The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Launching Hark & Zander during Covid was an interesting time indeed! But because we were classed as essential and were online, our sales kept increasing fortunately. And I think an international pandemic has made everyone more aware of their own health, what they use on their bodies and how we look after our environment.
We have had major challenges with the perception of hemp – this has changed a lot overseas but we still have a lot more education to do as an industry in New Zealand. Hemp is so good for our bodies and the planet in so many ways, but often people think of it as a drug… which can cause issues with advertising, as you can imagine.
We have also had packaging woes along the road. We had leaking pumps on one early product run that needed more gaskets, so unfortunately 4000 new pumps had to go into recycling. Fortunately, we had 10,000 pumps in stock at the time so this didn’t impact on our production dates. But we take all these hits as learning curves and a reminder of how far we have come, and we can have a laugh about it now.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I love creating, so I am very inspired and motivated by seeing something in my head come to life. I love showing value, and I can do this by creating effective products that people love, and I love creating workplaces where people thrive and enjoy coming to work. So all these things drive me. I have been in business for over 20 years, with this as my 4th company, so I have learnt a lot.
As a working mum, it can be harder to turn off from work if it goes after hours. I try not to use my phone while I am with my daughter as it takes the attention away from her time with me. I don’t want her to think negatively about Mummy working. We even have a small trampoline in the office for her which she loves. Making it a life where ‘work’ is enjoyable and all inclusive is important to me.
The reviews, the feedback from our clients: They are the best pros – they inspire us all here at Hark & Zander and drive us forward.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
We are working on launching on Amazon and bringing our beautiful natural New Zealand products to Australia and beyond! We are also in development phase on some exciting new products that have more effective New Zealand botanical goodness in them. We have so many scientifically proven botanicals available to us here in New Zealand that the limitations are only in our own heads.
We want to share this New Zealand goodness with the world!
Visit the Hark & Zander website to find out more, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
