While they say beauty is only skin deep, Tracey King is evidence that business degrees are too
A true scientist can be described as someone who is naturally inquisitive and wants to uncover new truths; hopefully ones that are useful or somehow improve or enrich our world.
Such is the passion of health psychologist and co-founder of Ti Tonics, Tracey King.
Tracey has dedicated her life to supporting all areas of good health products and education.
The energetic mother of two completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology at University of Nevada, Reno through a tennis scholarship.
Tracey enjoyed a very successful collegiate tennis career, winning Conference Singles titles three out of four years, and ultimately becoming a double Hall of Famer for both her athletic and academic achievements.
Tracey continued on the tennis tour for a short time after completing her degree and, at her peak, was ranked in the top 600 in the world. She then moved on to a postgraduate degree in the UK; completing her Masters at the University of Kent, Canterbury and PHD in health psychology at the University of Southampton before entering an academic career lecturing on behavioural medicine in the UK.
It was during this time that Tracey first entered into the competitive world of branded consumer goods. A fruit juice and smoothie business quickly developed which gave her a strong base knowledge for the Ti-Tonics business that would come several years later.
“When I moved back to New Zealand I wasn’t intending on getting back into the same area. But then I met up with two brilliant and passionate scientists who told me all about the health benefits of ingesting the polyphenols held in the skin of fruit and vegetables. The three of us decided to commercialise the idea of infusing the polyphenols into a beverage and Ti Tonics was born.”
With the help of Dr Peter Wigley and Dr Andrew Broadwell of BioDiscovery NZ Ltd as well as Tracey’s partner, James Ehau, (serial entrepreneur) and Dr Yeap Foo (senior research scientist) Ti Tonics was founded in 2010. Peter and Andy were themselves full of ideas for health-oriented consumer products, but were too busy running their long-established research business to venture into the world of consumer goods. By combining each person’s very different knowledge base and skillsets Ti Tonics was introduced to the New Zealand market.
Tracey is a firm believer that starting with a great product and the passion behind it and from there, developing the business and marketing behind it is the only way to succeed.
“I’ve never worked with a product that’s average and I wouldn’t want to,” she explains. “Average products that are simply being marketed well feel dishonest to me. “I see shelves lined with ‘crap’ food in pretty packaging that appeals to consumers. People don’t realise that they are just buying into the hype.”
With no formal business or marketing training Tracey simply relies on the skills that she honed as an academic to grow Ti Tonics.
“All the information you need is out there – you just need to look for it,” she advises. “You don’t necessarily anticipate all of the set-backs of starting a business. The more energy, time and money you put in the more invested you become. When the challenges start to happen you’re so invested in the project you have self-fulfilling determination to see it through.”
The brand has made a big impact in a short period time. It has won a number of awards including a gold medal for best tea based beverage and a gold medal for supreme overall beverage (small producer) at the New Zealand Juice and Beverage Awards in 2012, and has been a finalist at the Beverage Innovation Awards (Global) in 2011.
So when Tracey approached The Better Drinks Co (previously Charlies) last year to collaborate the two brands CEO, Craig Cotton had little reason to say no.
“When we first started the business we always knew there would be a limit as to how much we could grow on our own. The distribution base in the beverage market is closely guarded. It’s a real fight to survive. You can try to start from scratch yourself but it does take 15-20 years and a lot of capital to get the trucks, fridges and admin infrastructure set up.
“An alternative strategy for an emerging brand like ourselves is to partner up with an established company. The trick though is finding the right company. It has to be a mutually beneficial opportunity and in this case it is.”
“The most important thing for both parties in this case is an alignment of values and aspirations. Their core proposition is to always be challenging for the better. We fit within that vision. And they have a family feel – they’re not a giant multi-national animal that you get lost in.”
Tracey will join The Better Drinks Co senior leadership team bringing her maverick spirit and knowledge of overseas markets.
“The Better Drinks Co have historically been an Australasian focused business, whereas we’re the opposite. We always knew that our products, because they’re niche and high end, belonged in the international markets if we wanted to achieve any real scale.
“Because I’ve lived in the States I feel comfortable there – and once you’re in you have access to the whole place. We visit the States two to three times a year refreshing our networks and going to conferences and expos so we’re familiar with the landscape. We’ll be able to bring all that knowledge to The Better Drinks Co. This will benefit not only Ti-Tonics but all the brands under The Better Drinks Co umbrella.”
www.ti-tonics.com
Tracey’s top tips for making your product stand out in a crowded market:
· Have a real point of difference. The reasons why people choose us are because we infuse with grape seed extract and are very low in sugar. That’s how Ti-Tonics has survived despite the numerous ice teas in the market.
· Make sure that you invest in good design and packaging. When consumers look at you they make up their mind about the product before they even pick it up off the shelf. Often businesses sacrifice on this important key, do the design themselves and pay for it later.
· Utilise all social media platforms. Build a genuinely engaged fan base. It’s not like the old days where you put an ad in the paper that shouts at people. Build a two-way dialogue with people who are genuinely interested in what you’re offering. Learn how to use tools and link them together. Find groups out there that you can appeal to. We, for example, reach out to people who are type-2 diabetic who want to hear about low sugar products.
· Communicate the ‘Why’ more than the ‘What’. Don’t just talk to people about what your product is – talk to them about why should they care and why is your product different.
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