The Kava House Vanuatu increases brand awareness with support from BLP business advisor Pandanus Consulting
Here at Business Link Pacific, we are committed to supporting businesses in the Pacific to transform, improve and develop their enterprise, by providing them with access to local essential business advisory services.
In this blog, we talk with Julia Malas King, co-owner of The Kava House in Vanuatu about what makes The Kava House unique and how connecting with BLP quality approved business advisor Pandanus Consulting transformed her enterprise for the better.
*Disclaimer: The interview for this article took place before COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Harold had affected Vanuatu. While The Kava House remains operational as of 11 May 2020, the impact of TC Cyclone Harold on the northern Vanuatu islands, where the majority of The Kava House’ farmers reside, has been devastating. The Kava House has been using their own funds to provide recovery aid for the farmers.
Support The Kava House by purchasing The Kava House products online via their website and follow them on Facebook.
TC Harold devastation on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu
The Kava House in Port Vila, Vanuatu is a unique business founded in 1999 by the late Frank King Senior, and is the premiere kava producer in Vanuatu for local and international markets.
All kava is locally and organically grown and traditionally harvested in the lush volcanic northern islands of Vanuatu. The kava roots are used primarily for pharmaceutical products, and the kava chips are processed into kava powder and used to produce the kava beverage. Both of these byproducts are exported to international markets, including the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
The Kava House’ ethos of Career, Care and Community is integral to its success, both locally and globally, and their commitment to cultural and environmental sustainability and social inclusion underpins all business operations.
“We aim to ensure that the Kava produce we use is grown in organic conditions by indigenous farmers utilising traditional cultivation and harvesting methods. The rest of the production process is then completed by local staff who ensure that the finished goods are well represented and meet the standard of the international clientele”. (source: The Kava House website)
As Julia explains, selling kava whether it be for medicinal or recreational purposes can be challenging in a complex Pacific business environment. She joined The Kava House officially as a co-owner with her husband in 2017, after leaving her previous job in marketing and tourism.
“When I first came into the kava business, it was challenging, because I don’t actually drink kava. It was hard to try and sell something that I don’t consume, so instead, I concentrated on the social and financial impacts it had on the community and the farmers that were cultivating the kava”.
From L-R, Julia Malas King with her husband, Frank King Junior
The Kava House assists farmers with kava plant education and general business management skills, encouraging them to develop their kava crop business by providing them with the ongoing expertise and advice to do so.
“We’re not just selling the product, we’re selling the story behind the product. Helping people understand that kava is not just a drink, there is a culture that revolves around it, there are livelihoods that are dependent on it”.
The Kava House engages between 1500 – 2000 local farmers, facilitating access to funds so that farmers can get paid, and the transport of the kava to the mainland. In addition, The Kava House shop displays and sells local handmade crafts and indigenous products, further enabling ni-Vanuatu to generate income from their small businesses.
Environmental sustainability is also on The Kava House priority list. The Kava House products are contained in biodegradable brown kraft recycled paper bags, with a high quality Bio Foil on the inside to keep the products fresh.
The Kava House product range
As part of its ethos, The Kava House actively advocates for gender equality in the workplace, and since 2017 there has been a significant increase of female employees.
“In 2017 we only had two female workers, now we have 20. That’s 40% female employees overall, many of whom are single mums, widows or school leavers.”
Julia’s motivation to seek business advice and support through Business Link Pacific (BLP), was two-fold. The first time The Kava House connected with BLP was through business advisors, James Kluck & Associates, who assisted The Kava House to upgrade their accounting system from MYOB to Xero.
“I have no accounting background and I wasn’t entirely sure if The Kava House should invest in Xero, but it gradually made the accounting process easier and created some headspace to focus on other aspects of the business, like the social impact initiatives.”
The second and more recent engagement with BLP was through local business advisors, Pandanus Consulting, a multi-disciplined creative agency with over 30 years experience in marketing, advertising, media placement, web design and branding.
The project was enabled by the BLP Subsidy Scheme, which makes quality business advice more accessible for small businesses.
The first phase was the implementation of highly visible and consistent branding at their place of business, coupled with targeted advertising to tourists (HotSpots Vanuatu Map), to make The Kava House easily discoverable.
The second phase of the project was to invest in improved marketing and branding, including revamping The Kava House website, adding a booking form for their Kava Discovery Tour and installing an e-commerce platform on the website so online orders could be facilitated.
The impact of this business advice and support on The Kava House has been tremendous, they have reached a new level of public exposure through consistent branding that Julia never thought possible.
“People are starting to associate the product with the brand. They are starting to learn that we are a local Kava exporter, and the stories behind our products”.
The Kava House products instore at Au Bon Marche Tassiriki, Port Vila
When asked what advice she has for other growing businesses in Vanuatu, Julia explains,
“We have been wanting, forever, to enhance our accounting and enhance our online presence, so when BLP came it was like, this is it, this is our opportunity, it’s a subsidy, it can help us. You’ve got to be able to take some risks at some point, make some decisions that you know will contribute to your business in the long run”.
Finally, Julia shares her plans for The Kava Houses’ future, which involves creating a clothing line, partnering with Island Chocolate to make Kava Chocolate, partnering with Lapita Cafe to release the Kava Cookie and expanding the international market.
If you’re interested in connecting with a BLP approved business advisor like Pandanus Consulting to transform your business, there are a few ways you can access our services:
- Use our free online essential business tools, Business Health Check and Business Continuity Planner to identify where there might be gaps in your business that could benefit from business advice. From there you can connect with a local business advisor.
- Search our database of BLP approved business advisors to choose one that suits your needs. BLP approved advisors can get you access to subsidised services.
- Contact your in-country representative to set up a one-to-one Business Diagnostic consultation.