Businesses going global

Anton has always been an entrepreneur. His first business venture focused on teaching English to children in Hong Kong and not long after that he moved back to Australia and discovered another opportunity. 

“I was living in Brisbane and my dad got sick, and because of that he had to change his diet. At the time he was really struggling to find foods that didn’t contain some of the ingredients he was trying to avoid so my brother and I started going to the supermarket and recording ingredients off the labels of different products and storing that in a database to help him out. We got asked to leave the supermarket a few times as the staff didn’t understand what we were doing. When we were finally able to explain the supermarket asked if they could buy our data, it was then that we realised that this information wasn’t being collected anywhere.”

Anton and his brother realised at this point that they had found a gap in the market and Label Insight was born. After refining their platform they wanted to collect the data on a larger scale and so took the concept to the US where it proved to be a huge success. 

“On one side we were able to bring on board all the food manufacturers and show them how to use our platform to manage their data, something which has been quite challenging in the past, and then on the other side we had all the US retailers accessing this information to engage customers.”

The final piece of the puzzle for the brothers was to bring on board the US Food and Drug Administration, the governing body of the sector. 

“The FDA wanted to monitor when a new product went live or when a manufacturer changed their ingredients information on the packet and our platform allowed them to do this, it allowed them to monitor the industry in real time. Previously they had sent someone out to physically look at new products or check label changes.”

Label Insight became a fundamental part of the food industry and brought a lot of transparency to the market and Anton says it also made it easier for manufacturers to deliver the information that consumers had started to demand.

“People want to know what’s in their food, they care what they are eating. It’s changed the products that go through the system. We have a load of data that shows over time, how food is changing, how there are less chemical elements and more natural ingredients.”

Along with the success of the data another cornerstone of Label Insight’s success was its company culture. Something Anton says comes directly from his Kiwi roots. 

“I was born in Temuka, so small town New Zealand. My brother and I leant on our Māori roots a lot when it came to the culture of the company. We would have a lot of Americans say to us ‘Wow this is a really innovative culture’ and we were like no it’s not it’s just Kiwi culture. I think because New Zealand is a smaller country and we still live in communities, this gives a lot of our businesses a real edge when it comes to building a strong work culture. It was certainly a really important part of the competitive advantage of Label Insight.”

After successfully embedding Label Insight in the US, the brothers sold the business to global data analytics company Nielsen IQ and Anton decided it was time for his next challenge. He moved to France with his wife and started working with NGOs. It was through this work that his idea for his next business came up. 

“I realised there was a lot of work that NGO’s have to do in order to fundraise and distribute money. This takes time away from the work they want to be doing with their communities. Right now I am working on a  block chain solution that will hopefully help these organisations raise and distribute money more easily and allow them more time to focus on the community aspect of their work.”

Anton describes himself as a start up man, and says his expertise lies in working with companies who are in the 1-200 employee stage. Along with his NGO work in France he is keen to help Kiwi companies looking to scale their business and structure their strategy. 

“The growth period of a business between 1-200 employees is a very specific time, there are specific challenges for the company to navigate and getting it right is the key to long term success. A lot of the time I see companies that are trying to be perfect in that early stage and I don’t believe in perfection. I think you need to be scrappy and you need to be out there engaging with customers and selling the value you are trying to produce from day one. But you also need a strong strategy, because that long term strategy is the backbone of your proposition and your success.”

Anton’s various businesses have all been built on technology and while he says businesses should always be investigating new technology to improve their offerings they shouldn’t be distracted by it. 

“I consider myself technology agnostic. Emerging technologies are amazing and fantastic and they will create huge change, but there will always be the next technology. Business must stay focused on the key fundamentals of providing true value and finding out where that value is and how to distribute it. This will always be important no matter the technology. 

Anton is one of our Kea Connect Solvers, Kiwi living offshore who are keen to help our export businesses grow. If you would like to connect with Anton or any of our other solvers today please get in touch.  

Last month APEC leaders endorsed the Aotearoa Plan of Action, which brings to life the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 that was adopted in 2020. You could think of the Putrajaya Vision as the destination and the Aotearoa Plan of Action as the waka to get us there.

This is a bold new approach for APEC, first established 32 years ago to promote cooperation in trade and investment, the group is now broadening into new areas.

Over the year, while New Zealand has been Chair, APEC economies have worked together and agreed to cooperate on digital technology and innovation, environmental sustainability and climate change, and inclusion, particularly of women and indigenous peoples.

The plan sets out a range of clear actions to build prosperity, well-being and resilience. Some are for economies to achieve individually, while others will require multilateral collaboration.

To provide a few examples, there are actions for economies to develop tools to help businesses scale up and operate internationally and cost effectively, to encourage a full embrace of digital technologies to maximise connections with global markets, adopt policies that drive economic productivity and innovation, generate momentum through free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to open more export markets, and to take forward initiatives to enable international travel.

Collective tasks include consideration of climate change when making decisions, and to recommit economies to double their renewable energy use by 2030.

This content was supplied thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. To read the Aotearoa Plan of Action in full, visit: http://aotearoaplanofaction.apec.org

China

This month in China consumer prices have risen modestly, in sharp contrast to the high global inflation, and employment has generally remained stable. The country celebrated Golden Week during the first week of this month – which generates a huge holiday economy brought about by the 7-day consecutive holiday. This year 422 million domestic tourism trips were made nationwide, a decrease of 18.2% year-on-year due to the pandemic.

Local tours and trips around the area have become the first choice for the majority of residents to travel and the urban outdoor industry is growing rapidly. Camping, cycling, frisbee and trekking are moving from niche to mass consumption. This growing trend may give hints to some of the New Zealand companies in similar industries as business development targets. 

With increased movement taking place during the Golden Week, the number of positive cases has risen across China and the outbreak control policy has been tightened again with stricter travel restrictions and more frequent PCR tests to curb the outbreak from deteriorating further. President Xi declared in the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 20th CPC National Congress that there would be no immediate loosening of the “Zero Covid” strategy. The current practices remain. All residents in China need to carry out a PCR test every 72 hours to ensure a normal daily routine. 

October also saw the much anticipated 20th CPC National Congress where the 20th Central Committee and the 20th Central Disciplinary Committee were elected on the closing day. With an upgraded FTA between China and New Zealand, new tariff reductions, customs clearance facilitation measures and greater area opening will bring more convenience and benefits to trade between the two countries. Following the congress, New Zealand companies may see more favourable policies and opportunities to invest in more sectors in the China Market. 

Rebecca Bao, China Regional Director

UK & Europe

This month the big news in the UK is the stepping down of Prime Minister Liz Truss after just 45 days on the job, with her replacement yet to be announced. We also have a new Chancellor, Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt, who has announced a reversing of most of his predecessors ‘mini budget’ announcements from three weeks ago as the Government looks to stabilise financial markets, reduce borrowing costs and address fiscal policies. Some of the highlights include;

• The basic rate of income will remain at 20p indefinitely instead of being reduced to 19p.
• Axed proposals around cutting dividends tax including scrapping the new VAT-free shopping scheme
• The cap on energy prices charged to households is now only guaranteed until April 2023 and then will be reviewed.
• The freeze on alcohol duty has been scrapped which will see prices increase – This will affect the price of NZ wine, beer and spirits in the market.
• Cuts to stamp duty and National Insurance remain in place.

The pound is gaining against the dollar but still has a long way to go in stabilising confidence in the market. This uncertainty and constant change is an upheaval for UK businesses, consumers and businesses exporting to the market, things are moving fast and it’s hard to predict what will happen throughout the rest of October.

In other updates, we were thrilled to join Zak Cole, Head of Services for Europe and Beachhead network to welcome new Beachheads to the New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) UK & Europe
network, including fellow World Class New Zealander, Sarah Smart, and Kea member Matt Cummings. Sarah offers insights and support from FMCG and dairy industry perspective and Matt is an e-commerce specialist. We also attended the NZTE roundtable session with NZTE CEO Pete Chrisp, Nick Swallow, Trade Commissioner UK & Ireland, and Commercial Advisor Joel Simms. This was a wonderful opportunity to meet with fellow NZ exporters that have teams and operations in and across the UK & Europe and provided an opportunity to share general sentiment including the challenges and opportunities currently faced by businesses as a result of the pandemic, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the effects of Brexit.

Sara Fogarty, Kea UK/Europe Regional Director

North America

This month Kea was pleased to support a visit led by Air New Zealand which included the Minister of Finance Hon Grant Robertson, the shadow Minister of Finance and CEO’s and Chairs of some of New Zealand’s largest businesses as well as Air New Zealand’s Executive and Board.

The two and a half day programme saw the delegation interact with business and thought leaders in New York and strengthen connections with a vibrant New Zealand community. The purpose of the delegation was to promote New Zealand and learn more about the economic environment, trading conditions, and the latest global trends and innovations. Kea World Class New Zealander Kirsty Graham, the Global President of Edelman’s Practices and Sectors, was one of those who spoke to the group and offered thoughts and insights on trends in corporate governance, and Sean Marks, General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets, hosted the group at a special team practice session in Brooklyn.

Kea identified and invited a diverse range of people from Kea’s community to be part of a networking event allowing the delegation to meet some of the inspiring New York-based Kiwi. A number of our Kea community discussed their journeys to New York, giving a glimpse into the challenges and rewards of living and doing business in this market. While the rewards can be significant in this market, so are the challenges of doing business in the USA. A slow and calculated approach is the most prudent in this economic environment.

Fun fact: If New York State were an independent nation, it would rank as the 10th largest economy in the world.

Gary Fortune, Kea North America Regional Director

New Zealand

This month Education Minister Chris Hipkins will lead a delegation to The Republic of Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore to encourage people to study in New Zealand and promote the fact our country is welcoming international students back.

Korea is our 4th largest source of international students – and education links were hit hard by the pandemic. The Minister will speak at Korea’s largest student expo, the International Education and Career Fair, and at the same time mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea. In Indonesia, which is a strategic and growing market, he will be promoting New Zealand’s commitment to education cooperation and in Singapore, where he will sign a refreshed Education Cooperation Arrangement. He will also cover innovative practices and discuss the potential for greater exchange in education and public service training with his ministerial counterpart.

October also saw the Independent Electoral Review, established by the Minister of Justice, began its first stage of engagement on the future of New Zealand’s electoral system. Elections are a critical part of our democracy, and the Review is seeking a range of views and perspectives before deciding what changes they think may be needed.

This is a broad review of New Zealand’s electoral laws. It covers almost everything to do with how elections work, including voting rights for overseas-based New Zealanders, voting methods, the length of the Parliamentary term, political donations, election campaigns, and the thresholds for parties to enter Parliament under MMP. Written submissions from Kiwi anywhere are invited until 14 November. You are encouraged to share what matters most to you within the Terms of Reference and the full consultation document is available here.

Finally, the hotly contested Forest and Bird annual Bird of the Year competition is on! The competition aims to raise awareness of New Zealand’s endangered bird species, and every year Kiwi flock to the polls to decide who will take out the top honour. Right now, 80% of our birds are in trouble. Climate change and habitat destruction are big threats to all our native species. If we protect and restore our rivers, forests, oceans, and climate, we can bring our native wildlife back from the brink. Listen to some contenders here and vote for your top 5 choices before 30 October!

Saya Wahrlich, Global Director, Government & Industry

• CASE STUDY – CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF TRADE WITH JAPAN
• INSIGHTS FROM OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY
• THIS MONTH IN NUMBERS
• GROWTH THROUGH KEA CONNECT
• NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
• TRENDING AT KEA
• UPCOMING EVENTS
• HOW KEA CAN HELP

Celebrating 70 years of trade with Japan

This year marks 70 years since the establishment of New Zealand-Japan diplomatic relations. Both countries are forerunners of free trade, leading agreements like CPTPP and RCEP. Kea World Class New Zealander Jacky Scanlan-Dyas is an M&A lawyer who advises major Japanese corporates and trading houses investing outside of Japan and many international corporates investing and doing deals in Japan. She spoke to Kea about the importance of the 70 year milestone and the opportunities she sees for Kiwi companies interested in our 4th largest market. READ MORE

North America

Kea was pleased to support a visit led by Air New Zealand which included the Minister of Finance Hon Grant Robertson and CEO’s and Chairs of some of New Zealand’s largest businesses. The delegation met with business and thought leaders in New York and strengthened connections with our vibrant Kiwi community. Our North America Regional Director Gary Fortune has the highlights. READ MORE

China

October was a busy month in China with celebrations for Golden week and the much anticipated 20th CPC National Congress. The country is still experiencing a number of pandemic restrictions and this inability to travel is giving rise to a rather particular sector which could hold possibilities for Kiwi exporters. Our China Regional Director Rebecca Bao explains. READ MORE

UK and Europe

There has been more upheaval in the UK in October with the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss after just 45 days on the job. The country also has a new Chancellor and is looking to steady the economic uncertainty that’s plaguing the country. Our UK and Europe Regional Director Sara Fogarty has a wrap of the changes and what it means for Kiwi exporters. READ MORE

New Zealand

In October Education Minister Chris Hipkins led a delegation to The Republic of Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore to encourage people to study in New Zealand and promote the fact our country is welcoming international students back. Our Global Director Government and Industry Saya Wahrlich looks at this and the review of our electoral system. READ MORE

BUSINESSES ASSISTED MADE IN MARKET THIS MONTH**

SECTORS KEA CONNECT SUPPORTED THIS MONTH

*Year to date reflects financial year commencing 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023
**Some businesses were provided with connections in more than one market

AI Marketing system accelerates car sales

DriveText uses AI-automated descriptions and data to automatically create engaging marketing content for vehicle listings with the aim of helping car dealerships sell cars faster. The platform is looking to expand into the UK market and came to kea Connect searching for market validation and insights.

Kea was able to connect DriveText with an automotive specialist from a digital performance marketing agency in Wales, a marketing lead of SaaS automotive sales platform in England and an Executive Chairman of a global automotive research company.

Virtual event and training platform eyes US market

V-Unite offers virtual event, training and marketing management software. The company is looking to tap into the US market and sought connections with US organisations to identify the problems their target customers are having around events and experiences so they can tailor their offering to the marketplace.

Kea introduced V-Unite to several people including a Snr Executive Producer of Special Events & Media at an events service company, a VP of Partnerships at a large insurance company, Head of Consumer and Digital Marketing from a large pharmaceutical business and a Managing Director of an interoperability & intelligence software company.

NZ-UK FTA Roadshow 2022

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) is hosting a series of events later this month for New Zealand businesses to learn more about the NZ-UK FTA and to engage with experts. Come along to hear from MFAT and NZ Inc. experts, including New Zealand’s Trade Commissioner for the UK and Ireland Nick Swallow. READ MORE

Deel partners with WeWork to create more flexible workspaces

Deel has partnered with WeWork the leading flexible workspace provider, to offer companies WeWork All Access memberships for employees. As international hiring has skyrocketed over the past few years, distributed teams are becoming more commonplace. There is still, however, a need for workspaces – to maintain in-person connections, build culture, and facilitate collaboration. READ MORE

“Pick a date and make it happen“

For Kiwi returner Marie-Anne, moving home to New Zealand had been on the cards for several years, however, it wasn’t until after the birth of her second child that the family took the plunge. She talks to Kea about experiences moving home, including finding a job and settling into a new community and shares her top piece of advice for others feeling the pull of home. READ MORE

Community culture driving Fintech success

When it comes to competing in the global fintech industry, Wellington really punches above its weight. So what is it about the capital that’s helping create these incredible companies which are flying the Kiwi flag in markets around the world? Kea spoke to three fintech founders to find out.  READ MORE

Taking a bite out of the snack food industry

Globally the snack food industry is estimated to be worth around 105 billion USD and is predicted to grow this year by around 3%. It’s a lucrative market and one which many Kiwi companies have carved out a niche for themselves. One of these is Wellington company, Tom and Luke. We catch up with CEO Matt Donn to find out how the industry has changed recently and what advice he would give to companies looking for an edge. READ MORE

KEA X BNZ MOVING TO NEW ZEALAND WEBINAR: This webinar offered practical advice for those looking about moving to New Zealand. Our three panellists provided important advice on finances, including how to open a bank account from offshore, the relocation process and five things that should be top of your checklist, plus what to expect when you arrive. If you know someone looking to relocate to New Zealand please share this recording with them. to LISTEN

WORLD CLASS SPEAKER SERIES: In our latest World Class speaker series, we caught up with cognitive neuroscientist and Kea World Class New Zealand winner Dr Kerry Spackman. Dr Spackman has used years of cognitive research and his background in mathematics to create a world changing learning tool which has been adopted by top schools, universities and governments to help better understand ‘wicked’ problems. LISTEN

KEA MEETUPS: Our next meetup will be held in Auckland on December the 7th, at The Chatham, 27 Drake Street from 17.30. If you know a Kiwi business owner, entrepreneur or recently returned Kiwi please encourage them to come along and expand their networks. These meetups are also a great opportunity for our Kea partners to meet members of our community. SIGN UP