Businesses going global

Listen to our three panelists share their advice on;

Shipping – including what to bring home and the best ways to do so, whether to pack up things yourself and what that could mean for insurance cover and what to expect from customs once your things arrive.
Finding a home – should you buy from offshore using an agent or friends and family to check out places? Or is it better to rent first? Plus, what the are the advantages of renting furniture vs renting an Air BnB?
Settling in – what to expect, how long it will take for you to feel ‘at home’ and what can you do before your arrive to make things easier on yourself and your family.

Founders and brothers-in-law Mark Neal and Daniel McLaughlin had ambitions to expand their brand offshore from the get go – Mark says they wanted New Zealand to be known as a producer of the world’s best spirits, and they will hopefully be the grandfathers of that tradition.

“You only have to look at New Zealand’s wine industry which is currently worth around two billion dollars in exports to see what is possible. Ten years ago there wasn’t a market for pioneering spirits, so we started out with an ambition to grow a global company from New Zealand.”

The co-founders were both aware of the emergence of a gin scene overseas and realised that global shifts to a more premium product hadn’t yet hit the Kiwi market.

“We noticed most liquor stores only offered a choice between Bombay, Gordon’s or Tanqueray. At the time we started out there was only one brand of gin being made in New Zealand, now there are around 230. We felt that New Zealand provenience, alongside ingredients would lend themselves to a premium product that would have global appeal.”

In launching their brand the brothers also wanted to challenge people’s perceptions of gin and the generalisations of those who were consuming it.

“We wanted to create a modern, progressive brand in the somewhat traditional gin category.
We put a lot of emphasis on the brand, ensuring it had a core purpose, alongside packaging
which would cut through on the shelf and backbar.”

**Scapegrace Distillery Founders Mark Neal and Daniel McLaughlin**

From humble beginnings

The duo started off by hand delivering bottles to bars in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown aiming to build their brand locally, it was a hard start and in those early years they found 10 people said no to every one person who said yes, however their determination paid off and as their brand grew they started to plan an export strategy which involved working around the globe to find the best distributors to represent their spirits.

During the early days Mark says what served the company best was having a clear purpose – quality above all else, this helped dictate decisions from a marketing, liquid, business and culture perspective.

“There is no victory in easy, and we’ve got pretty high expectations with our luxury portfolio
and that flows through the company in everything we do. Our bottle took about three years to
design, it doesn’t matter if you’re on a shelf in America or Argentina, you have about five seconds to attract a consumer’s attention, to part with that $80 on a product they have likely never tried.”

Staying true to quality

Staying true to quality has paid off for Scapegrace, the company was awarded the World’s
Best London Dry Gin among 600 entries from 90 countries at the 2018 International Wine Spirits Awards in London. This year, they also landed a major deal with leading UK supermarket chain Waitrose which has helped further expand their presence across Europe, a deal Mark says is hugely significant.

“Winning that award was a huge moment. It proved to us that our marketing, our bottles, and our sustainable processes – although not the easiest way to do it, was finally paying off. The deal with Waitrose was the holy grail. If you’re in with Waitrose you’re doing really well – but you have to continue to do well and it has to work for them – so it’s an ongoing process for us. We’ve put a lot of our energy, focus, investment and resources into this opportunity to make it work and this now means that our proud nation of Kiwi living in the UK can easily enjoy Scapegrace.”

Connections key to breaking into new markets

The founders say being introduced to the right people in the UK and making those strategic connections were key to their expansion and success. They would urge others to ask for help – saying it’s a surefire way to achieve your business goals faster.

“Kea Connect has been brilliant in helping us reach out to the Kiwi community in the UK and further afield. They were the first to introduce us to people like photographers, various suppliers and others who could really be an influence. Organisations like Kea bring you into their community and provide advice. Don’t be shy or worried about reaching out, being an open book is a great way to not have to figure it out all by yourself.”

Chantelle Nicholson

Chantelle Nicholson is a multi-award winning chef, owner of Apricity Restaurant (Michelin Green Star 2023) in Mayfair, former chef-owner of now-closed and much-loved Covent Garden restaurant Tredwells (the recipient of a green Michelin star in 2021) and All’s Well, a ‘pandemic pop-up’. One of the leading female voices in the UK’s hospitality industry, Chantelle is an advocate for seasonality and sustainability, championing veg-forward cooking through both the restaurant and her cookbook, Planted. She is a passionate advocate for women in the food industry and a lot of the principles for her menu creation came from growing up in New Zealand surrounded by amazing produce, being in nature and really being connected to where food came from and how it gets onto a plate.

Chantelle always offers time and insights to incoming NZ businesses, supports NZ Inc activities, including creating bespoke menus and catering for visiting NZ ministers and Prime Ministers. Originally from NZ, and a trained lawyer, Chantelle is committed to creating a more sustainable future across her operation and activities, whilst also being an independent board member for ReLondon and a Food Council member for City Harvest. She is also an Ambassador for Chefs in Schools.

Kea World Class New Zealander Christoper Yu

Christopher Yu

With a background in both law and accounting, Christopher practised tax litigation at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Wellington prior to moving to London in 1999. In 2002 Christopher left the City where he worked as a solicitor in investment banking to start a niche fragrance distribution business for luxury candle pioneer Diptyque. From there he went on to found

United Perfumes, launching high profile fragrance brands around the world. United Perfumes have designed and consulted on launches for Paul Smith, Orla Kiely and Berkeley Hotel.Christopher has been instrumental in leading luxury business operations from creation, development, production, distribution & retail.

Christopher is dedicated to understanding supply chain and sustainability issues, and is exceptionally proud of his NZ heritage and upbringing, shaping his drive, determination & mindset that it brings to the table for him in a global business arena. Passionate about the arts he sits on many Theatre Boards in London and throughout his life has always given back, be it teaching English as a second language as a 16 year old to newly arrived immigrants to New Zealand, to 2023 where he is utilising his success, connections and passion to support other Kiwi businesses to achieve success offshore.

Tina Waru

Tina was raised in Taranaki, New Zealand before moving to Australia, she grew up in a creatively driven community where her family lineage was heavily involved in the performing, visual and literary arts of New Zealand. Starting her career as a makeup artist in the fashion industry, she later began working within the Australian health and education sector, where she helped develop initiatives empowering Australian aboriginal and Global indigenous communities.

In 2011 she founded the Global Indigenous Runway Project in Melbourne to encourage and create opportunities for Indigenous, Maori and Pasifika youth in the creative world.The mission evolved into Global Indigenous Management where the organisation pioneered the world’s first Indigenous Fashion Runway events for First Nations designers. These events have locally and globally been showcased in the Melbourne fashion week and Melbourne fashion festivals. Tina Waru has helped lead this platform for indigenous youth with great success supporting more than 1800 young people and her company has been widely praised for its efforts supporting indigenous youth, receiving many awards.

Alexia Hilbertidou

Alexia is the founder of GirlBoss NZ – NZ’s largest organisation for young women. In 8 years, GirlBoss has grown to 17,500 members and programmes have been implemented in more than 100 schools across New Zealand, Australia and the Cook Islands. Her own mission is to get women to the boardroom table, and she believes the decisions made while young are crucial in paving the way.

Alexia has spoken at some of the world’s largest conferences such as The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and One Young World, sharing stages with speakers such as Richard Branson, HRH Meghan Markle, and JK Rowling. She has been named New Zealand’s Gender Equality Ambassador at the World Expo, a National Geographic Explorer, and a Facebook Leadership Fellow. Alexia studied Leadership for Change at the University of Cambridge and holds a Masters in Emerging Technologies. She has achieved more than 30 Awards for her work, including being named the Pacific Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Forbes 30 under 30, Semi-Finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year. She was also awarded a Queen’s Young Leader Award for Services to the Commonwealth by Her Majesty, The Queen, at Buckingham Palace. She was selected from over 20,000 nominations and is the youngest Commonwealth Citizen to hold this honour.

Peter speaks about leadership, determination and the effects of climate change on some of the world’s most delicate ecosystems.

The 10 day expedition brought together conscious travellers from 20 countries around the world, with a variety of interesting perspectives and ideas on how individuals and companies could become stewards for the environment and create real and meaningful change. The expedition was led by a group of ‘stewards’ experts and industry leaders who have long been advocates for sustainability and climate care. These stewards included the likes of Kiwi icons Sir Graham Henry and World Class New Zealander Peter Hilary who was on his 43rd visit to the continent. Peter says the opportunity to bring people to a place and really show them what’s going on is incredibly powerful.

“You’re immersing a whole group of people in this wondrous place, and everyone’s been hugely impacted by that experience. For example, the last morning we had there was quite frankly as good as it gets. You’ve got mirror-like water and icebergs and beautiful mountains all around and whales breaching, it was a truly incredible Antarctic experience. On board the ship you effectively have this forum, a whole group of people who have an interest in the environment and a huge range of speakers bringing different aspects of their knowledge to the party. I think one of the most significant things was that opportunity for conversation and discussion. It just galvanised within me the fact that you not only need to be on board, you need to do something, each of us can do our little part, and sometimes they can be quite big parts.”

The 10-day expedition had a full schedule, with trips off the boat to explore the vast surroundings, lectures from the expedition staff on wildlife, the history of Antarticia and the changes being seen due to climate change and also a number of guest lectures and workshops which examined what individuals and businesses could do to lessen their global footprint.

World Class New Zealander and Boma founder Kaila Colbin says as a CEO the opportunity for her to meet a number of leaders and listen to their global perspectives was a great tool to force self examination.

“Being on the ship with people from different walks of life made it way more interesting, and provided a lot more opportunities for exploration. An experience like this forces us to question what our beliefs are, what our motivations are, what our ambitions are, our preconceptions about the world. We don’t often get opportunities for this sort of pattern interruption from our daily lives. Being in a context like Antarctica, having that shared experience with people creates bonds that I believe make us more open to hearing and experiencing where someone else is coming from.”

Also on board were two researchers from the University of Tasmania, who were focused on human experiences in Antarctica exploring whether visiting the continent has a long-term effect on people’s behaviour.

Kaila presents on board the World Navigator

Passengers were interviewed on the way to the continent as the ship crossed the Drake Passage and again on the way back. They will also be followed up in 18 months time to try and establish if this experience has led to any long-term changes. One of the researchers, Prof. Nicholas Farrelly, says they are keen to understand the effect immersive experiences have on behaviour.

“Over the years we have developed a set of tools and techniques for trying to understand the deeply personal responses to a set of environmental experiences. If we are going to manage ourselves more effectively as humans on this planet, we all need to reflect on what we do and why we do it. Working with this group gives us a tremendous opportunity to engage a wide range of leaders from many different fields. I look forward to working with this group over the coming months and maybe years to understand if experiences like this really can create long term change.”

Founder & CEO of academyEX, Frances Valentine says changes in behaviour towards climate change is a work in progress that we all need to embrace. The World Class New Zealander says the expedition gave her the opportunity to hear from leaders who were at different stages of addressing big global issues like climate change.

“I think we have this innate kind of hope that what we understand to be true is true, and that the person opposite us understands the same thing to be true. But actually, the reality is most of the time that’s not the case. People have different influences, different inputs, different biases, and to get to the truth, you need to start the conversation. An experience like this is a fantastic way to do it.”

Insider Expeditions CEO Steve Pirie-Nally says the theme of stewardship and being a kaitiaki of the planet really resonated with those on board.

“People are coming home with the ABCs of what they can do to be better stewards for the planet, and reimagining what that looks like in business as well. The insights that we’ve had from the crew on the boat as well as our speakers have allowed everyone to dive deeper into certain topics, and really understand in a very real way what these mean for us and individuals and business owners. Having people on board the boat for 10 days experiencing this together has also really supercharged networking, we have had several business deals done around ideas for sustainable solutions and there will no doubt be others that come in the weeks and months following the experience.”

Peter Hillary speaks to leaders on the ice

Peter Hilary says he hopes this experience will stay with those who were on board and he would encourage others to take part in future expeditions to share their knowledge and insights and form a connection with what it is we are all trying to save.

“This expedition really grabbed people’s attention. We all know with meetings or video calls or even conferences, people might pay attention for a bit but they tune out, or go back to their day and forget. Nothing beats bringing a whole lot of people together to this place where they can really see the effects and for such a duration of time, that I think is a very powerful thing, you’re immersed in the experience, you breathe it, you feel it, you know, it touches you emotionally and you form a connection with the place, I think at the least people came away from this feeling strongly about being advocates for Antarctica.”

Kea spoke to a number of industry leaders on board and asked them to share their advice and business knowledge with our community, please keep an eye out for this series of global insights articles which will feature Sir Graham and Lady Raewyn Henry, USA Brand and marketing expert Rhoda Swan, and Australian founder of the Models Method Simon Bowen.

What are the main challenges facing your business this year?

The vast majority of answers for this question could be grouped into three main categories: attracting talent, securing funding or investment, and adapting to changing technologies including the increase of AI.

When it came to staff businesses, they felt the biggest challenge was getting access to high quality staff and having avenues to recruit staff from. Last year, to support our community in this area, we launched Kea’s Job Platform. This site is specifically designed for businesses looking for people with global skills and experience and is a great way to showcase your role or business to returning Kiwi. If you are struggling to find the right person for your team, keep in mind that lately there has been a growing trend towards hiring people who have additional “softer skills”, such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills which can make a long-term difference in your team.

Did you know that Kea Connect can work with your business to showcase opportunities for funding and investment? Every eight weeks Kea showcases businesses to our international community – if you would like to be included in these updates please get in touch with us at [email protected].

And finally if it’s technology questions or advice you are looking for, keep an eye on Kea’s event page, where we are working on a series of events where our community will share their thoughts and advice and answer your questions. We have two events coming up soon: our ‘What’s in Store for 2024?’ event and a tech-focused event for International Women’s Day featuring female trailblazers advocating for inclusion in their leadership and industry.

See our upcoming events here.

What are the three key areas you would like the most support in?

The answers to this question often mirrored the above as businesses look for support to navigate challenges ahead. We also had a number of people discuss the difficulty of finding funding specifically for pre-revenue companies especially when your product is not quite ready.

“We would like support to get in front of customers who understand that we are at a prototype stage, and are willing to work with us as we develop the product.”

A number of businesses are also looking for extra support to grow international networks and expand into offshore markets. Our Kea Connect service is the best way for businesses to grow their international networks and, most importantly, it’s free. Kea has a community of more than 800 solvers around the world – experienced Kiwi who are ready and waiting to connect you into key markets and distributors. This year, Kea will also have a focus on events and will be hosting a number of networking events globally which are a great opportunity for our customers to grow their professional networks.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Many businesses shared their stories with us about the help and support that Kea Connect has given them and also shared their advice on how to get the most out of the service.

“There is a clear ‘best practice’ method to engage Kea Connect to get better outcomes; we had an amazing experience when we engaged last year, and the connections remain valuable today; but the way I empowered and helped to target the connections made a difference.”

“We have just signed up to Kea so we are still understanding how we can utilise all the opportunities. This year we are very focused… so hopefully we will see some good outcomes.”

Thank you to all the businesses who shared their thoughts and advice, please keep an eye out for future surveys.

What are some of the issues you have seen arise with Kiwi businesses and trademarks?

New Zealand businesses too often enter the Chinese market without having properly thought about brand protection – only to discover that their trademarks, branding and name are already owned by a local third party. If a business’s trademark is already registered, the true owner cannot operate under their current trademark. The business will be unable to sell their product under their original branding which means they will need to change it and create a Chinese name, unravelling years of previous marketing work and adding a significant extra cost.

If you have not registered your trademark but realise later down the track that you would like to get your products into China, the first thing to look at is protecting your intellectual property (IP). China is a first-to-file trademark country meaning whoever registers their trademark first becomes the owner, not the party who uses the trademark first. If there is someone that already has your trademark registered, or even something very similar to yours, you will most likely be unable to register yours. Unfortunately for some businesses, there are opportunists in China who search for brands all over the world and register their trademarks to make money. They do this by selling the trademark back to the original owner or by selling cheap products/services under the trademark in China or other parts of Asia.

It’s also important to be aware that as a foreign company, some distributors will offer to help with your trademark registration – this happens often, particularly when the relationship between the business and distributor is good. Distributors can often want to save a small cost and save the hassle, but not all of them understand the process of registering which can be detrimental to the business. It’s important to register under your own name.

How can businesses avoid this problem?

For total peace of mind, you should apply for the registration of your trademark rights in China before meeting with or discussing any business with a potential partner, service provider, distributor or client. It’s crucial to ensure your brand is clear for use in China and to register your trademark.

I have a gin business that I own with two Kiwi business partners. When we launched in 2016, we began investigating trademarking from the very beginning. We first looked at China and then the EU and UK, Canada, US and New Zealand and Australia. So, while we were still in the stage of trialling our products, we already had a view of potential markets.

What does it cost to register a trademark in China?

The registration of a trademark is by classes – there are 45 different classes, but not all of them are relevant. A separate trade mark application must be filed for each class the business wants to obtain protection.

We advise you to register in only relevant classes. For example, a wine company may want to register in class 33 for wine as the main category. Then, you may want to register in other potential classes depending on your strategy such as packaging, advertisement, and online which is becoming more and more relevant with the development of e-commerce in China.

In terms of disbursement, each class is 300 RMB ($60 NZD) and includes 10 items of goods/services. An extra 30 RMB is charged per additional item – it’s not too expensive and is definitely worth doing.

Considering the cost of marketing, brand building and potentially designing new logos and packaging if you find someone else has your trademark, it’s well worth getting in early.

How should businesses go about registering a trademark?

The best thing to do is get good advice. When companies come to us we work to conduct an analysis of the business’s current logo and look at what we call ‘registration risks’ to see what companies are sitting in the same industry or category as the business we are assisting. We then inform the business on anyone that has registered the same or similar trademark and the risk factor that comes with that.

Lately my firm has been collaborating with the New Zealand Business Franchise in China and the New Zealand Business Roundtable (NZBRIC) to build a free system which helps New Zealand businesses navigate the complex world of intellectual property and safeguard their innovations in China with a tailored Trademark Health Report covering the following:

Dilution risk: The harm that a trademark’s reputation and distinctiveness could face if someone uses a similar or identical mark without permission.

Registration risk: If your trademark is not registered in China’s trademark administrative system or if there are already similar registered trademarks that resemble yours, there’s a higher likelihood that your trademark registration application will be rejected.

Infringement risk: How likely you may be challenged for using the mark/logo without trademark registration.

The Trademark Health Report will also provide you information on who in the market is registering identical or similar marks/logos as you, and prior obstacles to your registration. It will also supply you with a comprehensive trademark strategy, countermeasures, and protection advice that is tailored to your business.

Ready to get started? If you would like to use this free service head here to fill out the application form and use the discount code NZBRiCTM1. If you have any further questions about trademarking in China, email [email protected].

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