent share. It was make or break, and we had to make this thing work."
