What do umbrellas, wine, pet food and peanut butter have in common? They’re all being produced by innovative Kiwi brands using clever marketing to take on the world.
When you pass Graeme Hart to top the NBR List 2024 with an estimated wealth of $20 billion, it’s probably a sign your business is doing well. The Mowbray family started Zuru Group as a toy company more than 20 years ago and, like many Kiwi companies, the story began in a garage.
Zuru has since expanded to include two other divisions – consumer goods and construction. It has a presence in more than 120 markets worldwide across six core consumer verticals. It has a footprint of 26 offices globally (and growing).
Rhodes Pet Science, the pet division of Zuru, sells five pet brands in 20 of those international markets, retailing across 200,000+ points of distribution.
Anna Tompkins is Head of Marketing for Rhodes Pet Science, steering Zuru Group’s comprehensive media investment strategy. She was a finalist for Marketer of the Year at the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2024.
“Talking from Auckland, it is humbling to have some part to play in driving forward the growth of Rhodes Pet Science: the world’s fastest growing pet care company,” she says.
“Bonkers continues to be the fastest-growing cat treat brand in the US and UK, holding an over-index vs the market leader in bringing new (younger) customers to the category.
“And in the biggest retailer in the United States, Bonkers has delivered over 20% of all cat treat unit growth this year, with only 1.6% of category distribution points. For the next 48 months we have pretty consolidated focus behind the markets we are presently retailing in, with particular emphasis on North America, the UK and ANZ.”
58 million views on TikTok
One element of the success of the Bonkers brand has been going viral on TikTok. Within a week, it became the most-liked pet treats brand on TikTok globally, with over 58 million views on the #betterwhenitsbonkers hashtag – and it still holds that title.
This was far from the only highlight in 2024 for Rhodes Pet Science, which also launched three new brands – Smart Box, Business Litter and Goodlands – into Walmart. “That felt monumental and was the result of some extraordinarily hard work by a lean bunch of extraordinarily talented humans,” Tompkins says.
They also launched Nood Pet Food into the United States via an exclusive with the big box retailer Target. “Seeing our Nood blue bags aisle-leading and filling an entire bay in Target was without doubt a pinch-me moment.”
Tompkins says Rhodes Pet Science has created a portfolio of disruptive pet care brands that are more relevant and connected for millennials and Gen Z – directly responding to the digital fluency of these generations.
“We strive to have a deep and authentic understanding of this demographic across our markets, and we understand that these Gen Y/Z customers are living their lives through social channels. In so many ways this shapes their online personalities.”
Although the brand’s New Zealand origin doesn’t play a direct role in Zuru’s marketing, Tompkins says it plays a significant role in their DNA and ‘we can take on the world’ challenger spirit.
“That ‘challenger spirit’ really is embedded in everything we do, from decision-making to innovation, and it’s a mindset that transcends all departments, not just marketing.”
Kiwi brand, global celebrities
One man who knows a thing or two about going viral on social media is UK comedian and talk show host Graham Norton.
He may seem like an unlikely figure in a story about New Zealand businesses, but Norton also happens to be a shareholder in New Zealand winemaker Invivo, which sells to 43 countries.
Invivo produces three brands: its own brand launched back in 2008, GN brand which is the Graham Norton and Invivo collaboration and Invivo x SJP, a collaboration with Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker.
Tim Lightbourne, Invivo Co-Founder and Director, says the company’s biggest markets are USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, Aotearoa, South Korea and Japan.
“The brands mostly cross over and all three sell in our key export markets. However, the brands have their own stronger territories, with the Graham Norton brand strong in UK, Ireland and New Zealand. This is due to the popularity of his show and Graham’s awareness in these countries.
“Invivo X SJP is particularly strong in the USA, Canada and Korea. The Invivo brand has been exported to Japan for 14 years now and has a fantastic following there along with its home here in New Zealand.”
Lightbourne says both celebrities are very important to Invivo. Along with being wine collaboration partners, they’re also shareholders and very hands-on with the brands and direction of the business.
Backstage deal
Invivo linked up with Norton after being the wine supplier to The Graham Norton Show since 2011.
“We had met Graham numerous times backstage before asking him to make a wine with us. In 2014, he agreed but wanted to be hands-on in the process, not just a name on the label.”
Following the success of the GN brand, Invivo contacted Parker’s agent, looking to replicate what they do with Norton in the American market.
“My other Co-founder, Rob Cameron, and I flew up to New York and sat down with SJP over an afternoon with a glass of wine and talked about how we wanted her fully involved in the process, again not just a name on the label.”
Parker was all in on the project, attending more than 30 buyer meetings across the USA and in London in the space of 18 months.
Lightbourne says Invivo invests significantly in trade marketing campaigns at store level with global retailers such as Tesco, Morrisons and Costco.
“We’ve also had some success working across categories. Recently, in the US we partnered with Murray’s Cheese – an iconic West Village New York store – to create an Invivo X SJP Sauvignon Blanc-infused soft cheese which is now sold across the country. Campaigns like this help us to cut through a competitive environment.”
Blunt is keeping the world dry in style
It may not have celebrity shareholders, but Kiwi umbrella brand Blunt has also been achieving sales success internationally, across four core markets of Australia, Britain and the USA as well as New Zealand.
After over 20 years in business the company is rebranding, eyeing new opportunities and new products.
Heading that process is Fiona (Fee) Cortis, who was another finalist for Marketer of the Year at the 2024 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards.
“Our founder and inventor [Greig Brebner] is a Kiwi born and bred in Auckland, who did his OE after he graduated from his engineering degree and went to London and that’s where he ideated Blunt while walking down Regent Street,” she explains.
“He’s a super tall man and it was raining and he was nearly getting poked in the eye by all these broken, dangerous umbrellas. So when he came back to New Zealand, he was like, ‘I’m going to reinvent the umbrella.’”
Cortis says prior to the rebrand, Blunt was acting like “a little Kiwi brand venturing out into the world”. But while she loves the No 8 wire mentality, she believes the Kiwi providence story works better for food and beverage products such as honey, wine, lamb and dairy.
“That story is so powerful for those kind of sectors, but it’s not so much relevant for us. So the rebrand was really about positioning ourselves to be a big, beautiful global brand.”
The journey from beer to brollies
Before coming to Blunt, Cortis worked for 10 years for Heineken, a company she describes as “awesome brand builders”. Although beer is a different beast to umbrellas, she says what she learned at Heineken has helped her with her approach to Blunt.
“I believe in long-term brand building and short-term tactical execution. I think before I came to Blunt, a lot of it was just bottom of funnel, short-term sales focused.
“Blunt had never done a big brand-building campaign before, and that’s the world that I’ve come from,” Cortis says.
“It was really interesting getting my leadership team to subscribe to producing a beautiful 60-second piece of film that didn’t talk about technology and innovation and repairability and wind tunnel testing and all of those kinds of things.”
Cortis says Blunt is mainly focused on growing in its four main markets. While it has reached market maturity in New Zealand, its biggest market currently is Australia and its fastest growing market is the UK.
The marketing principles she learned at Heineken may still apply at Blunt, but there are some key differences on a practical level.
“We used to love when it was 30 degrees and sunny, particularly we could switch on dynamic weather triggered ad targeting and dynamic out-of-home,” she says.
“It’s been a total mindset shift for me to embrace the rain! If it’s cold and dark and miserable, we’re all really happy. Even though it’s not good for your mental health, it’s great for umbrella sales.”
Sending your brand into orbit
Kiwi brands are selling their products around the world, but few can say they’ve sent them into space. Nut butter company Fix & Fogg recently achieved that distinction when its product was sent up with Nasa astronauts for a six-month mission.
Co-founder and CEO Roman Jewell says the chance for Fix & Fogg to become New Zealand’s first food in space came about in a completely organic and unexpected way.
“Ten years ago, when we were starting out at Wellington farmers’ markets, we never could have imagined reaching such heights!”
It all began when a New Zealand customer started sending Fix & Fogg jars to her Nasa astronaut friend in the USA.
“That astronaut fell in love with our products, and made a special request to bring Fix & Fogg along on their mission to the International Space Station. Nasa then approached us to develop a space-approved, easy-squeeze pouch to fit zero-gravity needs – an incredible challenge that our team was proud to work on.
Working closely with Nasa’s nutritionists over several months, they developed the Fix & Fogg space pouch: a custom-designed, easy-squeeze option with an extra-wide 18mm nozzle to handle zero-gravity conditions.
“Glass jars were out of the question, so this pouch was crafted to deliver our extra crunchy pieces onto space bread, keeping both astronauts and crumbs under control.”
Besides Nasa space stations, Fix & Fogg products can also be found in Aussie households, and grocery stores across Asia, the Pacific and the USA. Jewell says the Nasa collaboration has not only been a milestone for the brand, but also an exciting way to amplify New Zealand’s international presence.
“We’ve leveraged this achievement to tell a story that resonates with customers worldwide – showcasing Kiwi innovation, our commitment to quality, and the exceptional taste that now satisfies even astronauts!”
Missed opportunity
Meanwhile, one commentator says New Zealand retailers are missing a massive opportunity by fixating on the threat of giants like Amazon, rather than using ecommerce to expand into lucrative overseas markets.
Mark Presnell, Managing Director of Auckland-based ecommerce integration Convergence, says New Zealand businesses tend to focus on defending their local market, but they should realise that the same digital tools Amazon uses to dominate can be harnessed to access global markets.
“With the right strategy, Kiwi businesses – whether B2B or B2C – can turn the tables and thrive internationally without needing a physical presence in those countries.
“Ecommerce has broken down the barriers that once limited local businesses to domestic buyers. Now, companies can expand beyond New Zealand through digital platforms.”
A B2B example is agricultural products such as dietary supplements, Presnell says.
“Supplements made with New Zealand ingredients, like mānuka honey or pasture-fed dairy, have strong appeal in international markets.
“These items can be positioned as premium, natural products sourced from one of the most pristine environments in the world – you don’t have to make them, just source them.”
Presnell says that the idea of competing with multi-national retailers might seem intimidating, but with the right tools and planning, entering overseas markets isn’t as complicated as it might appear.
This was first published in the December-January 2024/2025 issue of NZ Marketing Magazine.
