Tasman Tea Export

The challenge

Before

Tasman Tea is a New Zealand specialty tea producer with a small but loyal domestic following and a clear interest in extending into export markets through a direct-to-consumer model. They had been quoted by three different agencies for a Shopify build and an international ad campaign — but their founder, to her credit, was uncertain whether the build was actually the right next move. She wanted clarity before spending capital, not a vendor talking her into the build.

• Strong domestic NZ following with limited capacity for export expansion
• Three agency quotes for Shopify build and international ad campaign
• No structured view of which markets would be commercially viable
• Fulfillment economics for international DTC tea unclear
• Brand positioning strong for domestic but untested internationally
• Founder uncertain whether the build was actually the right next move
• Capital available for one bet — needed clarity on which bet
• Competitive landscape in target markets not analyzed structurally

The solution

What we built

We ran a three-week Digital Strategy engagement structured around the actual decision the founder needed to make. Week one was diagnostic — we interviewed the founder and operational lead, reviewed the existing customer base, modeled the unit economics of international fulfillment under several scenarios, and analyzed the competitive landscape in three candidate markets (Australia, Singapore, UK). Week two was scenario work — we tested several go-to-market approaches against the firm's capacity and the unit economics, including the Shopify-plus-paid-acquisition path the agencies had quoted and several alternatives. Week three was thesis writing — a single written document explaining what we thought the firm should do, why, with what evidence, and the no-go alternatives we had ruled out and the reasoning. The deliverable was a 28-page PDF and a Notion workspace, not a build. The founder used it to make a confident decision — which turned out not to be the build any agency had quoted.

How the system flows

1. Week One→Founder Interviews→Customer Base Review→Unit Economics Modeling
2. Competitive Landscape→Three Candidate Markets→Structured Analysis
3. Week Two→Scenario Work→Multiple GTM Paths Tested
4. Capacity Match→Unit Economics→Capital Required→Risk Profile
5. Week Three→Thesis Writing→Single Written Document
6. No-go Alternatives→Reasoning Captured→Founder Confidence

• Deliverable: 28-page PDF + Notion workspace, not a build
• Honest answer surfaced even when it conflicted with build-side incentives
• Founder-led decision supported by structured evidence
• Decision authority retained by founder throughout