It was on a trip to Australia that Kate Smith recognised the opportunity to tap into the tourism market with her honey business, Waireka Honey.
“I popped into a honey shop and thought, ‘Wow, it wouldn’t take a lot for me to make some changes and draw in the tourists that drive right past my door each day’.”
Her bright yellow honey shop on State Highway One just south of Sanson, is enough to attract drivers’ attention, but she wanted to wrap a more strategic approach around making them stop and spend. Waireka produces and stocks an extensive range of honey products including natural honey, honey mead, health care and skincare products. They also stock a variety of bee keeping equipment for hobbyists through to commercial bee keepers.
Smith’s brother works in marketing and encouraged her to get professional help with marketing and sales – and he prepared her to spend some money.
On her return to New Zealand, she called Tourism New Zealand who connected her with CEDA. Through a CEDA Business Growth Advisor and the Regional Business Partner Network (RBP), Smith was connected to the consultancy Business Group who she worked with to create a marketing plan.
A two-year plan was developed and further guidance from CEDA’s Marketing and Communications Team meant Smith had a list of marketing must-dos, to ensure Waireka Honey was listed on all the right websites and connected with the relevant organisations. CEDA’s team work together closely to connect clients with the right internal support within the organisation and Waireka Honey sits at the intersection of two focus areas: agriculture and the visitor sector.
Smith attended several workshops and training for social media such as Facebook, which was partially funded through RBP’s training vouchers. She says the most valuable part of connecting with CEDA was guidance and clarity on a direction forward.
“This process has really shown me the value of investing in training and having a planned approach to the development of my business and any projects I wish to undertake. CEDA has given me the direction and tools to allow me to drive the process, do the work and invest in what I need to take my business to the next level.”
In late 2018, Smith had just completed a re-branding phase of Waireka Honey, a step she is most proud of.
“We have almost finished the re-branding phase, which includes a new logo, colours, tag lines and repainting the exterior of the shop. We have worked through some big projects and we are proud of our achievements. We can’t wait to work through the next stages.”
For more information about Waireka Honey, visit their website.
