Bay of Plenty beverage company Wai Mānuka expands in New York, prepares for Amazon launch
Their US distribution partner is covering most of the 15% tariff, a move Harawira said reflected confidence in market-fit and product potential.
Wai Mānuka is also preparing to launch on Amazon in New York City, giving 10 to 12 million local users the option to have the non-alcoholic elixir delivered directly to their doors.
'This will give us an opportunity to engage directly with customers, build loyalty, and expand our reach,' Harawira said.
Interest is also growing from other key states, including Texas, Chicago, and Los Angeles. But for now, the focus remained on building a strong foundation in New York before expanding too quickly.
Wai Mānuka is seeking investors who bring not only capital but strategic value to help accelerate growth.
'It's capital-intensive to grow a brand in the US,' Harawira said.
Joe Harawira and Hayley Hiroki at The Bean in Whakatāne, one of the local outlets for Wai Mānuka.
'We're gaining 25 new accounts every month, and the key is consistent sell-through at scale.'
To reduce landed costs, minimise environmental impact, and navigate tariff hurdles, the company is exploring US-based manufacturing.
Harawira is working closely with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, his US partners, and other industry leads to assess the opportunity.
In a further boost, Harawira has been selected to join a New Zealand trade delegation meeting with native American investors and executives, exploring new pathways for indigenous business collaboration.
He will meet them later this month.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
3 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Amberley brewery 'stoked' to bring home coveted award
The Brew Moon team celebrates at the awards ceremony. Richard Robb (Bintani NZ, left), Oscar McCauley, Joel McSavenay, Dani Wild, Jack MacMillan. PHOTO: SUPPLIED An Amberley-based brewing company has brought home a coveted International Lager trophy from the recent NZ Beer Awards in Christchurch. The winning Czech Please Pilsner is a long-standing favourite in the Brew Moon Brewing Company line-up. It marks the first trophy win for Brew Moon in its 20-plus-year history, despite a strong track record of medal wins. The award also enhances its reputation as one of Aotearoa's leading independent breweries. Brewery manager Oscar McCauley says the team was "stoked" to get this level of recognition from the judges. "These awards are incredibly competitive, with over 600 entries from around Australasia, judged by the best in the business. "It makes it extra sweet to win with one of our classic, go-to beers - and in a category as stacked as International Lager." Dani Wild. Photo: Facebook The award-winning batch was brewed by Head Brewer Dani Wild, who joined Brew Moon just a few months ago. Remarkably, this was only her second Pilsner brew on the Brew Moon system. "Dani is so meticulous and detailed in everything she does," Oscar says. "The amount of data she captures for every brew is mind-blowing. This trophy is a huge credit to her process and her skill." Brew Moon's Dark Side of the Moon Stout also scored a gold medal, and six other beers from the brewery earned Silver and Bronze medals, making for a clean sweep of eight entries, eight medals. "It's awesome to show that level of consistency across the whole range,'' Oscar says. Brew Moon's award-winning beers are available at the Amberley taproom and select stockists nationwide.
NZ Herald
14 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Jamie Beaton's new venture Concord Visa aims to simplify US visa pathways for Kiwis
Concord charges between US$6500 ($10,912) and US$10,000 to shepherd an individual through a O-1 application, which Beaton says can potentially be approved in just over a month ('Concord' is a reference to speed). The price is pitched as being around 40% the rate charged by a law firm specialising in immigration (the traditional route). The US$10,000 tier offers more assistance 'building your profile'. Chance meeting As with Crimson, Concord was born in part out of Beaton's own experience, after earning the first of his (now half dozen) US post-graduate degrees at Princeton. 'When I first came to the US, I was on the F1, the student visa. And I wasn't really sure how one stays in the US post-degree for an extended period of time,' Beaton said. 'Getting an O-1 visa was totally random. I bumped into a fellow Kiwi entrepreneur, Divya Dhar, who mentioned she's secured a green card through this mystical process. After going through the application, I managed to land my visa, enabling me to build Crimson at full speed." Beaton said even with the serendipity of meeting Dhar, it was a slog, with around 200 pages of paperwork, and, as with trying to penetrate the Ivy League, it can be hard for a novice to navigate the best path. He sees a 'massive information barrier', now compounded by a growing AI slop of misinformation online. The New Zealander still has an O-1, today, which he's renewed several times. He says once you've secured it, the visa is relatively straightforward to renew. Beaton co-founded Concord with Kevin Park, a fellow Auckland University grad who is familiar with the ins and outs of immigration through his former role as Crimson's shock trooper, setting up beachheads in a series of countries during the firm's early days. "Trump is throwing visa bombs left, right and centre,' says Jamie Beaton (left), here with Concord Visa co-founder Kevin Park. 'Crimson went from one country to 20 really fast, with plenty of messy chaos, with Kevin and many other great folks leading the charge to go through that baptism by fire.' 'Trump throwing visa bombs' There's plenty of messy chaos in the US now, of course – though these days it's more likely to emanate from the White House. Beaton says Concord recently helped a crypto entrepreneur from China gain a visa to build his firm in the US. 'It's really exciting to see cases like this, especially as Trump is throwing visa bombs left, right and centre,' Beaton says. 'A lot of our families are very keen to have clarity as to what a multi-year journey looks like in America or other countries, and this is really designed to be that next step in the Crimson journey for them.' Park says it's important to get all your paperwork correct. But, as with trying to get into Harvard or Yale, it's also a matter of putting together the right 'narrative' for the talent-based O-1, which is often restricted to around 10,000 people each year. Park says Concord offers more than 10 types of visas, including those in various skills shortage categories, and will match a candidate to the best type. His pitch is that traditional immigration advisers are often used to dealing with the requirements of big corporates. He and Beaton are more savvy about the potential quirks and complications of smaller firms, like Silicon Valley startups, where a funding round or change of ownership can pull the rug out from under an E2 visa (a business investment and employee transfer visa that has been another traditionally popular way for Kiwis to set up shop in the US). A venture capital round that brings in a range of international investors would see a US-based firm majority-owned offshore, and an E2 visa holder suddenly asked to leave the country within 60 days, Park says. The firm also helps with immigration into Australia, Britain and New Zealand. Beaton says the business is a natural extension of Crimson, which has helped 'several thousand' students secure F1 visas. Although only up and running for a few months, Concord has already helped more than 100 people secure US visas, Beaton and Park say. Their hero client is Auckland brand-tracking start-up Tracksuit, which has been pushing into the US after a $42 million raise this year. Inside help It also helped the East Auckland-raised Wayne Zhou secure an O-1 visa for his move from Australia to the US as his Silicon Valley-based startup staged a US$20m Series A raise. Macleans College old boy Zhou has quite the backstory. He enrolled at the University of Sydney but was only two years into a seven-year path to a Doctor of Dentistry ('my immigrant parents' dream') before he dropped out. Zhou had been running a recruitment consultancy as a side hustle. 'I was basically helping my friends get jobs in the best industries; in finance, investment banking and professional services,' he says. 'Ruler', as he called his careers platform, blossomed during his second year, as the 2020 Covid lockdown hit – to the point where he left university. Crimson acquired Ruler in 2022, and Zhou stayed on until mid-2023, until striking out on his own again to form a fintech called Verve. 'It flopped,' he says. A year ago, he founded Paraform, 'a recruiting marketplace that connects companies with a network of specialised recruiters to fill their hardest roles'. With backing from the founders of Canva, among others, his start-up quickly grew to 40 staff, with plans for 100 by year's end. It's a roller-coaster story, especially for someone yet to hit 30. But how should it be framed in a bid for an O-1 talent visa? Zhou says the Concord consultant assigned to him had previously worked on the other side of the fence, where she had conducted more than 10,000 visa interviews while with the US Embassy in Australia. Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald's business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
Otago Daily Times
14 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Funds to buy community hub fall short
The former Baptist church and hall on the corner of North Rd and Calder Ave. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN "We tried, but could not get over the last hurdle." That was the message from a trio of grassroots organisations that have been trying to raise the funds to buy the former Baptist Church at 270 North Rd — a community hub at present. The sold signs went up last Thursday on the former church site and the house behind it, at 6 Calder St. Harcourts International real estate agent Jim Packer confirmed the sale, and said settlement would be in December. He was unable to elaborate on the buyer, or the price. The site had been listed on the market by Auckland-based Baptist Churches of New Zealand for $820,000. Mr Packer said the other neighbouring house, at 268 North Rd, remained on the market. Since the three properties were put up for sale in May, local community organisations the Valley Baptist Community Trust, The Valley Project and Valley Community Workspace had been trying to raise the funds to buy it. In a statement, The Valley Project executive chairman James Sutherland said their bid had been unsuccessful. "Unfortunately, the new owner of the community centre is not going to be the community," the statement said. "We will still be in the centre till the end of the year and will work with the new owner to explore options of keeping the centre if that is what they intend, while working on a Plan B in case we have to vacate the building. "We are sorry we were unable to get this across the line, but we want to thank all of the community who donated and connected us with others in the community," Mr Sutherland said. The community hub, which now occupies the space, is accessed by about 60 local, grassroots organisations, including early childhood education, dance and karate lessons, a playgroup and community events. The boards of The Valley Project, Valley Community Workspace and North East Valley Baptist Community Trust will continue to explore options for community facilities.
