Entrepreneur Lisa King on what it takes to find business success

What does it take for an idea to become a successful company? Fiona Connor talks to business owners and asks them about their challenges and successes.

Lisa King, the woman behind Eat My Lunch is now making waves with AF Drinks.

Before launching her own business, the social entrepreneur gained extensive corporate experience in New Zealand, where she held senior marketing positions for household brands such as Heinz Wattie’s Fonterra, Cadbury, and Bluebird Foods.

Here, she shares some of her best tips on how you can start a new business. She also explains how she launched her non-alcoholic beverage range and dealt with unexpected challenges.

Where did you get your entrepreneurial spirit?

Reflecting, I can say that my parents had the greatest influence. They arrived in New Zealand without any knowledge of the language or country and had to make their own opportunities. They opened a Chinese restaurant. (Even though neither was a chef, my father was a good cook.) From the age of 10, I began working weekends at the restaurant, making desserts.

My parents opened the first Chinese medical centre and acupuncturist in New Zealand when I was in high school. They continued to invest, and tried their hand at other opportunities, such as real-estate, racing horse breeding, and truffle harvesting. They were constantly looking for the next business opportunity.

Growing up with my parents in this environment helped me to understand how hard they worked and what sacrifices were made. They showed me how important it is to have a strong work ethic and that business doesn’t only revolve around making money. They often sacrificed money in order to do what was right for their customers and community. I was most impressed by their generosity, and how they prioritized people and relationships over profit.

My parents bought me a bakery when I was 16. At that age, the idea of working as much as my parents did was not appealing to me and I refused. I chose to work in the corporate world for 15 years. There was an itch to be my boss. I did not like the corporate politics, lack of speed and risk-taking, and the fact that you had to rely on others. I am also an introvert and corporates don’t suit me well. At 38, I started my first business Eat My Lunch.

I learned a lot from my corporate work, but I’m not sure I want to return. I enjoy creating my own vision and moving quickly. I also like taking risks. Every minute I spend working on my business is worth it.

Tell me when and how you switched to AF Drinks

After experiencing vertigo for a few times, I decided that I would stop drinking. When I started experiencing vertigo every time, I realized I was also drinking a gin-and-tonic. In New Zealand, where drinking is a big part of the culture, refusing to drink can make you feel like a social outcast. You’ll get strange looks from people and be asked questions such as “Are you pregnant?” It was odd to have to justify not drinking – no one questions anyone who stops smoking. It was strange to have to defend not drinking. No one questions people who stop smoking.

I also learned how difficult it was to find a good, non-alcoholic drink which wasn’t just a sugary drink or juice. I wanted an adult beverage that tasted as good as the gin and Tonics of my youth. So I decided to do it myself, and that’s how AF began.

We worked together on Zoom for three months prior to meeting in person. From the beginning, we were very clear that AF wasn’t just about offering great alcohol-free options. We also wanted to change behavior and create conversation to make not drinking cool. We are committed to helping people reduce and moderate their alcohol consumption.

What was the process from the moment an idea is born to the time it’s on the shelf?

“Actions not words” is one of my values. If I have an opinion that I strongly believe in, I am willing to act on it. From the moment I had a new idea until it was on the shelves took around nine months. I knew the process well, as I’d worked at many large food companies, including Unilever and Fonterra.

You can move faster with a small company because you do not have to deal with the same red tape as large corporations. We also had to deal with lockdowns and Covid. So I would have the flavor company create some samples of the drinks and drop them at my house. Then, after I gave them feedback, they would tweak it and send out more samples. This process was repeated five to six times before we got a formulation that worked.

In the last two years, we have developed and launched 11 drinks in New Zealand – this is incredible for a drinks company (some of the big alcohol companies we spoke to were stunned as it normally takes them two to three years to develop one new product).

We are focused on speed, without compromising standards, because it is an advantage to a startup.

What were the unexpected challenges you faced and how did your overcome them?

Eat My Lunch taught us that things never go as planned. We need to mentally prepare ourselves for the curveballs, challenges and obstacles that will come our way.

AF was a great company to work with. Everything went smoothly for the first 6 months. Everything went wrong just before we began production. The bottles didn’t arrive on time, there were problems at the plant, and even our pink gin wasn’t pink. I asked myself what else could have gone wrong. Just weeks before we were to start shipping product to our very first supermarket, everything went wrong. It wasn’t ideal that we only had two drinks to launch instead of three.

What is the difference between success and failure?

No manual or set of steps can guarantee success. There are so many factors that influence success, including the context, the people involved and some luck. Early entrepreneurs should follow my advice:

1. Take action and move with speed – it is your biggest advantage.

2. Concentrate on what you want to achieve.

3. At the same, you should be flexible and ready to adapt and learn from your mistakes.

4. It’s a tough road, make sure you have the right people on board – you can’t do this alone.

What have you achieved so far in your career with AF Drinks that you are most proud?

The recent announcement of our investment by Pernod Ricard’s Convivialité Ventures is a huge milestone for the team as it validates all our hard work and the value we’ve created. Through the process, and after speaking to so many people, our team, brand and product received an overwhelmingly positive response.

What can you tell us about your experience?

The people make the difference. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but one that I always regret was hiring the wrong people. Be sure to choose people who share your vision, values and work ethic. You can overcome most challenges and work through any situation when you have the right people in your life. The team at AF has been just so amazing – there’s no ego, we are all passionate, hard working and want to create something that’s better for the world, and we have a lot of fun doing it.

What is the secret of creating something that people want to buy?

You should understand your consumer and solve a problem. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on research – Matt from our team has conducted hundreds of in-store sampling, talking to people and adjusting how we communicate to them, what about our products really draw people in and finding out what people don’t like. I’m on our social media and customer service channels every day, so I can hear the questions and feedback from people.

What one thing must entrepreneurs have to succeed in business?

Resilience. You need to be able to get up and keep going, even when you feel like giving up. Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone – it is incredibly hard but if you have the courage and resilience, the rewards are absolutely worth it.