Have you ever told someone that you packed “Jandals” for your lake trip instead of “flip-flops?” That is the generalised usage of trademarks. It is an everyday phenomenon that occurs when a brand name gains popularity. Generally, people use it as a standard term in place of a product or an action. Even though New Zealand is sometimes skipped on the world map, some Kiwi brands are instantly recognised.
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What Sets Kiwi Brands Apart?
New Zealand companies have perceived the gaps in the market and filled them with sustainable, community-driven products. The brands invest in authenticity and genuine connections. They tend to invite their customers into the New Zealand way of life. Māori culture has greatly influenced most NZ brands’ founding members, current leadership and shareholders. What sets them apart on national and global levels is:
- Promotion and acquisition of small businesses
- Focus on quality over quantity
- Community engagement
- Incorporation of cultural values and the infamous NZ humour
Like Jandals, a portmanteau of “Japanese sandals,” many NZ brands have interesting success stories behind how they became common household names.
Whittaker’s Chocolate
Often compared to Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory, Whittaker’s is a 129-year-old chocolate and confectionery brand established by English settler James H. Whittaker in 1891. It remains a family-owned international business, now led by fourth-generation members Holly and Matt Whittaker. The most famous Whittaker’s products are peanut-flavoured slabs of milk chocolate and 250g Creamy Milk blocks. Through innovative personalisation, a focus on local production and employment of renewable energy for manufacturing, the brand has built a name that symbolises national pride for many. The company does clever marketing via celebrity collaborations and strong community involvement. It is well-known for its ethically sourced, high-quality cocoa and classic gold wrapping. Reader’s Digest has awarded Whittaker’s the title of “New Zealand’s Most Trusted Brand” 14 years in a row.
Fonterra’s Milk
Initiated in the early 1900s, farmer-owned cooperatives have been a defining feature of New Zealand agriculture for over a century. Fonterra Co-operative Ltd. Group was the first extensive merger of NZ’s top dairy collectives—New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies—along with the New Zealand Dairy Board. Following complex negotiations and even leadership resignations, Fonterra was finally created in 2001. It controls almost one-third of the international dairy oligopoly and contributes 7 per cent to the country’s GDP. Inspired by the community values and sustainability principles of Māori culture, Fonterra is a member-owned democratic organisation. Its companies, Anchor, Anlene and Mainland, are dominating worldwide. Anchor Milk goes through 300 quality tests and is popular in its home country as well as with Sri Lankan mothers.
SkyCity’s Casinos
Five of the six legally operating casinos in New Zealand are owned by the SkyCity Entertainment Group. The Sky Tower in Auckland, the company’s oldest and most famous casino subdivision, is a nightlife and sightseeing attraction. The tower represents the entertainment and gambling company’s approach to combining urban tourism culture with leisure. SkyCity’s development as a gambling company has not been without challenges, such as public debates and licensing issues. However, it cannot be disregarded that the corporation has taken significant steps to shape the tourism industry of Aotearoa. From organising light shows on New Year’s Eve to sponsoring cultural and sports events, SkyCity has been building and maintaining the jewels of New Zealand’s city lines for almost three decades. It has also entered the digital space by launching the SkyCity Online Casino in 2019.
Allbirds’ Shoes
Tim Brown, ex-soccer athlete and co-founder of Allbirds, formed the company by raising $119,000 in a Kickstarter campaign in 2014. It took him just five days to collect the funds. Tim Brown had witnessed the startling increase in the usage of synthetic plastics and the slow decline of Merino wool in the market. Brown, alongside Joey Zwillinger, converted Allbirds into a billion-dollar company in four years. Their sustainable strategy consists of offering three models of eco-friendly shoe pairs. Allbirds’ branding encourages a fabric of everyone’s choice—Lyocell, made of tree fibre sourced from natural rainfall in South African forests. The company takes it a step further by using one recycled water bottle to produce one pair of laces. With all their efforts, the 2021 Allbirds Flight Plan to reduce the company’s carbon footprint by 50% is on schedule.
Speight’s Beer
Speight’s is a culmination of three friends quitting their jobs to materialise James Speight’s dream of building a brewery. Since 1876, the Speight building has been a local landmark in Dunedin, New Zealand. Strong Gold Medal Ale beer—named after winning the Up-and-Coming Business award at the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879—is the company’s most famous product. Alongside its options of draught-style lager and ale hybrids, Speight’s staple drink series Speight’s Craft and Speight’s Summit symbolise the stereotypical “Southern man,” which was also a selling point of a long-running national marketing campaign. The three pointed stars in the company logo signify Speight’s winning three gold medals in three different countries in 1877.
Conclusion
These brands evoke national pride, symbolise the authenticity of Kiwis, and are imbibed into everyday activities and conversations across the country. Whether it’s Whittaker’s white chocolate being a shared delight in offices or Jandals being a trusted pair of sandals for any trip, they are stories passed down from one Kiwi to another.