Small Business: Southern charm with the Crafty Weka Bar

Made in Christchurch, Crafty Weka Bars are packed with protein, fibre, and whole grains with no artificial colourings or flavourings.

David Dunn, co-founder of The Crafty Weka Bar, talks to Tom Raynel about starting his own business after decades in the industry, and why his business philosophy sets him up for success. Each Monday, we interview a small business owner, which is now a regular feature of NZME’s editorial campaign On The Up, showcasing uplifting stories of success, inspiration and possibilities.

What is The Crafty Weka Bar?

My wife Claire and I developed The Crafty Weka Bar to have a point of difference in the market, we wanted to develop something that was completely different from what’s been offered. Our ethos was really to have something that was good for you and good for the planet.

We just use whole foods, no artificial colourings or flavourings or anything like that, so it’s nature’s colours and flavours only. We make them here in Christchurch, and our bars are packed with protein, fibre, and whole grains. They’re tasty, incredibly satisfying and perfect for on the go.

What inspired you to start the business?

Claire and I have a long history working in food manufacturing. I also do a lot of cycling and so forth. One of my buddies said to me, Danny, being my nickname because of my surname Dan, he said, “Why don’t you make a decent bloody snack bar?” I went, yeah, all right.

So we sold the bakery and pursued this. We’d only been a standalone business for six months and then all of a sudden we got hit with the Covid like everybody else did. For two years, it was lucky enough we managed to get our product into the supermarkets early enough, so we’re able to keep producing.

The Crafty Weka Bar was founded by David Dunn and his wife Claire, who have been in business together since they were 20.

What goes into your products, and why is a sustainable lifestyle so important?

Well, it finishes up the complexion of any business, right? We put a thought behind everything we do, right from the manufacturer, we’re vertically integrated so we manage every section of our business.

Then it was the importance of the right foods, the right ingredients, sulphate-free and all that. We use 100% natural sugars, including New Zealand mānuka blend honey, coconut sugar and natural fruits.

Then we topped it off with some pretty cool packaging. Some people say, oh, you’re double packaging, right? But it’s all compostable, it’s all plant-based and it will break down. It was a double cost for us to do that sort of packaging. So we’ve sort of gone from head to toe to try to achieve every element of that process of our business.

What’s it like getting to launch a business with your wife?

Claire and I have never not worked together, so we’ve been in business together since we were 20. We had a business, we’re basically unemployable, we’ve always been self-employed.

We’ve been working together all that time and it definitely has its challenges, but so does any relationship that you have, whether it’s married or work relationships or whatever. We know how each other operates, there’s lots of married couples or couples that live and work in businesses, in actual fact it makes it stronger in a lot of ways.

You have a lot of confidence, where does it come from?

It’s my life experiences. I was never a school person, I just look at things differently. Quite often with our team meetings, I do tell people just remember guys, this is the first time we’ve grown an international business and we’re the co-pilots and I don’t fly that straight at times.

When you’ve got a product that’s growing in the market, it’s easy. I want to win with everything we do, I don’t want to come second. I’m aggressive about our vision and the ambition and I don’t let setbacks hold me back. Simplicity is the art of execution, it’s just little things that create the excitement with everything to me.

The Crafty Weka Bar is designed for the active person, no better represented than co-founder David, who is a keen cyclist and loves the outdoors.

Where do you want to see the business in the next few years?

We’re just going to keep growing. I mean, we’ll be an absolute force in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore. We might look at another market, possibly at building in the US again, just as long as it excites us and excites me and the team around us. You can get stale on businesses, so you’ve got to keep the innovation going.

What would be your advice to other budding entrepreneurs wanting to start a business?

Find the gap in the market, and don’t listen too much to anybody. If you really think that you can take it places, there’ll be people that will put the roadblocks in front of you. And if you really think you’ve got something, you run with your passion as far as you can get it.

If they end up being right, the other people, that’s fine, at least you got out and tried it. Dreamers are better than people that don’t because if you dream big and if you’re halfway there, there’s a chance you’re going to make it.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.