While beloved in the rest of the world, Comvita was having a hard time selling its Manuka Honey in the US market. Retailers were hesitant to carry Comvita when a low quality competitor was already collecting dust on the shelves, and the brand had not established a strong digital or ecommerce footprint. In addition to fixing up the storefront, we needed to make the brand, and category, relevant by telling the story of New Zealand’s rare honey with unique health benefits.

Education to generate demand. We made the case for why Manuka is different (and pricier) than conventional honey, and why Comvita is the gold-standard in a category infiltrated by imitators. We strategically embedded Comvita in the wellness world, partnering with Dr. Mark Hyman, Gwenyth Paltrow and a wide range of influencers who showed the value of a daily spoonful. Every investment was leveraged across channels to build email, retailers and direct sales. We created urgency as an early adopter of World Bee Day, with promotions that benefited bee rescue, indie beekeepers and preserving wildlands. On top, we layered exquisite brand experiences, such as expert events and panel discussions, and a media/influencer trip to the remote forests of New Zealand to see Comvita’s near century old beekeeping operation in person.

We created enough buzz for industry media to label the category “white hot.” While retailers grew, so did Comvita’s direct channel, and our steady output of email marketing, social ads, PPC and programmatic turned Comvita.com into the brand’s #1 sales channel in just 3 years, generating 8 figures in annual revenue.