THE HERB FARM REVISITED
Consolidation and further expansion
Sarah in the gardens (click to enlarge)
Sarah has overseen the achievement of the immediate goals set when she joined the business. The Herb Farm brand has been totally transformed, production capacity increased and the product range extended – and business is booming. With the planned changes, together with the systematic documentation of processes and procedures now in place, Sarah is confident that The Herb Farm brand is "pretty resilient" and the company is in a sound position to explore further opportunities for development.
The focus for Sarah for the immediate future will be developing certified organic skincare products, the move into international markets and the promotion of The Herb Farm as a visitor destination.
The organic market
Statistics showing a growing demand for natural organic products – skincare, as well as food and cleaning products – are leading the company to investigate the logistics of producing a certified organic range of The Herb Farm products.
"It has to be a premium range of products because of the cost factor, as many of the ingredients that are certified organic are significantly dearer," explains Lynn.
Information on the certification process was sourced from the relevant agencies, then the serious research began.
"We had to establish that we could actually do it. For certification, we needed to source a steady supply of organic ingredients from companies we felt comfortable in partnering with. This was especially important as we wanted our point of difference to be the New Zealand factor. If we're using olive oil for example it has to be New Zealand grown and produced – and certified organic."
In addition to the mandatory use of organic ingredients, the processing stage also has to be certified organic.
"We found that most of what we do already fits the certification requirements," says Lynn. "For example we don't use any chemical cleaners in our existing processes."
Easing into the international market
With interest in natural products and all things 'New Zealand' increasing internationally, expansion into the export market has become an attractive possibility. Following a case study by Export Training Services, an export plan was developed that identified Hong Kong and Singapore as strong potential markets.
"We have one retailer already in Hong Kong that we're using as a pilot store, and they've been really successful with the products," Sarah says.
Sarah and Lynn do have some reservations about such a big step however. With the size of their full range at the moment, exporting so many products isn't easily manageable. In response to this challenge, the company is in the process of developing a premium certified New Zealand organic brand of skin products for the export market. The plan is for the new range to be available in New Zealand at selected retailers and for professional use in beauty salons and health spas, and be limited to eight skin care products, with the idea that this smaller specialist range will be easier to get into overseas markets.
"We're still working on the ideas because we have to be really careful it doesn't compete with our existing product range," says Sarah. "Our existing products are natural but they are not certified organic because of the increased costs involved and we want to continue to keep them affordable. The new range needs to be in a different market, and it's important that we really define that."
"We're trying as much as possible to get New Zealand grown and produced ingredients and, with the 'carbon miles' issue, trying to make the product range as environmentally friendly as possible – as well as being really effective for things like anti-aging and rejuvenating."
As attractive as the export market might appear, it is not considered crucial to the company's growth. "Irrespective of how the export opportunity works out, there is still quite a big untapped market in New Zealand for us," says Sarah. "There seems to be a growing trend for consumers being willing to spend a little bit more on products which are good for themselves and the environment – natural products rather than things that could potentially cause other health problems later on."
Partnership opportunities
One collaborative venture currently in place is the development of a line of facial and bodycare products to be sold online through the Vision for Humanity website – a medium that promotes the suppliers of natural ingredients from developing countries with the support of the Clyne Model Management Foundation. "Vision for Humanity chose us because of our shared values," says Lynn. "We've developed a whole range for them, using different ingredients from places like the Amazon. Although it will be primarily Vision for Humanity branding, there will be acknowledgement that it was made by The Herb Farm, as well as a link to our website. So far, the plan is for –around 10 products to be sold, with the potential to do more in future."
