8 reasons to support local businesses

It’s the perfect time to do our best to support local business in New Zealand and help boost our economy! The Covid-19 situation has really made me think about my habits as a consumer and as a human in general. I think a lot of New Zealanders are feeling the same way and are looking to make some changes (let’s hope). I’m going to talk a bit about why it’s good to buy local. Before we proceed, I would like to mention that I am not an expert on the economy, public opinion, the environment, consumer habits etc. This is an opinion piece with some light research so feedback is appreciated but please don’t be a dick.

Riding horses in Glenorchy - putting money into NZ’s tourism industry

Keeping it in the country

The first and maybe biggest impact is that we’re putting money directly into the hands of a fellow New Zealander. It’s not easy to start a small business and there are kiwis who put in all their time and money, risking everything, to get a business off the ground. That takes guts; it could be their entire livelihood! Do some thinking and you’ll realise you can make a lot of small changes straight away; local coffee cart or cafe instead of Starbucks, buy your clothing from Kowtow, huffer or even Glassons instead of International giants like H&M or ASOS. You might not even realise you’re doing it; choosing Whittakers over Cadbury, BurgerFuel over McDonalds or ecostore over Purex might’ve been decisions you made purely for taste but well done, you’ve been supporting local all along!

My Kaiser Baas action camera, Kaiser Baas is a New Zealand action cam company

Environmental impact

Another reason is the environmental impact. I don’t really want to go into this too deeply because as I mentioned up top, I’m not an expert on it and there are plenty of articles out there on the subject written by people much smarter than myself. But you can find so many local businesses who take it upon themselves to do better. For example, a lot of small fashion labels out there focus on things like recycling used items to make new ones (making accessories from old clothes), using more sustainable materials (like bikinis made from ocean plastic) and making items per order so they aren’t just ordering a bunch of stuff, hoping it will sell and ending up with excess. Also, take into consideration the reduced amount of resources used in production by smaller businesses (especially when things are made by hand) and less transportation used to get the products to you and locally sourced materials.

Skip Maccas and get some ice cream from local strawberry farms

Local businesses support each other

Locals support other locals. It’s not uncommon to see one New Zealand brand helping one another, I’ve entered many giveaways on Instagram lately with several NZ brands jumping on board to support each other (sorry to my friends that I constantly tag!). This is one way they promote other businesses to their own audiences so they can all grow. Another example might be your local restaurant that buys all their supplies from suppliers around the country, like Velvet Burger stocking L&P, Emersons and Most Juice and using Kaitaia Fire chilli sauces in their restaurants. Both businesses can benefit from this as it gets their names out there and allows people to try their products without having to invest time or money into them, and the business still makes money.

Velvet Burger stocks Kaitaia Fire (top right), L&P and Emersons (middle right) and Most juices (bottom middle)

Local businesses care about the community

Local businesses are often keen to help out their local sports team or school. I know when my netball club is doing a sausage sizzle to raise funds the Mad Butcher offers cheap sausages to help keep our costs down and The Warehouse or Mitre 10 will let us use their BBQ and hold the sale outside their store. Another way local businesses help their communities is by providing products/experiences for raffles and quiz night prizes, sponsoring sporting & creative arts events or being a full sponsor of something like the local rugby club or netball courts. They have an invested interest in the community since that’s where all of the staff come from and they know the customer well which in turn helps them provide a better service.

Another example of a local business that supports the local community is Ultimate Surf & Skate in Albany. They started a Facebook page for female surfers that I joined a while ago and they’re always posting surf forecasts and doing specials for the women in the group, below is a screenshot from their Instagram page. I was blown away by even just the 9 photos I picked at random (the dog might’ve swayed me a bit too). Top left - supporting gumboot day for raising awareness of mental health. Top right - a shot of the CEO of Predator Free NZ 2050 (an initiative to get rid of animals that are harmful to our ecosystems). Middle right - sharing the forecast so people know where to surf. Bottom left - they donated their billboard space to raise awareness for endangered dolphin species. Wow! If need any help with surf or skate stuff definitely head their way.

Ultimate Surf & Skate are absolute legends!

They’re hugely important to our economy

Ok, this is another one where you can either take my word for it or do some Googling and check the facts for yourself. I glazed over them enough to know that local businesses are a good thing! Small businesses (with less than 20 employees) make up 97% of businesses in New Zealand and employ over 600k people (source) which is a lot considering we’re only at 5mil! Local businesses don’t have to be small either but I start to go cross-eyed when I look at statistics so I can’t tell you for certain how many of the bigger companies are NZ owned and operated but you can safely assume that most “small businesses” are, and a fair amount of the bigger ones too. Back to the point, for all these companies that aren’t run by overseas giants, the money is staying in our country. That means the profits are going into the hands of kiwis and then going back into the economy when they spend their money in New Zealand.

They provide jobs for the community

This one really hits home because I work for a NZ own & operated hospitality company, so if you dine at one of the restaurants that we own (Bessie, Engineers, Dunedin Social Club, Freeman & Grey, The Glass Goose, La Zeppa, Mr Murdoch’s, Searle Lane, Stranges Lane and Velvet Burger), you’re literally helping to keep me and my co-workers in a job. We really appreciate it! And so do the thousands of other people employed by local businesses.

My gal pals enjoying a BYO at Velvet Burger while at the same time supporting local (literally helping keep me in a job!)

For communities outside the big cities, which is roughly half our population, small businesses are vital to their survival. A small community won’t be able to bring in enough revenue for a large company to consider opening one of their branches there, so these communities rely on small businesses. They provide jobs and necessary resources for people in the community. Now, I’m not saying that international companies don’t also employ New Zealanders (it’s not like they’re flying people in just to do shifts), but the money they make isn’t staying in the country and often their business models don’t care for New Zealanders the way a local company does.

More personalised/innovative products

In case you didn’t believe me…possum fur nipple warmers, click the image to purchase some this winter!

You wouldn’t start a business if you didn’t see a demand in the market. And that need is sometimes a product that is specific to an area, or there is a demand for a product that isn’t already accessible in the area. That’s where someone with a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit can take a crack at starting their own business. An overseas company won’t have eyes and ears on the ground whereas a local can, and they will be able to spot a demand in their local community and find a way to meet that demand.

I guess you could do it the opposite way and create demand because you have access to a supply of something - like possum fur nipple warmers, which I can only assume came about because suppliers didn’t want to waste excess possum fur. But I could be wrong, maybe there’s a huge market out there of people looking for something soft to keep their nipples warm in winter. I’ve been wrong before. But that would tie back into my original point, that if there was a need in the colder parts of the country for something to keep the nipples warm in winter then a clever kiwi might decide to start selling possum fur nipple warmers because it’s easy to find supplies.

They promote and preserve culture

This is kind of similar to the above. Local businesses are the best way to show off the culture of the people in their communities. People take their culture with them when they travel, and plenty have brought theirs to New Zealand along the way, but it’s nothing like experiencing a culture in the place where it has its roots. The Maori people of New Zealand have such a beautiful culture that is tied to the land and it’s really important that it’s preserved. Local businesses are so key in doing this, as they are (hopefully) run by the people of that culture and the business will benefit them and also show off how wonderful and unique it is to outsiders. By supporting the businesses that are run by Maori in this instance, you are supporting the culture in its true form, and not a watered-down version that has been mass-produced for others to profit from.

Kiwi sculpture in National Park with Mt Ruapehu in the background

Cultural appropriation for profit is a huge issue across the globe for native people so if you want a piece of their culture, ask yourself if this is even OK in the first place and then make sure they’re willing to share it. I’m definitely not fully equipped to talk about this topic with enough sensitivity but stealing someone’s culture is a form of abuse. Instead, if you go through the right channels by using a native tour guide, buy products crafted by a native with the intent to sell them or pay for some other service, you’ll have a much more personal connection to that culture and your money will allow them to stay in business and keep doing what they love. I really enjoy Dr Kiona’s perspective on this, she writes at How Not To Be A Basic Bitch and tackles these issues all the time.

Bonus reason…

I’m going to end it on a fun note. It’s a great excuse to shop. Need a new bikini? Buy one from a NZ brand like Piha Swimwear so you’re supporting a local business! Room needs a new plant? Buy one from the farmers market and look, you’re putting money back into the local economy! Need a dress for a special occasion? Rent one from one of the many designer rental stores online so you’re supporting a local business AND not adding to the fast-fashion pandemic, look at you go!! You’re doing it all for New Zealand, how noble and patriotic, you’re a saint. Ok I know it’s starting to sound like I have a shopping addiction and have to justify all my spending but…yeah I do.

Enjoying the views at Te Arai in my Piha Swimwear bikini (gifted a few years back)