“We put our heart and soul into each event and I reckon if we continue doing so, we can only do one thing, and that is to grow with our business.”
Hayley and Janet are the co-owners of Spread Me, a new startup based in Auckland, New Zealand that specialises in personalised platters and grazing tables. (Head to the Gallery to meet Hayley and Janet and see their lovely work!)
Alison: Hello! Please introduce yourself.
Hayley: Hi my name is Hayley. I’m a lab technician at a microbiology lab where I test tip top ice cream for a living. Whenever I tell people this they always think all I do at work is to try out all the new ice cream flavours before they hit supermarkets. I wish that was true! Besides that, I enjoy bringing my film camera out on weekends to explore new places, go to farmers markets and art galleries.
Janet: I’m Janet, I’m currently in my final weeks of completing my undergrad and I’m so excited to finally start a new chapter in my life. I’m just your average girl you’d probably find stuck in the library because I have no life outside of assignments as it seems these days… with that being said though, I love being outdoors, hanging out with friends and eating overpriced food. But honestly, if it’s good it’s worth it in my opinion!
Alison: Pleasure to meet you both! I have some questions for you regarding Spread Me. Tell me, how did you come up with the business idea?
Janet: The business idea didn’t actually start as a business idea. Hayley and I would always end up putting together grazing tables whenever we hung out with our friends and then one day we decided to make an Instagram account to document it. You can see from our Instagram feed that we did not have a plan in terms of content at the start, we just posted the platters we were making without thinking about how it looked cohesively together.
Hayley: Janet and I have one thing in common, and that is we both have an eye for aesthetically pleasing things. I remember the day we made our first spread together at our friend’s Christmas gathering, we saw our materials in front of us and we just clicked! We both have our individual strengths and weaknesses when it comes to different components of our business and we manage to balance and compliment each other very well.
Alison: I love how Spread Me began as a hobby. The brand feels more genuine as it aligns with your interests. What events have you hosted so far and how did you find the experience?
Hayley: Since we’re both quite busy with work and uni we haven’t been able to take on as many gigs as we’d like. So far we’ve catered quite a few birthdays and themed parties. It’s always fun and challenging at the same time to work around different themes, colours and dietary requirements. Having that creative freedom to create a personalised spread for a special someone and receiving positive feedback afterwards is the most rewarding feeling! We’ve also hosted our first ever Pink Ribbon Breakfast this year which was a huge step for Spread Me. The planning process was probably the most challenging one we’ve ever had to do. We learnt heaps from hosting the breakfast and we’ve improved a lot since.
Janet: I’d say we’re a part of a lot of events and that’s pretty special! It’s crazy to think people trust us to cater for their special occasions, it’s incredibly flattering. As far as hosting our own, we decided to do the Breakfast in July this year. It was definitely a step out of our comfort zones but I’m so glad we pulled through. One thing we’ve learned from this is to truly believe in what you’re doing. If you don’t believe in it, no one else will. There were many instances when planning the breakfast I honestly thought we weren’t going to be able to host it. We were worried people weren’t going to come, venue costs being way too expensive and tedious things like that which really strayed us away from our main goal: to create a beautiful graze whilst doing our bit for the community. Like I said, I’m glad we stuck it out and hosting the Pink Ribbon Breakfast has been one of the biggest achievements and highlights of my year so far.
Alison: I’m glad you went ahead with the breakfast. It certainly is a milestone for Spread Me. What are your goals for this brand?
Janet: It’s funny because I don’t think we’ve actually talked about this with each other. I guess we’re trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves for the business. We love doing what we do, and seeing the reactions when people see the end grazing table is so rewarding! I’d say personally, I’d want to continue to grow this brand as much as possible without putting too much pressure on whether we’re getting enough orders, how we’re doing compared to our competitors and things like that. We put our heart and soul into each event and I reckon if we continue doing so, we can only do one thing, and that is to grow with our business.
Hayley: As Janet said, we don’t really have a clear goal yet. Right now we’re just trying to get our brand out there and work our way up slowly! We’ve recently introduced new picnic boxes as a way to expand our business and our target audience. Hopefully when summer comes and when we’re both slightly more free our orders will also pick up!
Alison: Just go with the flow, you girls are doing great. Thank you for sharing with us and good luck!
Check out Spread Me on Instagram and Facebook!
Speak Your Mind 