'A year of going global': Kiwi horopito firm breaks into China, Canada and the UAE

Nelson-based Forest Herb Research’s Kolorex brand takes the anti-fungal properties of horopito and the polygodial it contains, and develops them into anti-candida products.

Research has consistently shown​ that it performs as well, or better, than common pharmaceutical products.

In the supplement space, the company has Kolorex Softgels Advanced Candida Care and Kolorex Cranberry plus Horpito.

The former Ccntains a patented liquid extract of New Zealand Horopito, while the latter also features Pacran - a patented form of the whole cranberry fruit. The firm also carries a number of creams and washes.

Speaking to us on a recent trip to New Zealand, Forest Herb Research’s general manager Dr Amanda Wiggins said the past 12 months had seen the company “go global”.​

“​It has been a really busy year because we’ve taken on a couple of new markets and we are poised for a couple more,” she said.​

“The most significant development is a joint venture with in China, where we have an exclusive agreement for the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. ​

“We did a lot of ground work on that and as of January we went live with a TMall flagship store, and we are working into getting into some of the bricks and mortar stores too.”​

The company is also working to reformulate some products, and tweak pack sizes to meet the needs of the Chinese consumer.

Naturopath channel

Elsewhere, Kolorex has also secured product registration in Canada, a market that had always been of high interest, but one where the company thought the regulatory requirement may have been too stringent.

“We were contacted by a great partner who helped us through that process, and we were delighted to receive the registration,”​ added Wiggins.

“Initially, we will be targeting the naturopath channel, followed by e-commerce.”​

Last but not least, the brand has also signed an exclusive distribution for the UAE, while developments to enter Vietnam are gathering pace. Currently, the firm’s two biggest export markets are South Africa and Italy.

Attention is now turning to hiring more staff, finding bigger office and warehouse space, and planting more horopito plants at Golden Bay in order to meet future demand.

“We are the only company to grow horopito on a commercial basis,”​ she said.

“We have a high level of IP and know-how of how to grow horopito on a commercial basis and we protect that closely. We’re now seeking to triple our production capacity to meet the future growth demands.”​