Global postcard innovation overcomes cookie export barriers — Exporter Magazine
Cookie Time has announced the official launch of a global ‘cookies by post’ service, a world-first use of NZ Post’s international airmail distribution networks.
The Postcard Cookie™ is the hero product for the brand new Cookie Muncher® online store cookiebar.co.nz, and allows customers to send Cookie Time’s iconic Original™ Chocolate Chunk Cookie, in a postcard style box with a personal message to almost anywhere in the world for only $8.50.
The Postcard Cookie and online store launch is the second major initiative developed by Cookie Time International Limited (CTIL), following the opening of a licensed Cookie Muncher Cookie Bar in Harajuku, Tokyo in February. The initiative overcomes a significant export barrier in finding suitable importers and distributors in many countries.
Guy Pope-Mayell, CTIL director, says the Postcard Cookie is perfect for New Zealanders wanting to send a personalised taste of New Zealand to friends and family overseas, and for ex-pats wanting to share their favourite cookies with friends or just buy for themselves. Cookie Time has for a number of years sought an efficient way to export its freshly baked product.
“We have been fielding international customer demand for many years but finding suitable importers and exporters in a global context, plus managing shelf life for product shipping, have proved to be significant barriers.
“The breakthrough was focusing our initiative on one small individual product, effectively creating a small parcel to tap into the NZ Post international airmail pipeline,” Pope-Mayell says.
“There have still been significant challenges to overcome in terms of importing product into many countries, the biggest of which has been to secure entry into the United States where an individual FDA prior approval number is required for each and every cookie.
“However, this provides a phenomenal opportunity to show we are serious about cookies, continuing to push the envelope with the new Postcard Cookie plus the new online store, a major refurbishment at the Cookie Muncher Cookie Bar in Queenstown and the opening of the Cookie Muncher Cookie Bar in Harajuku earlier this year.”
New Zealand Post’s Executive General Manager Ecommerce and Customer Solutions Sohail Choudhry says the Postcard Cookie venture is a clever use of New Zealand Post’s international airmail service, and means the cookies will be in destination countries within a few days.
Guy Pope-Mayell says the NZ Post distribution pipeline enables product shelf life issues to be eliminated, so that the time from baking to an international customer is the same as the time to New Zealand customers through our franchise network. “So, someone in the UK can be eating a cookie from the same batch at the same time that someone in New Zealand is picking one up at the local dairy”.
He says the Postcard Cookie service is in sync with how businesses are having to evolve in the digital age, enabling customers to transact directly via websites. Currently a Postcard Cookie can be sent to any country in the world except Costa Rica and Israel. CTIL is continuing to investigate how to meet food restriction regulations for these countries.
The new Cookie Muncher Cookie Bar online store – cookiebar.co.nz – is full of brand new product created especially for the online launch, including new formats and flavours of cookies, plus cookie-related gifts.
