Bye bye sand fly

From concoctions in the kitchen to a fully established business, Kerikeri-based Becky Cashman has come a long way in 13 years. Her business Goodbye Sandfly is thriving with650 major supermarkets and pharmacies across New Zealand stocking bottles of her all-natural insect repellent and bite soother product with the same name.

Mrs Cashman had no intentions of Goodbye Sandfly becoming a commercial business but the demand for the product meant the business continued to grow. She is now currently in the middle of developing new products to add to the business which she hopes will be ready for promotion in October. Mrs Cashman has also spent the last nine months working on a teaching video called ''Mind of a Guide'', an eight-week online video course which looks into the thinking behind natural living.

American-born Mrs Cashman was a raft guide for 14 years before she met her husband John Sanderson, which saw her move to Queenstown and training as a massage therapist. She said the sand flies were terrible and she started ''playing with the oils and my massaging training to see what I could do''. She tried various formulas but one seemed to stand out from the rest and it wasn't until she shifted to the Karamea that she realised people really enjoyed the product.

''We actually kind of unveiled Goodbye Sandfly at our outdoor wedding because the stickers were ready so we decided to give away a bottle to each of our guests.''

Her husband quit his job two years ago to join the business. A year later the family relocated to the Far North and Becky Cashman said the primary focus for the business has always been about becoming a nationwide brand. Goodbye Sandfly is also be exported overseas through the Goodbye Sandfly online shop.

But Mrs Cashman is not one to sit around and wallow in her success. She has also written a natural living book, ''Why Natural Matters'', which she gives away for free online. She publishes a magazine every two weeks which is replete with New Zealand content on wellness.

And she has attained recognition for her efforts. A year ago, Goodbye Sand fly won the ANZ Flying Start Business Award for Northland and in March this year the business won the James and Wells Intellectual Property Excellence in Marketing Award, a national award from Natural Products New Zealand which Mrs Cushman said was ''intensely satisfying''.

''This is a billion dollar industry and we were up against some big players so to see our creativity acknowledged was truly satisfying.''

Goodbye Sandfly contains sweet almond oil along with six other natural oils.

www.goodbyesandfly.com for the online shop.

Visit www.goodbyesandfly.co.nz to signup for the newsletter, bi-weekly magazine and natural living book ''Why Natural Matters.''