Heidi Crockett is the owner of Colab Brewing, an independent brewer of specialist craft beers. Based in Warkworth, Colab Brewing creates its own high-quality seasonal beers, and collaborates with the very best producers and brewers New Zealand has to offer.
Location: Warkworth
Business Type: Brewing and Beverages
Founded: Heidi bought the business in 2020
Number of employees: One (Plus one part-time)
Current Business Situation: Strong Covid recovery and expansion into new markets through new product development
Relationship with The Icehouse: Virtual Business Owner Programme (formerly Taking Your Business Forward) Alumni and Business Coaching client
The business was about five years old when my husband and I took it over 18 months ago (as of March 2022). We took it up from Riverhead to Warkworth and we moved with it. Now I walk about 10 metres from the house to the brewery.
I used to work in the corporate world, running large contact centres, but I grew bored of that. I have young children so I needed something that I could do as a business close to home. We had looked at a few other things, but we love brewing and we’ve been brewing for a while, so we bought a brewery. I wanted something that my husband would be excited about and could get involved in – it was either food or beer!
What's your day-to-day role?
I run Colab Brewing full-time. I do anything from brewing, to hitting the road to sell our products, delivering beers, writing reports and everything else!
My husband most definitely helps, but I am Colab Brewing. I have an analytical chemistry degree, so I enjoy the science side of it, and my husband used to work in electrical automation, so he loves the factory side. It combines a lot of our skills!
What are your current challenges?
Due to Covid our sales have dropped significantly because most of our sales are through bars. Our portable canning supplier lost his equipment so we have not been able to can off for 6six months. Lucky we have a new Zanz Canning machine, coming late this month, which will make a huge difference.
I have a seven-year business plan and while it's tough, it's not impossible in my mind. You just have to be flexible because there's a whole lot of stuff happening out in the world outside of our control.
We have a new product launching [see below] which really excites me because our growth plan is going to be based on selling something different and truly unique. It’s in an area we’re not currently in and hopefully it will excite a lot of people.
It will also encourage those people who are still cautious about going to the shops because the product is available online. It will allow our growth to be a little bit more creative.
What did you do with The Icehouse?
I did Taking Your Business Forward 5 from August to October 2021. I really enjoyed the sessions and I’m also working with Kevin D’Ambros-Smith, who is my Icehouse business coach. I was looking on Google for something like TYBF and up came The Icehouse website. I did a lot of research, spoke to family and friends who knew about The Icehouse, so I was comfortable that TYBF was going to fit my needs.
What were your key takeaways?
I needed my structure back and TYBF was especially good at giving me the “how”. It challenged me to come up with new ideas, helped me work out how to make sure that those ideas were going to be financially viable and then how I could make it happen, so it was great.
The numbers side was very important. I have an amazing financial tool for the business to keep me in line, but the truth is that I wasn’t looking at it. I wasn't forecasting anything, and I needed to base my growth strategy on the financials more.
Now I know my breakeven points; what’s my minimum to break even? If I make product changes, what will it mean if I change the percentages of my business with each product type? How will that affect the bottom line?
I was getting to the point where I needed to make some changes as I knew that I wasn't at my best. There were some good sessions about looking after myself to make sure I am healthy to always take on what’s coming – to feed my body and mind, make sure I am getting enough sleep, being kind to myself, not putting things off and being in the best place to do the things that need doing. TYBF did exactly what I was looking for and probably even a little bit more.
How do you weave them into the business?
We’re surrounded by some amazing brewers here – 8 Wired, McLeod’s and so on. In TYBF I was challenged to come up with something different and this is the big thing for me. I'll tell you in a year if it's worked but I’m confident we’ve found a gap that we can obviously take advantage of!
We’re the first brewer in New Zealand to be doing this. We’re going to produce designer beer cans – using the same kind of software you use when you want to make a calendar using family photos, for example.
Customers can design a beer label, which we’ll put onto the can and they can give it as presents, corporate gifts… whatever. If you order large enough volumes or you’re doing a big launch then we’ll even brew you your own beer before canning it, labelling it, and sending it. Kevin is also excited about my new product, so we’re very optimistic about the future!
Have you worked professionally with any other alumni since doing the programme?
Not yet but it was a great group and I know I can reach out if I want. Some of the group are in the wine industry so, if I ever expand into that area, then I know they’d do anything to help!
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a business right now?
Be big on contingencies – if things change you must change with those, so that you’ll have more than one outcome. There’s never a “right” time to start your business, so just do it! Plan well, know your product, and know why people want it.
Follow the link for more information on Colab Brewing and its range of high-quality beers, products, and online store.