Businesses going global

One of the hot topics of conversation and cause of much debate in service and tech businesses across North America is what to do about the work-from-home phenomenon post-pandemic. Spearheaded by tech companies like Google, many businesses are now reversing or considering reversing previous policies about flexible working. This has been a result of more data coming to light about the balance between the productivity of working from home, the innovation that comes from face-to-face interaction and the disparity between roles that can and cannot be done remotely.

Mothers’ Day this month sparked articles about the particular challenge for working mothers and just how many say they are considering downshifting their careers or dropping out of the workforce entirely due to the ongoing burden of caring for family and schooling children. This shift in the demographics of the workforce may put workplace gender diversity strategies at risk for years to come.

For Kiwi companies with employees in North America, one thing for sure is that it will be tough to retain 100% of employees no matter what they decide. Some staff may have moved to a new city or state to be with family or to save money on rent or mortgages. Talent will be reshuffling as employees decide if their current workplace strategy fits the lifestyle they need to juggle all their commitments. Staff in one country will be looking closely at their organisation’s employment policies in all countries and holding employers to account. The number one recommendation from McKinsey to business leaders right now is to communicate with your people. Clear communication to teams about their near-future working environment is critical and helps alleviate burnout and anxiety related to uncertainty.

With all the noise, confusion and mixed messages about the future of work in the media, this is one step employers must take.

CONTRIBUTOR

Saya Wahrlich

Global Director, Government & Industry

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

Tell us about Mānuka Essentials and what drove you to launch the business?

Mānuka Essentials is a plant based personal care brand using renewable plant extracts, the key ingredient being East Cape mānuka oil.

It all started when I was overseas backpacking around South East Asia. I somehow ended up going down a rabbit hole of scientific research papers on native plants. I discovered that mānuka essential oil which comes from the leaves, is much more powerful than the honey and has many health benefits. East Cape mānuka oil in particular, because of the environment that it has evolved with, provides a lot of benefits – antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, beats dandruff, among many others. This is in part because of a particular group of compounds called beta triketones.

I then discovered that mānuka plays a significant role environmentally. In New Zealand, mānuka is often the first plant to grow in a regenerating native forest (also known as a seral species). It helps other plants flourish, and it grows deep and flexible root systems that prevent erosion, binds hillsides, and helps to clean up our waterways.

In my previous job working for the family company as a sales rep (selling flooring to shops), I regularly travelled around most of the country. I saw how much of our land was once forest. I also saw how much of it we chopped down. Throughout Aotearoa, we are experiencing land erosion, loss of biodiversity, and polluted waterways… So I thought, if we can make it more profitable for farmers to plant sustainably managed native forests than any other type of farming, then we’re going to see the country return, largely to native forest.

And so I’ve made it my life’s mission, basically, to do this.

What was your initial approach to funding?

I had some savings – tried a range of ideas and ended up spending it all!

From here, I have been working as a marketing consultant which has supported this venture. This consultancy work evolved into what is now Paste & Publish, a content marketing agency with a team of twelve.

I haven’t tried to get any external investment or funding, mostly because I don’t want the need for short term profits to get in the way of long-term impact.

Where have you exported to, and what have been the key challenges throughout your export journey across these markets?

Australia was an easy start, and we have a few customers over there. Australia was good in terms of time zone, currency rates are similar, lead times are short, and regulations aren’t overly strict. One of the challenges has been regulatory compliance and understanding who to talk to. There’s a lot of contradictory information out there about regulations and compliance. Understanding cultural and consumption differences was really key as well.

We considered Europe, however the deeper we dug the more regulatory issues we realised. Compliance was just too much of a challenge at that stage. You really need someone on the ground who holds full responsibility over the product. We saw the costs add up, and ended up putting this on hold. We plan to revisit export into Europe in the next year or so.

Tell us about your experience with Kea Connect since reaching out in 2019?

It was actually Kea’s introduction that helped us to understand what the export journey to Europe would look like. Through Kea Connect, we were put in touch with a Brand and Industry Specialist with extensive experience across the UK and EU. As a result of his advice, we ended up holding off from exporting to the region and focused our attention on the local market instead.

This advice highlights how some export markets, while appealing, are not always necessarily the right path right for all businesses. Kea helped us to see the reality we were facing and I was really appreciative of the connection and practical advice that determined our export plans. We also were connected with some initial legal advice, which brought useful considerations to mind.

The team at Kea are open-minded, proactive, and well-connected. I can’t fault the service!

How has Mānuka Essentials grown since 2019?

COVID-19 put a damper on our growth, but in saying this we have expanded our range and offering, which is great.

When we first engaged with Kea, we mainly produced beard and shaving oil. Since then, we have developed a range of oil blends across genders and skin-types, along with solid beard shampoo and shave soap bars. We have also launched a brand called Mānuka Sensations which focuses more on the aromatherapy side of things.

Moving forward, we are focusing on creating an enterprise that builds the leading native plant brands of tomorrow. This involves development and operations management, marketing and distribution. Through this new structure, we are launching a wide range of exciting initiatives!

Are there any trends that you see from the entrepreneurs and businesses you’re working with day-to-day?

Going online is a big part. Through our content marketing agency, Paste & Publish, we can’t keep up with the amount of growth in terms of people wanting top notch content. Adoption of tech is massive. Initiatives like Digital Boost alludes to how Kiwi businesses are typically behind the curve on this front.

A larger trend I see is more conceptual, looking ahead 5-10 years. This is around access vs ownership of business processes. Back in the day, you would have your commercial building, your own machinery, equipment, trucks, etc. Back then, you had salaried staff as opposed to contractors or outsourced partners, and those staff would typically stay with you their whole career. Now we are moving towards a much more transient world.

A great example of this is Fulfilment by Amazon. If you want to sell overseas, you don’t need warehouses or space, or staff. Amazon brings the traffic to you, they store it, they ship it. Growth made easy.

So, with business, it’s more about partnering with what and who you really need, and contracting out business processes that aren’t your core area of expertise. In this way, the world is at your unique advantage.

You have a few other ventures on the go – can you briefly tell us about these, and what advice do you have for other entrepreneurs juggling many things at once!

Yes sure. As I mentioned before, the overall goal is to reforest Aotearoa. To do this, we need to create widespread consumer demand for native plant extracts so that there’s a market to justify farmers investing in making the shift. And to create this consumer demand, we need brands to tell the story and empower the change.

So we are building a brand incubator. There are three key pillars to any product based brand:

Development and operations – I have recently partnered up with Jess Elliot, the creative genius behind Boho Body Care, to develop what we are calling ‘Boho HQ’, a local business based in Tauranga that looks after product development, manufacturing, logistics and sourcing all under one roof. Basically, if you want to create your own personal care brand, we do all the work to bring your vision to life – from development to marketing and everything in between.

Marketing – through Paste & Publish, we look after all things marketing. Content (such as articles, guest blogs, strategic content planning etc.) is our core strength, but we also do design, web development, advertising, and much more.

Sales and distribution – we are assembling a nationwide network of distributors so that we can bring out new products, new brands, and new offerings, and have them represented in retail locations throughout the country. This project has just launched a few weeks ago, and our aim is to assemble an awesome team of distributors who own their own wholesale businesses supplying our products. You can find out more about becoming a distributor here.

Last but not least is The Reforestation Fund, a philanthropic fund that we are building to help accelerate the reforestation movement here in NZ. Through TRF, we are funding projects that result in native trees being planted, and our biodiversity to be cared for, by supporting local volunteer groups and the like. As part of our efforts, 50 cents from every Mānuka Essentials product sold is donated to this fund. We want to bring more ethical brands onboard, to help make a positive impact on the health of our ngahere (forests).

My advice to other entrepreneurs is that there will be a time where you go from being the business, to being part of the business. Learning when to let go is important, and so is finding the right people who share your vision, and empowering them for success.

One thing that set me well is understanding our core values and core purpose and making decisions from this basis. It ensures that we do things for the right reasons, and with our long term goals in mind.

If there are any returning Kiwi who want to start their own company, distributing native plant-based personal care products in their area, we would love to hear from them. We are also always looking to partner with people who are passionate about reforestation and would like to get involved. All the details of our distributor programme can be found at www.manukaessentials.com/pages/become-a-distributor.

CONTRIBUTOR

Callum Armstrong

Managing Director

Manuka Essentials Limited

Kea member

HOW KEA CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW

Kea Connect

Kea Connect is a free service that will help your business grow offshore. We connect you personally with regional, sector-specific experts and peers.

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Resources

Kea is here to help New Zealand businesses grow offshore. Be inspired and hear advice from businesses who have created their export path.

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Jobs Portal

Looking for the right talent for your team? Reach our global Kiwi community through the Kea international job portal.

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Kia ora and welcome to Kea’s online monthly report, showcasing our highlights for July 2021.

Our largest highlight for July was the launch of the Future Aspirations report last week, which we hope you caught either by our channels or via the positive media coverage. This report was the culmination of our recent community and employer surveys, and included reflections from key commentators including The Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa.

It was encouraging to see the results highlight the significant number of offshore Kiwi still planning to return to Aotearoa, and of those Kiwi remaining offshore, the strong desire to support from afar. We look forward to working with you, our partners to identify ways to catalyse the connections, skills and experience of our offshore and returning Kiwi for the benefit of Aotearoa.

You can read more about the full report here.

Seated audience at the Kea Future Aspirations Survey report release, Toni Truslove presenting the findings — Kea Global CEO Toni Truslove presenting the Kea Future Aspirations Survey Report

In this months report we catch up with the CEO of software company Datagate, which has seen a phenomenal 600% growth in monthly recurring revenue since connecting with Kea to find in-market connections in Australia and the US back in 2017. A fantastic example of the potential growth opportunity when leveraging the connections of our offshore community to help New Zealand export businesses.

The global acceleration of digital capability and innovation continues, also in this months report we dig deeper to understand international opportunities for New Zealand’s tech export businesses. We take a look at the rise of China’s new digital currency with an incredible $5.3 billion in transactions, look into why the “US tech industry is on fire”, and did you know South Korea has just taken out the top spot on the world innovation index? We give an insight into how Kiwi tech exporters can capitalise on the region’s appetite for innovation.

Finally, we are delighted to announce the appointment of our new North America Regional Director Gary Fortune, based in New York. A global music industry expert, Gary joins Kea with an extensive 30-year career in the New Zealand music industry across a broad range of international networking, relationship building, marketing and music promotion roles. In 2005, he established the New Zealand music export initiative called Outward Sound, growing both New Zealand music and music businesses into international markets. Since 2016 Gary has spearheaded the highly praised, international music and technology business conference Mondo.NYC.

We will be looking to introduce Gary across the Kea network in the coming weeks and sharing his insights in next months report.

GROWTH THROUGH KEA CONNECT

WHY CONNECTING WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS IS THE KEY TO GLOBAL SUCCESS

Since connecting with Kea in 2017, software company Datagate has seen a massive 600% growth in monthly recurring revenue. We speak to CEO Mark Loveys about building on this incredible success, the competitive advantages kiwi businesses have on the global stage, and why he credits understanding his customers as individuals as key to his company’s phenomenal growth.

READ MORE

INSIGHTS FROM OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY

North America

“The tech sector in the USA is on fire” with enormous growth in tech spending and an unprecedented level of capital investment this year – valuations are off the charts. This spans across many different areas of tech including – retail, F&B, industrial, AI, data analytics and food and ag – and Fortune Magazine has even declared that every company now needs to think of itself as a tech company in order to keep up with the momentum Covid-19 has created.

For New Zealand companies, a key opportunity in terms of investment, especially in areas where the Kiwi brand is strong, is that Venture Capitalists are far more willing and likely to invest in companies simply by meeting them online. This lack of a need for physical presence diminishes a speed bump companies experienced pre-COVID, creating immediate opportunities for kiwi entrepreneurs.

Peter Bryant, Kea World Class New Zealander, Board Chair & Managing Director, Clareo

UK & EUROPE

Investment and innovation in the UK tech sector continues to accelerate, with UK venture capital investment the third highest in the world, with a record high of US$15 billion – ahead of India, Germany and France.

It is encouraging to see New Zealand tech exports capitalising on this, growing significantly in the last 18 months in both presence and sales. Education tech in particular is thriving, helped by extended lockdowns and long periods of homeschooling, helping with everything from student wellbeing, to online exams to remote lab teaching.

Sara Fogarty, Kea UK/Europe Regional Director

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea has been named top of the world in innovation this year in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, topping the list for seven of the nine years it has been published.

A large part of the nation’s success comes from an adoption mindset where innovation is welcomed and proactively scaled. This provides a great opportunity for Kiwi tech exporters who may be looking for a fast-moving and proactive market for launch.

Lukas Beech, World Class New Zealander, South Korea

CHINA

Something to watch in China over the coming months and years is the Digital Yuan, which is quickly establishing its place in the digital currency market, used at more than a 1.3million trial sites totalling an incredible $5.3+ billion in transactions. A question for SaaS companies to be thinking about is when will consumers in China expect to be able to make payments using Digital Yuan as well as through WeChat and Alipay?

There were 5.8 million new energy vehicles on Chinese streets by the end of May, which accounted for around 10% of new car sales in China. A vast number of gasoline cars that cannot meet China’s emissions standards will be phased out in 5 to 8 years, and around 200 million new cars will be bought to replace them. This creates huge opportunities for the new energy vehicle sector.

China is also preparing to introduce its new data security law, which will come into effect in the next few weeks. The change will mean companies are not allowed to provide any data stored in China to foreign judicial and law enforcement agencies without Chinese Government approval. Businesses in the tech sector will need to be across the changing regulations and understand what they mean for their customers. Watch this space for further updates.

Ciara Liu, Kea China Regional Director

GOVERNMENT UPDATE

July was a busy month for the Digital Technologies Industry Transformation Plan (Digital ITP) with two of the ITP’s six workstreams publishing milestone reports. One of these reports was the Discover and Define phases for the refreshed New Zealand Tech and Innovation Story, which was released following interviews and insights gathered from over 600 individuals within New Zealand and international tech communities. The Summary Insights Report describes the approach and summarises the messages that resonate most strongly with an international audience. Kea is a member of the Marketing Consult Group.

In addition, the Skills Workstream Steering Group published its first report and draft plan. Following significant research, data collection, hui and consultation, the report summarises that the sector in New Zealand is suffering greatly from a mismatch of skill supply and demand, with an overreliance on immigration. We see an opportunity to make the most of closing the gap between tech businesses and kiwi who we know are planning to return to Aotearoa with much-needed skills, seniority, and international experience. Kea recently submitted a paper to the Skills Workstream which included data from our recent report, contributing to a deeper knowledge of the specific skills and experience of our offshore and returning Kiwi.

Saya Wahrlich, Global Director Government & Industry

SPOTLIGHT ON KEA CONNECT

STAFFSYNC

StaffSync is an innovative app targeted at the education sector that integrates temporary and full-time staff management with rostering and payroll. It uses push notification technology to help find and manage relievers/temporary staff, alongside in-depth reporting for HR teams.

StaffSync has had great success in New Zealand and Australia and is now looking to expand into the UK, particularly around Manchester. Through the support of NZTE, StaffSync is in the process of setting up its company structure from a legal and accounting perspective, with a view to having an on-the-ground presence in the next 6-12 months.

Their NZTE Customer Manager sought support from Kea to amplify their work, increase StaffSync’s knowledge and market insight on the UK public/private education system, procurement as well as build understanding of what the potential challenges might be when operating in this sector.

To date, Kea has introduced the Founder of StaffSync to the CEO of Ada, National College for Digital Skills, and Trustee of a leading secondary school. Kea continues to support StaffSync with further connections.

ZINCOVERY

Zincovery is an innovative start-up on a mission to make recycling financially viable for all metal wastes. Their first target is an acid contaminated with zinc that is produced from the hot-dip galvanized steel industry. The company was spun out of the University of Canterbury, last year winning the Callaghan Innovation C-Prize Challenge. This helped to raise their first investment round to develop the technology to pilot stage. Since then they have seen incredible growth and have expanded their team to 5 FTEs.
They are currently validating China as a target market and their focus areas for the next 18 months are:

Reducing market risk through international market validation
Securing an MOU with a large international customer
Eliminating all technical risk except scale-up

The request to Kea included:

Market research on the steel industry in China, including current waste disposal methods and costs involved
Advice on how to best nurture business relationships with China-based parties
Background context in the cleantech and waste remediation space in the USA.

Kea facilitated introductions between the Founder of Zincovery and the CEO and Founder of Lanzatech, and Deputy General Manager of SteelVision Beijing, and Shareholder of an Industrial Manufacturing company in China.

INSIDE THE MIND OF THE FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR

The University of Auckland has released their report “Raising Capital in Aotearoa New Zealand: Insights from Women Entrepreneurs”. It examines the expectations of women entrepreneurs and their approach to raising capital, as well as how traditional gender roles are challenged and negotiated.

Read more about the Aotearoa Centre for Enterprising Women here

EY ANNOUNCES FINALISES FOR 2021 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Judged on their entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, national and global impact, personal integrity and purpose-driven leadership, strategic direction and value creation, eighteen top NZ businesses were announced as EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 Finalists last week.

Find out more about this year’s finalists here

DOES NZ HOLD THE KEY TO A POST COVID RECOVERY?

Technology is key as New Zealand prepares to host the first virtual APEC later this year. APEC 2021 will focus on rebuilding the economy in a post-pandemic era but will also rely heavily on technology to allow virtual participants to still get a taste of kiwi culture. READ MORE

TRENDING AT KEA

KeaVoicesOfCommunityVideo_FAS_augustUpdate

WHAT HAS LIFE BEEN LIKE FOR OFFSHORE KIWI?

On Friday at our Kea Future Aspirations report launch, we shared a video where a few of our Kea Community offshore shared an insight into their lives and also what opportunities they see for New Zealand right now. WATCH NOW

Kea and BNZ Panel Discussion on Capital Investment Planning

CAPITAL PLANNING – WHY IT’S NOT JUST CASH THAT MAKES A BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL

Raising capital is a key part of any business but it’s not always a straightforward one. Kea partnered with BNZ to bring together a panel of experts to discuss successful capital planning strategies and advice for those looking to raise capital. READ MORE

APEC CEO Summit Panel Discussion Jun 2021

INTRODUCING THE APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is an independent group of business leaders that advises APEC leaders on priority issues for business in the region. We talk to ABAC Chair Rachel Taulelei about the role of the business council, why it’s so important the private sector is able to consult on intergovernmental forums such as APEC and what opportunities the virtual event holds for Kiwi businesses. READ MORE

BRINGING GLOBAL START UP KNOWLEDGE HOME

Tech start-up guru Lucy Luo has worked all over the world and now she’s back in Aotearoa in a role with software company First AML. She shares her advice for export businesses looking to expand and about how to avoid common mistakes. READ MORE

UPCOMING EVENTS

To help returning Kiwi settle back into New Zealand and help build their personal and professional networks, Kea is thrilled to be hosting ongoing monthly meetups for returners and their partners in Auckland, on the first Wednesday of each month (next meet up 1st September), and our next regional meetup is in Queenstown 12th August. If you know a Kiwi who has recently returned or is planning to – please share and help spread the word!

KEA CONNECT: BUSINESSES SUPPORTED THIS MONTH

30

Number of Kiwi businesses assisted this month

82

Number of connections made this month

82

Number of connections made this year to date*

World graph representing the number businesses by region around the world that Kea Connect has helped

SECTORS KEA CONNECT SUPPORTED THIS MONTH

Bar graph of sectors Kea Connect has helped in Aug 2021

*Year to date reflects financial year commencing 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022

HOW KEA CAN HELP

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