Creating that sweet smell of success: the success of international natural pet care business WashBar is a classic example of meeting a real need with an innovative product NZ Business When they left the Auckland rat race to move north for a quieter life in the country, Jules Smith and husband Pete Gregory didn't expect to become CEO and business development manager of an international natural pet care business. But thanks to Juies helping out a friend with a troubled dog, the idea for WashBar was born. Jules and Pete are now exporting their products --natural skin and coat care for horses and dogs--to Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Sweden, as well as supplying stockists throughout New Zealand. It all started four years ago with a single bar of neem soap when a friend asked Jules --who hand-made soaps for a hobby--to develop a solution for her dog which had flea allergy dermatitis. "I didn't realise dogs had so many skin issues and when I did a bit of research I discovered they suffered from dermatitis, allergies, fleas, hot spots, eczema, the list seemed endless," says Jules. The soap made an amazing difference to her friend's dog, and after discussing the practicalities of making the soap commercially with Pete, WashBar was born. "Pet stores were agreeing to stock it before even discussing retail and wholesale pricing!" recalls Pete. "We make a product that looks and feels and smells really healthy and natural. That's our point of difference. We don't wrap the bars, they come with brown paper bags printed with instructions." Within six months WashBar had grown from one stockist to 50. They now have 550 stockists around New Zealand, and the range has grown to include shampoos, spritzers, flea repellent and a larger bar of soap for horses. "One of our point of sale displays has nearly 15 litres of shampoo equivalent in it, and there's not a shred of plastic involved," says Pete. "We promote our horse product as "a litre of shampoo in a brown paper bag." "Export was always part of the picture we've always had the goal of making this a multi-million dollar business," says Pete, who joined the company full-time two years ago, and is now in charge of growing export sales. "Our go-to-market model overseas is to work with distributors in each market. The trick is finding the right distributor. We worked with Katabolt to look at how we were going to tackle overseas markets; did market opportunity assessments across the world, then prioritised which markets we wanted to get to first. "We chose to enter Australia first. It's a relatively easy market to get into--they speak the same language, and consumers aren't vastly different in terms of what drives them. Australian retailers have a similar drive to Kiwi retailers too. There are also over four million dogs in Australia." Next was Taiwan, and in July 2014 Pete joined an ExportNZ-led trade mission to Taiwan, which coincided with a major consumer pet fair in Taipei. "We launched the product there and it's gone brilliantly. We were a little concerned that young Asians have no idea what a bar of soap is because many have only ever seen liquid soaps. But the product has such a point of difference in the Taiwanese market that it's taken off and the distributor is an absolute champion of the brand. "Brand New Zealand counts for a lot in Asian countries, especially Taiwan and Korea. They trust New Zealand made, which is important as their pets are treated like a member of the family. The fact that we have FTAs with these countries is also advantageous. "Japan is on our list--there are 13 million dogs in Japan. We are working on our path to market there to minimise the layers between us and the consumer." Tips for first-timers "Don't expect [success] to happen overnight! It took us a year and a half to get the right people in Australia; and six months from initial introduction to launching in Korea. Work out where to go first and have a strong qualification process for distributors," says Pete. "Join organisations like ExportNZ and Buy NZ Made, and utilise those networks, opportunities and trade missions. Go Global has given us some great connections," he adds. "Also, just pick up the phone and ask people for help!" Catherine Beard is executive director of ExportNZ. Beard, Catherine
1. How does a small company like WashBar get its product to market in other countries?
2. Why did they choose Australia as their first export market?
3. What kinds of organizations exist in your country that help small businesses enter the export market?