Part 2: How to Fund Your NZ Product Brand - Without VC

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Venture capital rarely backs consumer brands—so how do you fund inventory, launch costs, and growth? This part explains NZ-specific funding options founders actually use.

Outline
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1. 8 Product Brand Funding Options That Don’t Include Venture Capital

Venture capital rarely backs consumer product brands—so how do you fund inventory, launch costs, and growth?

This section unpacks NZ-specific options like inventory finance, working capital loans, grants, and export credit that real founders use to keep cash flowing without chasing VC.

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The Working Capital Challenge

One of key challenge for consumer products is the cash tied up for a number of months in advance of being paid as you need to procure key ingredients, packaging and pay for manufacture, warehousing and shipping costs all in advance of getting paid
Think about creative ways you can scale to manage the capital requirements eg small batch production, pilot stores, start with a mix of DTC and retail </aside>

Debt vs Equity — Which to Use and When

Use Debt when you have reliable cashflow and you want to maintain full ownership
Debt watch outs: personal guarantees can be required, regular payments can be challenging in early stages, limited availability pre-revenue/early-stage
Use Equity when you’re pre-revenue or scaling fast, can’t support loan repayments yet, want strategic value beyond money, willing to share ownership/control
Equity watch outs: potential loss of control, value/goal misalignment, setting value too high or low </aside>

2. Useful Consumer Brand Funding Resources, Links & Next Steps:

Document Name / Site	What You Will Get	URL
Callaghan Innovation	Helps innovators access R&D funding, technical support, incubation programs, collaboration networks, and innovation guidance.	https://www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz
myNZTE (NZ Trade & Enterprise Portal)	Free exporter portal offering market guides, export tools, research, learning modules, and connection to NZTE advisors.	https://my.nzte.govt.nz
Regional Business Partner Network (via business.govt.nz)	Government-subsidized advisory network to help grow businesses through local experts, support providers, and co-funding.	https://www.business.govt.nz/how-to-grow/regional-business-partner-network
New Zealand Export Credit (NZEC, Treasury)	Export credit agency offering financial guarantees and trade credit insurance to mitigate export risks and support growth.	https://exportcredit.treasury.govt.nz/
Omni Calculator – Working Capital Calculator	Interactive tool to calculate net working capital, explain the formula, interpret results, and manage liquidity.	https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/working-capital

Back to:

How to Kick-off and Fund a NZ Consumer Brand Startup

Consumer Brand Case Studies:

Six Barrel Soda: Building New Zealand’s Craft Soda Brand

Ārepa: Building New Zealand’s Brainfood Brand

FTN Motion: Building New Zealand’s First Electric Motorcycle Brand

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