Painting the town green

Fresh from a successful capital raise, eco-friendly paint brand Natural Paint Co is poised for serious expansion. Co-founders James Mount and Grace Glass reflect on a challenging, yet exhilarating, ride.

The outcome of a first major capital raise is always a litmus test for a business’s potential. Natural Paint Co’s recent raise through Snowball Effect easily reached $1.4 million, exceeding its target, with investors clearly excited about the future of the Christchurch-based manufacturer of sustainable plant-based paints and oils.

Founded in 2015 by James Mount and Grace Glass, Natural Paint Co has quickly built its reputation as a category pioneer with a unique digital-first distribution model.

However, getting the business established and boot-strapping growth has been a challenging journey for the young pair, who first met while at high school in Nelson. 

James “fell into” the paint industry through an interim job after leaving university. He was not impressed by the industry’s unsustainable practices and reliance on petrochemicals, and was concerned by the effect of paint toxicity on indoor air quality.

“When you first paint a room the indoor air quality can be up to 1000 times more polluted than normal. And traditional paints can off-gas chemicals for up to ten years,” says James.

Grace began her career as a nurse, where she quickly developed her passion for people’s well-being. It proved to be a passion that was easily transferable to the paint industry.

Getting on board with James was a big step; it meant giving up a full-time income, but her input has been huge. 

The healthy option

Looking back, despite the pair’s young age and lack of business experience, the timing for Natural Paint Co entering the market couldn’t have been better. The world market was ready for more eco-friendly and sustainable products; the big local paint manufacturers were still focusing on low-VOC paints, as opposed to paint solutions without harmful chemicals; and most importantly, Kiwis have become increasingly health and environment conscious, particularly around what’s going into their homes. 

James had studied German eco-paints and found that the quality didn’t match that of the big chemical-based paints here. 

“We realised early on that if we wanted to produce a healthier and more sustainable paint option for New Zealand, then we needed to really nail the quality aspect as well,” he says.

“We would have to be uncompromising under the three pillars of health, sustainability and quality, and truly create something different.” 

James and Grace engaged some of New Zealand’s top paint chemists to develop eco-paints that performed as well as, or better than, chemical-based paints on the market.

You may be surprised to learn that the resulting paint resins contain such ingredients as soya bean oil, castor oil, chalks and clays. “We don’t use any ingredients that are harmful to animals or humans before or after application,” explains James, “and we offer the longest guarantee in the industry.”

Natural Paint Co focuses on the total lifecycle of the product – ethically sourcing raw materials and ensuring that all products are both fully compostable (you can mix leftover paint with water and pour it on your garden) and recyclable or repurposed (leftover paints can be combined, tinted and resold at a lower price, or donated to worthy causes).

Distribution and marketing

The success of the business so far is not just attributable to the sustainable paints, but also a ‘direct to consumer’ method of distribution.

Grace’s initial contribution to the business was building Natural Paint Co’s first e-commerce platform in her spare time, and following Covid’s disruption last year a more cutting-edge and streamlined platform was subsequently launched.

“Our e-commerce platform is designed to inspire customers and gain their trust, as well as make the process of buying paint and choosing colours really easy,” says Grace. “We want it to be the one stop shop for painting.”

The two founders are satisfied with their progress – particularly with 50 percent year-on-year growth every year since launch.

“Boot strapping encourages you to be creative with your thinking and with managing money and cashflow,” explains James.

In terms of marketing, the strategy is to educate people before they head down to their traditional paint supplier, and once they’ve tried the paint, to soak up any feedback. “We have a strong presence on Google, and the good thing with digital is you can find a lot of people very cost-effectively, and there is little competition,” says Grace. 

In terms of their target market – it ranges from DIY home renovators to architects, property developers and commercial painters.

“Commercial painters use us exclusively and some as an upsell for their clients,” says James. “And because Natural Paint Co is a certified social enterprise, we’re making inroads into the procurement space as well.”

Lessons and goals

For James and Grace there have been eight years of hard graft in getting the business to where it is today, and countless highs and lows. They’re extremely grateful for the support of family and friends. Over the past 12 months they’ve been busy building up a team and surrounding themselves with experienced people who align with their core values.

They’re careful to put any advice through their own personal filter to “determine what resonates, what intuitively feels right, and then trusting that whole process”.

Success can also be attributed to staying really close to their customers and understanding their needs. Customers are the best source of everything to do with the business, says James – “where you can go, what products work best, and what marketing initiatives get the best response.”

James says their biggest challenge going forward is not demand, but brand awareness. So funding from the capital raise will be used to build both their team and the market. 

“Our goal is for every Kiwi to know about us and have the option to use our paints. The ultimate goal is to redefine the paint industry so our type of eco-friendly offering is the norm and the only type on the market. If in ten years’ time the only option in New Zealand’s paint and hardware stores is free of harmful chemicals, then we’ll have done our job right.

“Meantime, if one of the big brands produces a natural paint, the great thing is that they’ll be acknowledging there’s something wrong with the industry and its current offering – and it will increase demand for natural paints and our already trusted products.”

You can sense the pride from James and Grace over what they have achieved – covering the whole cycle of developing a unique product and taking it to market. 

Looking ahead, the capital raise means that over the next 12 to 18 months they can target the Australian market, followed by North America and Asia.

It all proves they are confident that they’re ahead of the game internationally.