Export Week

Amplify is pleased to launch, for the first time, a Taupo District Export Week.  The theme for the week is ‘THINK BIG”.

The events for our Export Week are aimed at promoting export awareness as well as to inspire the next level of exporters in the Taupo District.  Promoting export oriented industries not only creates employment opportunities but also grows the region as a whole.

The  program will commence with a mini expo on Tuesday 14th of June showcasing five successful local exporting businesses as well as two NZ export success speakers presenting on their export journey together with an overview of exporting by NZTE.

Our exhibitors include:

Zealandia Honey: Zealandia Honey® was established in 2019 by three like-minded individuals with the purpose and vision to supply premium manuka honey worldwide from Taupō. Our first export was to India and followed by USA in 2019, and the list increased to many more in 2020 and beyond.  For our team starting our business in Great Lake Taupō is very special and we call it a paradise for a reason. With so much natural bush around us, the maunga, the lake and the rivers, just make it all even more alluring to tell our brand provenance story. Much of our premium honey is in high demand overseas because of our geographical location, relatively pollution free and fertile soils have all contributed to our export success.  To add to that, our distinct labelling, innovation and using science to create unique selling points have all made it even more appealing to our distributors, stockists and end consumers alike.

Novel Ways: Some people count sheep to get to sleep – Graham Lynch sees cows moving happily along a race,

unaided, toward the milking shed or feedpad – because of the Novel Ways Batt-Latch automatic gate release timer. Graham set up Novel Ways (NW) in 1990 in Hamilton, initially doing computer repairs, and in 2018 Graham sold the design development part of the business and brought two key agricultural products - the Batt-Latch and the GrassMaster Pro - to Taupō.

From selling 56 units in 1995, there are now more than 12,500 Batt-Latch gate timers out there! Overseas sales/exports represent 60% of total annual sales. Destinations include Australia, United States, Canada and South America, Europe and the UK for dairy or dry stock applications, and in places like Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the Batt-Latch units are used for feeding and/or releasing horses to new areas.

The GrassMaster Pro uses the well-established capacitance method to estimate drymatter in a paddock to derive kilograms of dry matter per hectare – it’s a useful planning tool for farmers. Almost 2,000 GrassMaster instruments have now been sold – with around a third going overseas. Novel Ways operates from a modern commercial workshop in the Ashwood Business Park and provides part-time contract work for a number of local people to undertake the final

manufacturing stages of their key products. Graham and the team’s focus is on further development of the products and increasing sales both in NZ and overseas.

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Taupo Beef & Lamb: Mike and Sharon in 2011 developed the Taupo Beef – ‘Grown right here’ brand to test the assertion that consumers will pay a premium for high quality beef that is grown in a manner that protects the water quality of Lake Taupo. The brand claims are verified by Waikato Regional Council using an appellation that endorses the results of the catchment wide plan to protect the lake. Taupo Beef and Lamb is sold throughout the North Island and has been successfully exported to Japan for the last 3 years.  In 2014 Mike and Sharon won the Supreme Award at the Waikato Balance Farm Environment Awards. In the same year Mike was awarded a QSM for Services to Farming and the Environment in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List. In 2015 Taupo Beef Ltd won the Sustainable Business Awards Supreme Award “For the Business making the Greatest Contribution to a Sustainable NZ.”

Bellwether: A data hardware analytics company - from what people drive and what they eat and where they buy. Bellweather are here to create and grow a large technology export company and create quality employment opportunities back to NZ.  Owner, Phil believes now is the time for his New Zealand tech company to attract customers from offshore to his unique offer.

We have an excellent line-up of speakers who are keen to share their export journies and experience with you:

Lucy McLeod from Miraka: Lucy is the General Manager Supply Chain at Miraka and has been with the business for over 10 years.  Prior to joining Miraka Lucy spent 15 years working in various aspects of the supply chain in the fashion industry, including sales, manufacture, design and export.  Lucy has no regrets about swapping her career in the clothing and fashion industry of London to enter the dairy industry here in Taupō. She has overseen the streamlining of the Miraka supply operation with new direct-to-customer warehousing and transportation systems. She's very much a people-person, focused on key account management, developing harmonious relationships and ensuring the efficiency in the Miraka supply chain is matched by establishing and nurturing positive client rapport. It's always about people, Lucy says.

Greig Brebner from Blunt Umbrellas: Having grown up in New Zealand, Greig Brebner feels intrinsically connected to both the land and the ocean and this connection to nature formed a deep sense of purpose to help reduce our negative impact on the world, through innovative product design.  Greig is an engineer, a product designer and a creator, and is best known as the inventor of the BLUNT Umbrella.  After training as a Mechanical Engineer at the University of Auckland, he was inspired to 're-invent' the humble umbrella while doing his OE in London in 1999. His journey with BLUNT has seen the transformation of an everyday, ordinary and disposable product to a globally loved accessory to be cherished for life.  BLUNT umbrellas have a unique, patented and trademarked shape, formed by the technology within the umbrella tip, and are the only umbrellas on the market with a fully tensioned canopy for unparalleled performance. The end result of the deeply engineered technology in a BLUNT umbrella means that no matter the weather, you will always have the confidence of unparalleled protection.  BLUNT umbrellas are designed for life, with a repair before replace ethos enabling consumers to have their umbrellas repaired anywhere in the world. This philosophy has flipped what was once a disposable commodity on its head, giving consumers a better and more sustainable choice.  BLUNT Umbrellas’ journey in the export market hasn’t been easy sailing but they never gave up, stuck to their vision and came out the other side with a high-quality innovative product that has changed the world of umbrellas.

Paul Vaughan from NZTE: Regional manager in the Waikato, Paul works with a diverse portfolio of companies in the food and beverage sector, predominantly dairy focused. Prior to this role, he worked extensively with  Waikato agritech exporters. Within NZTE he has had sector management roles for wine, organics and agritechnology.  Paul has worked overseas with NZTE in Peru, Chile, Spain, Malaysia and India so has a good grasp of working in a range of export markets, and with a range of distinct business cultures. Paul is very happy to work with all export customers for NZTE from the small to the large.

If you are already exporting or currently working on a product with export potential, then Export Week will be a great platform for you to learn more about the export process including emerging trends, international manufacture, trading with other countries, compliance and much more.