Herbivore founder Craig Brown. The Bay of Plenty-based company makes plant-based butter. Photo / Supplied
Herbivore founder Craig Brown speaks to the Herald about the motivation behind their award-winning plant-based butter and their plans to grow their global presence.
What is herbivore?
A world class butter made from coconuts. He
Comes in premium 225g packs for groceries and 1kg sheets for foodservice.
What motivated you to start the business?
The planet. For us to have a positive impact and reduce emissions, we must address the three big things we (as individuals) can control: what we wear, our transportation, and the food we eat. Herbivorous produces about half the emissions of dairy butter.
What’s equally important is that consumers love it. Herbivore is a 1:1 butter substitute with a unique flavor profile. It can be melted, made into sauces, used in baking, anything made with bovine butter. Once people cook shrimp or fish with Herbivore, very few go back to dairy butter.
What were you doing before starting Herbivore?
I created an automotive B2B business called AutoPlay with a great friend of mine, Chris Nottingham. By the time we sold AutoPlay in 2019, more than 80 per cent of New Zealand motor vehicle dealership franchises had adopted it and it had expanded to Australia.
What process is involved in making Herbivore’s plant-based butter?
We buy our coconut from sustainable family farmers in the Philippines. We have production equipment that removes the meat from the coconut and dries it (this is called copra) and this is the base of our butter. We then naturally refine the copra, add the rest of our ingredients, mix and produce our butter.
How big is your team?
In New Zealand, we have a team of four people who work daily in the business, plus a very personable president who keeps us all focused. Our amazing production team is based in the Philippines.
When did you start the business and how much has it grown?
In 2020, in full confinement. It was an interesting time as we couldn’t travel to the factory floor, so like many of us, my online meeting skills grew! We are now on our fifth version of our butter. Once we managed to find a truly winning formula, our orders from award-winning bakers went from 10kg per month to full pallets. Food service companies love the fact that we are allergen-free and a simple 1.1 replacement. We are used in the kitchens of top restaurants, from Amisfield in Otago to Onslow in Auckland and everywhere in between.
Where are Herbivore products stored?
We are in 185 New World and Pak’nSave supermarkets. For bakers and chefs, we directly deliver our commercial sheets, designed for lamination. We are more competitively priced than traditional butter sheets and have a fixed price – no more seasonal fluctuations in food costs.
How have you financed the business?
There are five shareholders. We have all invested our own funds and are driving our growth. One day soon, we may have to consider external investment, as growth demands it!
What have been your biggest challenges in business to date?
They have pigeonholed us. We are 100 percent plant-based and proud of that fact. However, Herbivore is no poor cousin to bovine butter and is not only suitable for vegans. More than 90 percent of our customers are omnivores; They love Herbivore for its flavor, texture and yield. Some people just don’t try us because we are plant-based, that’s frustrating!
What have been your highlights so far?
Two big wins: First, when we were still in our testing stage, Tart Bakery won the New Zealand Supreme Vegan Pie award, using our butter. The next day TVNZ did a report on it and the judges said they wanted to raid the bakery to find out what their butter substitute was as it was so creamy and tasty. To achieve that so early in our journey was incredible.
Secondly, winning the Foodstuffs Emerge Award after just 10 weeks on shelves was an absolute dream and has seen us stocked in supermarkets across the country.
Where do you see the business in the next two or three years?
The global plant-based foods market is projected to grow to US$85 billion by 2030. From our perspective, the plant-based foods opportunity has shifted from milk to butter, across the food aisle. dairy. We are working to become a 100 tonne per month business and have a global presence. We have started exporting to Asia and next week we will leave for Europe and the UK. Our focus is growth in the B2B foodservice space and at the same time B2C through groceries; Both are enormous opportunities.
What is your advice to other people thinking about starting their own business?
Do it! Be very clear about your point of difference and why you are doing what you are doing; then wait. It’s an incredible trip!