The speakers at this month's E.A.T Breakfast shared their histories, which all rang true to the theme of Live, Learn, Evolve. Each company started out in a different place than they are today, and are successful because of their ability to be flexible and enact change when challenges or opportunities arose. Thanks to ExportNZ BOP for bringing together these inspiring speakers: Mike Smith, founder of the Mount's own RMP clothing; Phil & Sharon Caskey, founders of NZ Manuka Group; and furniture and lighting designer David Trubridge.
The Locus team have recapped the morning's talks and pulled some valuable insights on how to evolve a business towards success.
Phil Caskey, NZ Manuka Group
Medical grade honey is something of everyday kiwi living and well-being today, but it hasn't always been this way. After recognising the unique properties of Mānuka, Phil Caskey established New Zealand's first specialist Mānuka honey company in 1996.
Phil's story has unique beginnings; he evolved from a helicopter jumping deer catcher, to found a company around value added deer products such as deer velvet. Is was this avenue that led him to mix deer velvet with honey, and then focus on Mānuka honey and its benefits. He has had a full and colourful journey since then, and here's how it all panned out.
Converting the non-believers
Phil knew he was onto a good thing with Mānuka, but the first big battle was to convince those who didn't believe. While he had some science behind the product, nobody would listen -- so he decided to take a different route and start telling the commercial story. He engaged with tourism to start spreading the word about the product, and in the background developed 600 acres and invested a further $1m into research with Waikato University.
Then there was an outbreak of MRSA, an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections. At a loss of how to treat the issue, hospitals started asking for medical grade Mānuka honey. Not to Phil's surprise, it worked, and suddenly the non-believers were no more.
A sticky mess
With the product being used in medical situations, Phil and his team had to figure out a way to make the product more user-friendly; after all, it wasn't that pleasant being drizzled in sticky honey and told to wait for the magic to work. So they started to develop absorbent dressings and Mānuka oil/seaweed wraps, both of which were a huge success.
Creating opportunity
As things began to pick up, the company started to engage with local people to discover how to expand opportunity. They worked with local land-owners on the East Cape and opened up opportunities to be educated, inspired, and of course, employed.
They also partnered up with World of Bees in Aussie and Rainbow Springs in Rotorua, to educate the public about the benefits of bees and Mānuka. The company also partnered with Wound Care in 2002, giving them a firm foot in the medical realm. The honey wound care dressing is still a popular product in most medical kits and hospitals today. Phil and his team were gaining traction fast, and nothing was going to get in the way.
Taking a break
Then Phil became incredibly sick. Realising the need to look after one's own health, Phil and Sharon sold the company to Comvita in 2003. Once the family regained some headspace, they started to develop the Stewart Island Experience; innovation and excitement wait for no one!
After gaining some quick traction, larger tourism companies started wedging their way in and shunting the small sized business out of the way. The Caskey's fought a long battle, but in 2007, they decided it was time to cut their losses and move on. This unfortunate experience took a huge toll on the business savvy family, causing a huge loss of belief in collaboration and business.
Small steps and a giant leap
However, in 2011, a Māori landowner contacted Phil and asked for his help to bring some fairness and transparency into an industry that had become over-run. With a new processing facility built, Phil quickly set about establishing long-term joint venture agreements with Māori landowners and from this solid base, the future of New Zealand Mānuka was built.
Since 2011, the company has become deeply involved in the honey process, right from harvest to packing. They have partnered with beekeepers (not owning them), developed resources, planted thousands of acres and hired over 120 staff. In just 12 months, they plan to plant 4 million trees. They also have a seaweed division, as well as making honey infused facemasks and home ventilation systems; they really are more than just honey.
While the product is important, Phil has continued his 'creating opportunity for all' mantra, and ensured there is an open and fair return for all involved, as well creating education opportunities for the local people. It protects the future of the business, and ensures everyone is working together to achieve the best quality Mānuka products in the world.
Lessons learned :
The beginning
Mike was born and raised in The Mount, so it was only natural he fell in love with surf culture. But one of the problems with riding the waves is the water gets cold in winter. Really cold. So the solution? Snowboarding -- still cold, but much more enjoyable.
Around his two jobs at the wharf and Astrolabe bar, Mike started making snowboarding gear and hitting the powder with his friends. After discovering he was actually quite talented in the fashion industry, he decided to start RPM.
Kiwi's love Kiwiana
It felt natural to keep RPM as kiwi as possible in the beginning -- both in business and style. The RPM team sourced New Zealand made fabrics, cut them up in their Mount warehouse and shipped the pieces to local factories to pull together.
They also had Kiwiana integrated into all of their designs, with their most iconic piece being the camouflage pattern made from the North and South Islands. I know, genius right? This was a huge hit from day one, thus launching the company into the fashion game.
More than just clothes
RPM has always been behind surfing and you don't need to think back long or flick far through a magazine until you find their strong presence. Spending many years on kiwi beaches, promoting events (yeah, I bet you remember those RPM stickers you collected), sponsoring kids and hitting tradeshows around the country, they became more than just a clothing brand -- they were a way of life.
Keeping up with success
As with many successful businesses, the company had to discover new ways to keep up with demand, and this included moving the factories off shore. First to Fiji (great for the surf lovers) and then to Hong Kong.
With a strong belief that relationships in business are important, Mike and his designers often fly to the factories to meet the people creating their clothing. They also spend time together exploring huge material malls, selecting the fabrics for their up and coming lines.
The Global Financial Crisis
Then the GFC hit in 2007. This put a huge strain on the company and Mike had the horrible experience of having to sell everything, let staff go and figure out ways to streamline the business. Understandably, the team went through a grieving process for a long period of time, as they figured out the best way forward.
Getting back to the roots of the company, the team didn't stop battling and came through the other side with the RPM we know and love today.
Lessons learned:
David Trubridge
David Trubridge Design is a company driven by a strong environmentally conscious philosophy, which informs all aspects of their design and production. Their products are based off organic New Zealand forms that repeat to create larger structures. From unlikely beginnings as a naval architect, David's journey to this point has been one of discovery and richness.
A life on the seas
His story started like many others; got married, built a house and had kids and was living the family dream. Building houses created a natural progression to furniture making, but after a while, the family decided it was time for an adventure. They sold everything they owned, packed up their life, bought a yacht and set out for a life on the seas.
With ten years on the ocean, it's not surprising that David's son William Trubridge became 15-time world record holder and current freediving world champion. This connection to the ocean and nature is still evident in David's work today.
Back down to earth
When the time came to start living a structured life, the Trubridge family settled in New Zealand. In the 90's David got an income from architecture, creating beautiful homes for Kiwi's who recognised his natural talent. Grabbing every opportunity as they came, the family had a steady income and David got back to his roots, by hand-crafting furniture inspired by local vernacular.
In 2001, when the architecture business became slightly more difficult due to rules and regulations, David packed up some of his shed-made furniture and flew to Milan. There he was picked up by a large Italian magazine, who loved the organic form and the exotic difference in his designs – and being from 'little old New Zealand' really worked it's strengths here.
While this was a great boost for David, the opportunity didn't work as well as one would hope. His furniture building work dropped off again and he began teaching.
For the love of it
Luckily, David still had a huge love and passion for creating, so he continued to explore in his spare time. He started with a strange 'hand-shaped' form, cut out of plywood. Using his boyhood love of polyhedra, he started to tile them together to create a large, beautiful wooden sphere. While standing back and looking at what he created, he wondered what could come of this. That's when a literal lightbulb appeared, from a suggestion of his wife's, and that was the birth of his iconic creation: the coral lamp.
Here he discovered a product that filled a niche that didn't yet exist; a light that is not only functional but induces emotion and passion from the owner.
Selling like hotcakes
The lights started selling thick and fast and David had to discover a way to ship these around the world in the most sustainable way possible – after all, there is a lot of hollow space in a fully assembled spherical light shade. With the help of computers (and new and exciting CAD technology), Trubridge (and his now team) could get their product out to the world, design things as efficiently as possible and quickly turn out new designs.
It also meant they could develop their product into a flatpack kit set. This whole new building experience not only allowed them to ship economically, but it allowed people to become part of the process, assembling their light for themselves; if you can become part of the process, you're more likely to love the result and keep it for longer.
It's not easy being green
David's environmental passions don’t just inspire his designs; he insisted the team perform a complete Life Cycle Analysis, with assistance from Landcare Research, on the creation and delivery of the lights. Perhaps not surprisingly, the footprint to make a light in New Zealand and ship it by sea to the European market is less than the cost to ship them by air. Unfortunately, consumers want more immediate click and deliver results, and while might consider setting up manufacturers overseas, it would be hard to match their NZ headquarters standards for green building and waste management.
As David so thoughtfully puts it, "It is not just a matter of designing better objects, though that is, of course, necessary. We must design better ways of doing things."
Lessons learned:
DON’T
DO
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