Neudorf Black: Growing a business through digital marketing

In the scenic Upper Moutere region of Tasman, New Zealand, Teena and Noël Jelsma have created something special with their business. Showcasing black garlic, a gourmet superfood, Neudorf Black is built on the couple’s passion for local ingredients and slow, artisanal production. 

“We make ours with New Zealand-grown fresh garlic from Marlborough,” Noël says. “All our ingredients are local, and we slow cook the fresh garlic for six weeks continuously. Nothing at all is added – not even water – and the end result is this incredible flavour transformation.”

What started with face-to-face sales at local markets and food events quickly grew as the Jelsmas recognised the need to reach a wider audience. “To expand the business, we needed to go national,” Noël says. “We needed to develop retail channels, but most importantly, we needed to develop online channels.” 

Taking black garlic products beyond their region required an entirely new strategy.

Like many small businesses, the Jelsmas were cautious about diving into the digital world without the right guidance. “It’s very easy to waste money in digital if you don’t do it right,” Noël says.

Their solution came through the ANZ Business Boost programme, which provided the opportunity to enhance their online presence. “We felt there was an opportunity we really weren’t leveraging, and that was the opportunity to grow our online presence. We were really hoping to upskill.”

ANZ Business Boost gave small businesses the opportunity to apply for a share of $100,000 in business support to take their business to the next level. Through the programme, Neudorf Black connected with Digitella’s Zeb Lovell, a digital marketing expert. 

Teena and Noël appreciated the thorough approach taken by Digitella. “They came out and saw us and took us through an initial review they had done. They gave us a really good insight as to how they could impact what we were doing,” Noël says.

Working with Digitella, Neudorf Black began implementing a new digital marketing strategy. The agency helped set up paid Google Adwords™ campaigns, which included configuring Google Shopping™, to allow customers to buy directly through Google. They also provided SEO recommendations – search engine optimisation – to fine-tune the structure and content of the Neudorf Black website. A live dashboard let the Jelsmas see a picture of their overall digital presence, including their attraction/conversion funnel for online sales.

The results were almost immediate. Digitella’s SEO recommendations helped to improve the business’ Google rankings and support AI search algorithms, giving Neudorf Black more visibility online. Getting Google Shopping up and running gave customers a seamless way to purchase product online. 

“We’ve already seen a massive increase in sales over the first 90 days of implementing the programme,” says Noël.

Thanks to the combination of expert help and a willingness to learn, the couple have gained something priceless, too – a newfound confidence. 

Teena explains: “Receiving the ANZ Business Boost has given us confidence to move forward and have a better understanding of what it is we’re doing, how we can drive sales, and basically see some real growth from our online presence.”

Looking ahead, the Jelsmas are focused on continued growth. “Our key milestones moving forward will be a website redevelopment and continued search engine optimisation,” Teena says. 

The ultimate goal for Neudorf Black is ambitious – expanding across New Zealand and eventually exporting their black garlic products internationally. 

“Our digital presence, our online presence is really just a part of a puzzle,” says Noël. ”That puzzle looks like expansion across New Zealand, increasing our retail network, and with an end goal to actually export our product around the world.”

Neudorf Black’s journey shows the power of digital marketing in helping a small Kiwi business grow beyond its initial boundaries. Thanks to the ANZ Business Boost, their collaboration with Digitella, and a future-focused digital marketing strategy, Teena and Noël are poised to bring the distinctive flavour of New Zealand-grown black garlic to a global audience. 

As Noël says: “That’s really just the beginning for us. We’ve got a lot of room for growth from here.”