News

By NICK CHURCHOUSE - The Dominion Post | Monday, 17 March 2008

ROBERT KITCHIN/Dominion Post

Shott Beverages is about as classic a business story as you can get. Find a product; do it better, smarter and prettier than the competition; make it yourself and undercut the market.

Realising New Zealand cafes relied on imported syrups for coffee flavouring, Shott directors Tami Louisson and Richard Plimmer set up a co-owned business working out of the Nectar Juices plant in Petone to offer a better product.

Coffee syrups, largely supplied to New Zealand by French company Monin, are designed very sweet for American palates, their largest market.

Tailoring the product to suit regional tastes fitted with the small start-up, and being locally made and cheaper gave them an easy sell over the competition.

A conversation led the company, keenly tuned to opportunities, to start making a lemon, ginger and honey mix, something cafes made themselves.

Natural ingredients, including a custom blend of South Island clover honey, gave the product the taste Ms Louisson remembered from her childhood in Israel, and a little experimentation with the blend made it look good, too.

Within months rival beverage company Charlie's had come up with a similar line, Mr Plimmer said, but it could not match their finished product.

Using quality ingredients meant the lemon, ginger and honey drink did not last forever, turning some retailers off. "I tell them it is something to be proud of. The freshness is an asset," Mr Plimmer said.

With Nectar Juices being owned by Ms Louisson and her husband and already set up for bottling, Shott Beverages keeps production in-house, maintaining control and carving off margins that would otherwise go to outsourcing.

Now used in about half of Wellington's cafes after just 18 months on the market, Shott has $600,000 in turnover - and the business pair plan to crack $1 million by mid year. "And we'll probably double in size every year for the next five years," Mr Plimmer said.

The lemon, ginger and honey product has spawned some interesting opportunities, with the odd misunderstanding opening up ideas to use it as a marinade or a mixer for gin and vodka.

For now, Shott is content if everyone turns it into a hot toddy to ward off winter ills or to replace their morning coffee.

"People are definitely moving to alternatives to the daily caffeine fix," Ms Louisson said.