Export: Taking Clean Teeth and Healthy Gums to Germany
Taking Clean Teeth and Healthy Gums to Germany
This is the story of how a small New Zealand company, Mills Farm took their product to market in one of the world’s largest economies, Germany.
Who and What is Mills Farm?
Based in the rural setting of Peria, Te Tai Tokerau in the Far North of New Zealand’s North Island, Mills Farm is a family-owned business established by Marina and Warren Mills in the 90’s.
Mills Farm produces a small, select range of health-related products such as toothpaste and healing balm.
Not only does Mills Farm supply the domestic market but they also successfully export Mills Farm Manuka honey & bee venom toothpaste under the ‘Green Leaf’ brand into the Japanese market.
Marina says “We believe our organic toothpaste is unique. We were the first to combine Manuka honey and bee venom in a dental hygiene product.
There is significant evidence that bee venom benefits the health of teeth and gums with the bonus for joint mobility and the immune system.”
Marina originally hails from Russia and is a qualified Apiarist (beekeeper) and Api-Therapist (medical uses of bee products) from the renowned Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.
Warren is of Ngati Kahu iwi. His interest in working with bees began from childhood, with his dad a keen beekeeping buddy of Sir Edmund Hilary.
It is fair to say, both Marina and Warren have a lifelong passion for bee keeping which can be seen in their products.
Over the past 21 years, Marina and Warren have built the Mills Farm brand, and extract most of their innovative ingredients from their own organically certified farm.
Collaboration Starting Point
In October 2018, when I was working as a business mentor, David Templeton, a Growth Advisor at Northland Inc approached me.
He had a honey producing company, Mills Farm, needing support with business planning.
In turn, I felt I would be able to help due to my comprehensive commercial and financial background.
“David understood our needs and we really appreciated Northland Inc’s
support. To secure Markus as our mentor was indeed a lucky strike with his experience in our area of business.” Warren says.
Marina and Warren impressed me with their knowledge, desire and global mindset.
I could sense the huge potential.
“Over the last 10 years it has been a privilege to work with Marina and Warren as they navigate through brand & product development, marketing and exporting. I have been impressed with their tenacity and the determination to be true to the values of sustainability, and the development of natural products, underpinned by organic principals” says David.
Ok, Let’s Do This
It turned out to be a good match. Mills Farm had the honey and bee venom expertise.
I brought the commercial experience to the table.
I suggested to them, “as you are already successfully exporting your toothpaste to a market (Japan) focused on high quality products from New Zealand, why not export to Germany?”
Being from Germany myself, I knew that German customers love both organic and New Zealand made products.
As Mills Farm is a certified organic producer of Manukau honey and bee venom it was a virtual no brainer, and an easy decision to step forward.
Is This Feasible?
The challenge was monumental. How does a small New Zealand company with very limited financial resources enter a highly competitive market such as Germany?
Firstly, we wanted to establish if is this would be worthwhile considering the constraints in terms of available cash flow and marketing expertise.
Secondly, we needed to confirm if there was indeed a market for organic toothpaste in Germany.
The German Bio-Market
Germany has played a pioneering role in the organic Bio consumer goods markets. Over 96% of German private households prefer organic products. German consumers can be described as “uncompromising organic shoppers”.
The organic food market is vast. In 2020 Germany alone spent nearly 15bn Euros (more than NZD25bn) on organic products.
Adding my personal knowledge of the German market, I was convinced that Manuka honey toothpaste with the added health benefits of bee venom ticked all the boxes.
Growing Excitement
We assessed that Mills Farm Toothpaste would appeal to discerning German organic-consumers. It would not be able to compete with the average, mass produced toothpaste therefore we targeted to market the product as a premium, niche brand. Next, we needed to nail an attractive and compelling value proposition.
Value Proposition
We understood that our value proposition (VP) had to be unique and generate interest. There are no second chances. The corner stones of our VP were as follows:
- NZ made with unique ingredients (Manuka honey and bee venom)
- Organic
- 100% natural
- no bees harmed
- no fluoride added
‘The struggle for clean teeth and healthy gums is over. Mills Farm Toothpaste is here.’
We felt this VP provided us with a good platform to target the high-potential organic German toothpaste market.
BUT we needed help. We needed help to find a sound business partner in Germany.
We recognized we could not walk this alone. So, we reached out to the German NZ Chamber.
Another Step Forward
I approached the German-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Inc (GNZCC) for support.
The German Chamber, a bilateral trade office, helps both New Zealand and German businesses to engage in the global market environment. They have vast business networks in Germany and across the EU.
Working with the German Chamber on previous occasions I found them very supportive.
Our key contact was Erin Daly (Manager Business Development Australasia/Trade Fair Manager).
We needed market intelligence, particularly how and where we could offer Mills Farm Toothpaste. With Erins help, we commissioned several market research reports. That helped us to gain vital insights. We really appreciated the support Erin and her team provided to us over the years.
“We really love working with Mills Farm, and it’s great to be part of this exciting journey.” Erin says.
Unexpected Setbacks: Covid-19 Pandemic and Lockdowns
Like so many businesses around the globe, the pandemic was a major setback for us.
Supply chains interrupted. Demand for products and services declined.
Whilst this delay was frustrating, and slowed us down, we remained positive about our intentions.
Let’s Make it Happen!
Jumping ahead to September 2022.
Whilst I was in Germany, we arranged a meeting, in conjunction with Iris Heinz (international – Manager Projects & Consulting Services, German Chamber) at the Munich Industrie-und Handelskammer (IHK, Chamber of Commerce and Industry).
It was indeed fortunate that Julia Hahn (Wellington Branch Manager) was also available to join me in person for the meeting with key trading staff in the Bavarian capital to facilitate.
The German Connection
Following the positive meeting in Munich, we connected with the German company Cobicos.
This Bavarian based cosmetics company has been in business for over 30 years.
Cobicos specialises in 100% natural skin products and were an excellent match.
Their motto appealed to our New Zealand philosophy:
”Wenn wir die Natur nicht schützen, sägen wir den Ast ab, auf dem wir sitzen. Denn nur eine intakte Umwelt kann hochwertige Wirkstoffe liefern“
“If we don’t protect nature, we’re sawing off the branch we’re sitting on. Only an intact environment can provide high-quality active ingredients.”
B Corrall, CEO, Cobicos
The collaboration between Mills Farm and our German partner is looking very promising with an initial order already placed. It’s early days but the future looks bright.
Key Lessons and Learnings
Perseverance, Persistence and Resilience are essential.
There were setbacks on the road to exporting to Germany. Our ability to bounce back from even the most challenging of events was critical and laid the groundwork for dealing with similar issues in future.
- Seek advice and access the people with the know-how
- Start small, keep refining processes and costings along the way
- Quality is essential. Without that, success is very short lived.
- Ensure the supply chain is sound. Second chances are hard to come by
From a personal perspective having a sound knowledge of both countries and being bi-lingual proved to be advantageous to build the necessary networks for this New Zealand enterprises to succeed.
About the Author
Markus Schwarzer, originally from Berlin/Germany, has lived in New Zealand for the last 35 years. Markus has held senior finance management positions across New Zealand, Australia and Europe.
Currently, he is assisting New Zealand companies to gain a foothold in Germany through analysis, evaluation and implementation.
