A Facebook group has quickly turned into a lifeline for Kiwi small business owners. Photo / Facebook
A Facebook group has quickly turned into a lifeline for Kiwi small business owners. Photo / Facebook
It's only been just a little over two weeks since Sarah Colcord hit the "create" button on her Facebook group — and chances are you're either on it or know someone who is.
The Facebook group for "New Zealand Made Products" has more than 280,000 members and the number continues to grow.
The Auckland-based founder never expected this kind of explosive growth and has been working tirelessly over the last few weeks, alongside a team of moderators, to ensure Kiwi businesses get the exposure they deserve.
Colcord told the Herald she was inspired by the Australian version of the group, which she came across a few weeks ago.
"I noticed it had only been up for about four months and had 4.5 million members. I thought that was incredible," she said.
"I had a look around to see if New Zealand had a version and, to my surprise, there was nothing of the like."
With the closing of the borders and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern putting the call out for Kiwis to "buy local", Colcord's timing could not have been better.
"I thought this was a good opportunity to replicate the success of the Australian version but also I could see from that version that they had created an amazing platform for local business to connect with buyers who wanted to buy local," she added.
Facebook group founder Sarah Colcord. Photo / Supplied
"The messaging of buying local has been around for a long time but some people don't know where to start."
With big international brands dominating advertising space, many Kiwi businesses struggle to compete for that kind of visibility. In Colcord's Facebook group, they have found a community of keen shoppers who want to buy quality items and support the national economy.
"What lockdown has proven is that we probably need to support our backyard and we need to look in our backyard for the things we used to get overseas," the group founder added.
A number of posts in the group have gone viral and Colcord says she often gets feedback from small businesses telling her that, thanks to the group, they have now run out of stock and have orders for the next few months.
Colcord encourages all New Zealand businesses to join the group. "It's an awesome platform to showcase your work."
She is currently aided by a team of 10 moderators who help her run the group but, when we chatted at 7pm, she had been working on it since 6am - this, on top of her full-time job, which she has kept doing as an essential worker through lockdown.
The group features a broad range of Kiwi businesses, from clothing or woodwork through to electronic innovations, musical instruments, artwork, kitchen appliances, and anything else in between.
Among the most popular products is a Te Reo wrapping paper, created by a 13-year-old entrepreneur from South Auckland.
Colcord's plan for the short term does not involve slowing down. Quite the opposite, in fact - she says she intends to continue growing the group and promoting the work of Kiwi businesses, as well as helping them navigate social media.
She is also working on a marketplace website so that they can eventually move from the Facebook group.
"There's only so much you can do in a group on Facebook, there's only so much functionality. We need things like extra filters and categories," she explains.
Colcord hopes this resurgence in the New Zealand-made movement is here to stay and encourages everyone to embrace buying local. Things might be more expensive than something that came from overseas but, over time, they'll likely last longer, she says.
New Zealand is currently on alert level 3 and businesses are allowed to trade online and ship their items, provided they offer contactless delivery.
