1. LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

2. LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

3. MY EXPERIENCE OF CREATING A NICHE PRODUCT IN NEW ZEALAND THE LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY STORY

4. SOME RANDOM FACTS We’ve been trading for 3 ½ years
We have ~$50 million RSV
#1 Business delivering supermarket growth of $20M in the last 12 months
Our butters are growing at a compound rate of 55%.
We have 50% of the organic milk market and have quadrupled the organic milk segment
We’ve achieved 50+% of the flavoured milk market
Our ice creams are No.1, 2 & 3 in the Premium segment
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

5. IT ALL STARTED WITH AN IDEA
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

6. BASED ON A SIMPLE AMBITION~ TO CREATE A PREMIUM DAIRY BRAND TO BE PROUD OF
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

7. QUALITY BEFORE QUANTITY
New Zealand’s historic weakness is that our producers focus too much on commodities, technology and thin margins, to win sales. It all started in 1882.
Lewis Road Creamery was formed as something of a personal mission to prove that there was demand for and value in quality dairy products
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

8. IT’S A CHAOTIC PROCESS
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

9. A THOUSAND THINGS AT ONCE
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

10. OUR FIRST ATTEMPT WAS A DISASTER
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

11. BUT IT LED TO THIS
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

12. MEANWHILE, IT WAS BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

13. THE CREAMERY - REALITY
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

14. ‘The biggest impediment to success is the fear of looking foolish’
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

15. OUR FIRST PRODUCT CAME SECOND…
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

16. The Stan Shih Smile Curve
Higher
Concept/R&D
Sales/After Service
Value
Branding
Marketing
Design
Distribution
Manufacturing
Lower
Production Chain
Time

17. OUR ORGANIC MILK RANGE
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

18. OUR PREMIUM MILKS
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19. LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

20. LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY CHOCOLATE MILK WITH CHOCOLATE FROM WHITTAKER’S

21. Customers queuing for hours to buy it
THE “CHOCOLYPSE”
Customers queuing for hours to buy it
Supermarkets rationed 1-2 bottles per customer
Counterfeit product emerged
Black market had it selling for 5x retail price
Articles in all major daily newspapers
6 PM News & TV features, dozens of radio interviews, hundreds of online news platforms
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

22. NOW THE FAMILY IS GROWING
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

23. OUR LATEST ADDITION
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

24. SOCIAL MEDIA, IN COMBINATION WITH P.R. AND ‘RIFLE SHOT’ ADVERTISING
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

25. AND THERE ARE A RAFT OF NEW PRODUCTS ON THE WAY
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

26. SOME THINGS YOU MIGHT LEARN FROM THIS
A BRAND’S SUCCESS IS EQUAL PARTS PRODUCT AND ‘BRANDING’
Our mantra is ‘the branding has to be perfect and the product has to be better’
Brands can be created and old brands superseded in record time
Nothing is sacred
Don’t under-rate ignorance
Move quickly. Course correct. ‘Fail fast’
Don’t over-think things
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

27. MY ADVICE TO YOU
Decide what you want to achieve and calibrate your resources in line with your ambitions.
Decide if you’re part of the ‘HERITAGE BREEDS’ movement or you want to stand alone.
Decide how far up the value chain you want to go.
If you want to create added value, you have to have a ‘COMPELLING REASON TO BELIEVE’
What is it that Guernsey milk and cream provides to savvy consumers that others don’t?
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

28. MY ADVICE TO YOU
Find someone to work with. Don’t feel you have to do it alone.
Find a signature product that represents your values and benefits
Find the best ‘POINT OF ENTRY” to the consumer’s heart, mind and fridge.
The branding has to be brilliant, the product better. But neither one is sufficient without the other.
Establish clever ways to get your message out. Think about key influencers – restaurateurs, foodies.
Use ‘new media’ to spread the word efficiently
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

29. MY ADVICE TO YOU
Look to others and what they’ve achieved. In New Zealand, Angus Beef has carved out a serous market.
Find other examples, use them as the basis to judge your own efforts.
Set realistic expectations.
Then burn the bridges and go for it.
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

30. ‘Live dangerously, take things as they come, dread nought,
all will be well’
Winston Churchill ‘
LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY

31. LEWIS ROAD CREAMERY