Firms clamber for Fern Mark

Hayden Syers, NZ Mint's chief operating officer, says the Fern Mark is like a stamp of quality. Photo / Janna Dixon

An increasing number of New Zealand exporters are seeing the value of stamping themselves as officially Kiwi.

A comparable rush of firms have applied to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise for the right to use the Fern Mark in the past year.

The Brand Partner programme - where businesses meet a strict set of criteria in order to be able to include the Fern Mark in their marketing - has been going since 1992 and has more than 70 members.

However, 30 of those companies have been accepted within the last year.

NZTE brand manager Henry Matthews said there had been renewed interest from exporters, probably helped by large "New Zealand Inc" events such as the Shanghai Expo.

International consumers were now more discerning about where their products and services come from, and this country had an enviable reputation for integrity and transparency, he said.

"New Zealand companies have a growing sense of maturity and the power of their own story to achieve a premium." It was not a "made in New Zealand" programme but represented a set of values that Kiwi firms stood for, he said.

The world now had a better sense of New Zealand's tourism offer and it helped to tell the full story. "It's a win-win for Brand New Zealand to have reputable exporters and businesses supporting the programme."

Firms needed to have been exporting for at least two years. They went through a vetting process upfront to inform them of the criteria, and were then assessed by quality assurance provider Qualmark. The process could be completed in a matter of weeks, he said.

The New Zealand Mint is one of the latest companies to be accepted into the programme.

It mints legal tender commemorative coins, gold bullion and medallions, and its biggest export markets are Russia and Eastern Europe, where commemorative coins are popular.

Chief operating officer Hayden Syers said he couldn't say whether being part of the programme generated any additional revenue for the company.

But the Fern Mark was like a quality mark of New Zealand.

"In a way, it's really just a professional board of New Zealand businesses that export and this is the kind of club you belong to."

Syers said the application process was not as onerous as companies might think. The worksheet it had needed to go through was substantial but straightforward.

Companies must demonstrate they meet at least 70 per cent of the criteria, broken up into categories such as customers and products, financial performance, environmental performance and safety and welfare. Each category had a different weighting attached, he said.

The company put together a team including Syers, a marketing person, and the mint master to work on the requirements.

New Zealand Mint had been exporting for four to five years and had many of the systems already in place.

Qualmark then came in and interviewed them.

"We were quite, 'Oh gosh, what is this going to be like?'

"But actually they were pretty fair."

New Zealand Mint now used the Fern Mark on its website and was looking at putting it on its packaging.

The company had also applied for and received NZTE funding to help with the various coin fairs it attended around the world each year.

Companies which are part of NZTE's Better By Design and Beachheads programmes automatically become Brand Partners.

Outdoor lighting company Hunzer Lighting International "certainly had to jump through a few hoops" to become part of Better By Design, managing director Frank Davis said.

"You have to do quite a lot of soul searching as a company and go through a complete analysis of everything that you do."

Hunzer had to re-analyse what its brand stood for, he said. Out of that came its "New Zealand-ishness". New Zealand was renowned internationally among film-makers and photographers for the quality of its light, and the company now uses the strapline "pure New Zealand lights".

"The Brand Partnership slotted in quite nicely to that. It helps to put a stamp of authenticity on it."

How it works:

Categories have different weightings in the Fern Mark assessment.

Customers: 15 per cent
Products and markets: 10 per cent
Manufacturing: 10 per cent
Staff: 15 per cent
Financial performance: 15 per cent
Environmental performance: 7 per cent
Health and safety: 8 per cent
Overall business operations: 20 per cent
Total: 100 per cent.


Do you have any SME issues that we should be investigating? If so contact maria.slade@hos.co.nz