Sisters in sync

For Nelson siblings Chloe and Florence Van Dyke pouring their personal philosophies and passions into Chia Sisters, their natural health drinks company, has proven to be both motivational and pivotal to its long-term success.

It all began with a seed of an idea. A tiny chia seed to be precise.

Chloe Van Dyke, who studied neuroscience and Alzheimer’s disease at university and was fascinated by the effects of plants in human health and nutrition, had been particularly impressed by the seed’s nutritional profile.

Today, seven years after co-founding her natural health drinks business with her dad Ben, the Nelson-based brand Chia Sisters represents not just chia seed-based beverages, but a whole range of health drinks, including fresh-pressed juices – and the brand is going gangbusters both in New Zealand and overseas.

NZBusiness first met Chloe and Ben Van Dyke in Wellington at the ANZ Flying Start Business competition in September 2013, where their business plan had secured them a prize package of more than $58,000 to grow the enterprise.

The Flying Start competition was a milestone for the fledgling business, recalls Chloe, who was just 28 back then and remembers being very nervous pitching to the panel of judges.

“The money helped but, more importantly, it gave us legitimacy and confidence. It allowed me to quit my day job and go full time,” she remembers.

“Winning the competition also gave us the confidence to pitch [our product], cold-call supermarkets and move sales beyond Nelson, and then New Zealand.”

It was clear in 2013 that the business was destined for great things. Checking in six years later the progress has indeed been impressive, as have the accumulated lessons.

Meanwhile, Chloe’s younger sister Florence had watched the early growth of the business from the sidelines. After finishing a law degree, the accomplished triathlete was busy with a UN internship in Cambodia, and subsequently launching her career in corporate law in Auckland.

But in 2015 she made a bold decision.

“I realised I wanted to be doing something that had a positive impact and that I was passionate about. I also wanted to be in control of my own day and be in a career where I could continue to be a competitive sportsperson,” says Florence (the outdoors and fitness have always been prominent forces in the Van Dykes’ household).

“So I jumped ship from Auckland corporate life that year and went back to Nelson to join forces with Chloe.”

The sisters were finally in business together. But what sort of a business relationship would it prove to be?

Clearly, despite their different academic background, skillset and personalities, Chloe and Florence are in sync with each other.

“Chloe is an innovator and creator and I like to get things done,” explains Florence. “These differences are a big positive for our business – we can focus on separate areas and utilise those that complement our skillsets.

“We also understand each other’s limits and boundaries. We know what environment each of us need to [perform] at our best and we can help each other avoid triggers that bring out the negatives.”

The decision to put Florence in as CEO of Chia Sisters came about when Chloe gave birth to her son. “It was a great decision; she is an amazing CEO. A lot better than me any day…well, most days,” teases Chloe.

“Starting a business is a rocky road; we’ve learnt to use victories to get through the tough times.”    – Chloe.

In the four years that Florence has been on board, the brand has entered new markets and there have been many lessons for the two siblings.

“We have learnt to bring our personal philosophies and passions into our business. Living by our personal philosophies makes work motivating,” says Chloe.

“We have also learnt that it is important to stand back and celebrate the small wins. All too often we focus on the failures. Starting a business is a rocky road; we’ve learnt to use victories to get through the tough times,” says Florence.

Chloe is the first to admit that the toughest of times came early on when she was just starting out.

“When I first started CHIA in 2012 the health wave hadn’t hit. I was crafting ingredients in a way that was unique, [and offering] the highest level of naturally occurring nutrients of any drink in New Zealand.

“At the time all the other “health foods” were talking about what was not in them. No artificial ingredients, no added sugar, not from concentrate. While these things are important, I was focusing on what is in the drink – the nutrients that would directly contribute to energy, gut health, skin, heart, and brain health.

“Education was needed, but I was a very small player in the beverage industry – an industry known for its competitive nature and tight monopoly on the market,” says Chloe. “It was hard to have my voice heard.”

So how did she gain traction?

“I kept trying,” Chloe says, “And soon the beverage buyers at supermarkets who had sceptically ranged CHIA started asking for more.”

The sisters changed the brand name to Chia Sisters at the end of 2018, to better reflect the diverse range of drinks they now produce.

They spent a year, and lots of money, mulling over a new name – only to realise that if you ‘Googled’ the brand, Florence and Chloe were already referred to as “the Chia Sisters”.

“So we decided to leave the brand agency we’d been working with and go with what people already knew us as,” says Chloe.

Fail often and quickly

Chloe says, even now, any week can throw up hurdles. “We like to fail often and fail quickly,” she admits. The sisters also like to push the boundaries when it comes to growing their brand.

“Some of the biggest barriers have been [associated with] shifting up in an industry that has been dominated by strong global players for decades.

“We are always trying new things,” continues Chloe, “from launching a drink with seeds in it to becoming New Zealand’s first solar-powered juicer. We’re also a carbon zero company. This is unexpected in the beverage category which is known for its high-sugar [content] and plastic packaging.”

Chia Sisters prefers to work innovatively and to “go against the grain”, she says.

“If every business prioritised having a positive impact on the environment and community in which it operates, we believe it would change the world.”

– Florence.

Again, when looking back on the early days, Chloe admits that she and her dad had no idea what they were doing or how the business was going to evolve. “We’ve learnt everything along the way.”

Having access back then to the connections they have today would have been helpful, she admits. “We didn’t know that most beverage companies find a distributor, so we distributed ourselves. We didn’t know grants were available for innovation, or about the organisations that are here in New Zealand to help – like NZTE, the Asia New Zealand Foundation or Callaghan Innovation.

“If we’d had the right networks at the beginning it could have fast-tracked our business.

Relationships are everything,” says Chloe.

However, one advisor and supporter the sisters have always been able to count on is their dad Ben (who now signs his emails with “dad of the Chia Sisters”). He’s still very involved as a mentor, advisor, and assisting with new projects.

“Dad taught us about solar power too,” says Chloe, adding that her Mum also helps out with product tastings at supermarkets and bringing new cafes on board.

“No one can refuse her when she says ‘my daughters made this juice – would you like to try some?’” laughs Chloe.

Core values

The two sisters remain steadfast to their core values of nutrition, sustainability and innovation in all that they do.

“We don’t just tick the boxes,” says Florence. “We bring our values into everything we do. If every business prioritised having a positive impact on the environment and community in which it operates, we believe it would change the world.

“Our brand has been successful because our personal values are our brand and I think people recognise that.” 

The recent shift for Chia Sisters to become carbon zero and climate positive is currently top-of-mind for Florence and Chloe. The transition has been two-fold, explains Chloe. “We have significantly reduced Chia Sisters’ carbon footprint through a shift to solar power, driving electric vehicles, insulation and reducing waste. And we have off-set remaining emissions by planting natives in the Nelson region.”

“We feel that there has been enough talk on climate change and it is time for companies to start acting. Our commitment to climate change goes hand-in-hand with our view that businesses need to prioritise having a positive impact on the community and environment in which they operate,” says Florence.

This year Chia Sisters became a 2019 SheEO venture. SheEO is described as a world-changing ecosystem where women support women with interest-free loans, mentoring, and connections, and Chloe says it’s a concept that has helped the company with funding as well as strong connections.

“This has allowed us to put the infrastructure in place to grow production,” she says. “We are also considering future partners who could help us advance further.” 

Chia Sisters’ business plan for the next 12 months has a strong New Zealand focus. The sub-brand of fresh pressed and local juices called ‘Bottled by the Sun’ is proving popular in cafés around the country and tells the solar power story that consumers are increasingly interested in.

The ‘Bottled by the Sun’ range also won Best Drink in New Zealand for 2019 at the Outstanding Food Producers Awards earlier this year, says Chloe. “So we are hoping that more cafés will come on board and support this environmentally-friendly and great tasting juice.”

Looking further ahead, Chloe and Florence are planning to expand the Chia Sisters range and increase distribution in Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

At the time of writing, Chloe had also just been named a finalist for 2019 EY Business Person of the Year.

Those little seeds that launched a tiny start-up all those years ago have spawned a highly successful domestic and export business; and in Chloe and Florence – a sister act that’s hard to top.

Story by Glenn Baker, editor of NZBusiness.

Florence and Chloe’s 3 top tips for start-ups

• Do what you are passionate about – because when the going gets tough, passion will get you through.
• Ask for help. Reaching out to your ‘idols’ for advice will always be daunting, but all too often we have been surprised by how willing they are to help. 
• As you grow make a genuine effort to bring employees into your team that complement your skillsets. Often we can be eager to hire people who are similar to us, when we know diversity makes for the best team. It’s also important to get to know your team – not just what they do at work but what they want to achieve in life and how you can help get them there.