The idea for Bit by Bit came about when two best friends had the same clear vision: to reduce unnecessary waste and chemicals on the planet and to create a clean and sustainable home where people feel at peace with the products they are using. After becoming parents, they became more aware of toxins entering their homes, and wanted to create a safe environment for their children. With their gentle, eco-friendly cleaning and body products, their refillable glass bottles and tea jars, loose leaf 100% organic teas and their refillery in Gisbourne, they are committed to educating and encouraging others to do their bit for their families and the environment, move away from single-use plastics, and live a waste-free, low-tox life.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
After both becoming mums, we became much more aware of the toxins that entered our homes. We wanted to create a clean and safe environment for our children to live in and reduce that worry – we had enough worries as new mums already! We started to make our own cleaning and skincare products, aiming to reduce waste where we could, especially wanting to eliminate single-use plastics. We have both always cared strongly for the environment and the world we live in, which also definitely inspired us to want to make a difference. So to create a business that reduced unnecessary waste and chemicals on our planet seemed a great place to start, as well as creating a clean and sustainable home where we can all feel at peace with the products we are using. After all, it’s not only the environment that matters but also our homes, our families and our own wellbeing. Educating and encouraging people to do their bit and break away from that society norm of getting their single use plastic cleaning products from the supermarket has been challenging at times, but super satisfying to see that change start to happen. It has also been rewarding seeing our customers come back time and time again, purchasing the refill pouches for their glass bottles online or for locals in Gisborne, bringing their bottles into our refillery to be filled up then and there.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
We had intended for Bit by Bit to be our side hustle/hobby where we sold at our local market and slowly added products as we went along. Just something we did in our spare time… but the more we did, and the more choices we made, we soon realised that if we were going to do this, we needed to do it properly. Before we knew it, we had a proper business in the making and everything we did, we wanted to do it once and do it well. We launched online in September of 2021, working out of one of our sheds, having spent the past few years researching, tracking down ingredients and packaging, working on branding and making products while juggling our family lives. We had a handful of amazing, loyal customers who would come to the house and refill, but as we grew, we knew we needed a proper shop space fast, to be able to offer more options and comfort to our customers for refilling. We opened our physical store in Gisborne in July 2022 and haven’t looked back since. The space was an old shed with broken concrete flooring, a roller door and graffiti on the walls. We poured our hearts into bringing our vision to life. That combined with the skill and patience of our wonderful tradie husbands, we now have a refill tap wall, an industrial sink to make our products in and plenty of space to store our products for packing and sending our online orders.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Creating our first refillery in New Zealand and breaking through the Gisborne market by getting our name out there organically has been our biggest breakthrough. The word has spread, and more and more locals are visiting our store on their own accord to make the switch to our products. It has been so great to be a part of and watch it unfold!
