Sometimes singing from the same hymn sheet is all an industry needs to build a reputation that’s solid and compelling to global consumers. This rings particularly true on an international scale – when unity and consistency send a strong signal about a country and its values.
I’m excited to reveal New Zealand Story’s latest collaboration that is helping this very concept come to life for one of New Zealand’s most promising product sectors. New Zealand Story and Natural Health Products New Zealand have joined forces to create a sector ‘story’, which champions the unique attributes of our natural health products sector.
With global product consumption reflecting the growing desire for healthy and trusted products, the story’s suite of compelling promotional material targeting overseas buyers and consumers couldn’t be more timelier for exporters.
Now, more than ever, a united industry story offers a competitive advantage, as consumers seek legitimate and safe health products sector-wide.
Recent consumer research tells us there is more awareness and trust in New Zealand products, especially from audiences in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and North America.
As global consumers place more attention on their family’s health, the preference for natural products has grown. Exporters can leverage New Zealand’s positive brand reputation as a head start to connect their products with quality and authenticity.
The ‘story’ we’ve created for the sector’s free use encompasses a hero video, images, factoids and helpful messaging, ready to be shared in international markets.
The ‘story’ empowers exporters with a collective, national ‘brand voice’ that illustrates a united ethos amongst New Zealand’s dynamic natural health product industry:
- New Zealand’s natural health products sector is large and diverse, offering more than 10,000 types of products and services
- It employs more than 4,000 people, contributes $2.296 billion in combined revenue to the economy and has export sales of $652.3 million
- Leading markets include Australia, China, UK/Europe and US/Canada
- The most popular export products are nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbal products, probiotics and functional foods
We got together with leading businesses from the sector to define what sets our natural health products apart from the rest of the world. I’d like to thank everyone who was involved with this process: Natural Health Products New Zealand, Alaron Products, Ciprian Consulting Limited, Comvita, GO Healthy, Kite Contracting, Sue Millinchip, Quantec Limited, Vitaco Health Limited and Wakatū Incorporation.
I’m proud of the collective story we’ve developed for New Zealand’s natural health products. We’ve established five defining elements as part of the sector’s story:
- A passion for health and wellness – New Zealanders care deeply about the quality of the health and wellness products we produce
- As New Zealanders, we’re a product of the land; our people and the environment are as one and the purity of our environment allows us to produce some of the best natural ingredients in the world
- The best of both worlds - the industry leverages both traditional knowledge and conventional science to develop world-class products
- Ingenuity and innovation – the industry works with Crown Research Institutes to develop the capability and scientific knowledge to create customised products
- Integrity and trust – New Zealand has some of the strictest bio-security, safety and process standards in the world
If you’re part of a health and wellness business thinking about your marketing story in your export markets, I’d encourage you to browse through our assets.
Assets include a sector story video, B-roll footage and royalty-free images, key messages, an industry presentation and how-to guide. These materials are free to all exporters and organisations with an international audience.
All materials and the video can be accessed from the New Zealand Story Toolkit.
