New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

And then the final point, Dave, that I'd say is just listening to her in terms of some of the kind of issues that they face with working with companies.

I certainly rang bells in terms of the work that we've done in the past as part of NZTE in terms of helping companies realize that when you go to a bigger market, there's a different approach you've got to take.

You've got to be very focused on your niche and how you're going to supply into that niche.

And, you know, also thinking about the demand side rather than just, gosh, I've got something great, I'm going to sell it.

The good news is for our beef exporters, our lamb exporters, and our dairy.

And so, yeah, it was interesting to see NZTE has done some research on this already and is advising exporters in New Zealand to – look at their whole profile of what they export and consider it in this framework or with this lens around how these GLP-1s are going to change the world.

But it's a double win for New Zealand in a lot of ways because we are a protein-producing country.

If it keeps prices up, if it helps us save money on the other side as our population ages, it could actually be quite transformational for for, you know, the economy long-term.

I mean, he's developing a beachhead there.

He's been over there for about, since the start of the year as well, and developing the market, working with key stakeholders like NZTE, doing the trade shows, setting up the dealer networks, et cetera.

And that business is starting to take off as well.

So it's a great story.

And what our government realized years ago was the best thing that they could do is not throw cash at startups, but leverage the power of government in different countries to help New Zealand businesses grow.

So we have an organization called New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, NZTE, and they basically reside with our ambassadors all over the world.

And so we're able to engage with NZTE representatives and ask them to do market research for us.

And so the New Zealand government will fund that rather than give us money.

They will help us with research and finding partners and that kind of good stuff.

So we couldn't be more happy with the support New Zealand Trade and Enterprise still gives us.

They were very influential in helping us find where to land in the US and what markets to target.

That's interesting.

Yeah.

And then, um, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, they actually kind of saw that I was doing this a little bit, or they saw my Instagram, how I was always talking about New Zealand brands and how much I love them.

And then they just started to ask me questions on behalf of their clients.

And then last year, Wilson and Dorset, who are a sheepskin brand from New Zealand-

Yeah.

I think that's why it went down really well with Wilson and Dorset, 'cause it wasn't something that they'd heard before.

And so then after that, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise were like, "We want you to be one of our beachhead advisors officially." So now I'm-

Oh, amazing

And we're really gaining momentum.

And using key stakeholders like NZTE to help us.

We've been in the big trade shows there.

We are now looking to hire a sales manager for the UK, but most importantly, we're using this as a model for international expansion and we're hoping to get into Australia later in the year, early next year.

Along the journey, have you had much support

from NZTE? Yes.

Yes, we have.

NZTE have been amazing for CBS and it's largely been as a result of our customer manager.

We have a really good customer manager, Maria Vosper-Rink, who's based in Hamilton.

So she's a phone call away, but also just a drive away.

This has, uh, been quite a big week for me, uh, certainly a big week in my career.

It's brought to the end a, uh, a 19-year career working for the New Zealand Government, uh, first with Foreign Affairs and Trade and then, uh, as you very well know, being the person that recruited me, um, to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

And so, yeah, um, I guess a bit like yourself, you know, bringing y- you know, a couple of weeks ago when you finished up with NZTE after a, a, you know, lengthy career there, um, it's a few mixed emotions really.

It's been a, it's been a massive journey.

It's been an incredible privilege to have done this job.

... and I've had a great time doing it and being able to connect with all of those kind of New Zealand businesses, and really just an awesome bunch of people.

And it's been awesome just getting, uh, a whole lot of well wishes and messages by email and WhatsApp and various other channels, um, including from many listeners to the podcast.

Well, let, let me just add to those best wishes, Dave, and say, uh, you know, we worked together in those roles for about five years, but, uh, you certainly spearheaded, I guess, the resurrection of the NZTE presence within the Pacific and, uh, certainly within Fiji, but really across the Pacific.