HOLLY MCGRATH - CLEAN COLLECTIVE
Tell us about yourself and your business journey.
I started Clean Collective alongside my partner Dan. It was 2016, we were in our Early 20s and two things were happening in our lives… On one hand, our social lives were buzzing more than ever - We were partying heaps and equally drinking just as much (If not more). On the other hand, we were also going throw a bit of an awakening in terms of health and wellness and becoming more conscious of what we put in our body + the impact it had on our lives. One day we found ourselves in the liquor store, searching for a premixed drink that we could enjoy on our next night out, but one that wasn’t full of complete shi*t, or in more polite terms - sugar, artificial additives, preservatives etc. We quickly realised there was literally not a single option… and so the idea for Clean Collective was born!
We spent the next year working to turn the idea in to a reality and in 2017 we launched our very first product to market – An RTD cocktail with zero sugar, zero carbs, zero preservatives and 100% natural ingredients. It was the first of its kind in NZ and kick started the ‘Better for you’ wave, within the liquor industry.
4 years on, we have continued to learn, grow and develop the business so we now have a range of 12x products across 2 brands, that can be found in over 1000x liquor stores nationwide.
What made you get into business?
Even though Dan & I came up with the initial idea, I have to give credit to my dad for this one. I quite often suffer from self-doubt whereas my Dad is the complete opposite of that, an absolute dreamer who no matter how big or ridiculous an idea may seem, takes the opinion that it can be done (I always laugh when I think back to the time when my dream was to be a ‘Popstar’ so he enrolled me in singing lessons and took me to numerous music auditions, despite me being absolutely tone deaf). So he was the one who gave us the big push to get serious, put what little money we did have where our mouth was and actually put the wheels in motion. As Dan and I were still relatively fresh out of Uni and new to the big wide world of business, it was also my Dad who helped steer us and provide some much needed mentoring and reassurance in those early days. He’s been with us every step of the way and is now a co-director of the company.
How do you deal with adversity?
Truthfully – not as well as I should. I am naturally quite an anxious person who tends to worry a lot so I’ve had to really work on not letting that get the better of me. Two things that have helped are:
1. Realising business is like a roller coaster – there will be extreme highs, stomach dropping lows and you will let out a few screams along the way, but that’s all just part of the ride.
2. Support from other people. I am lucky enough to have a small team around me and therefore the ability to lean on them during difficult times. We are all physically, emotionally and financially invested in the success of this business so we try and share the stress between us as much as possible.
What’s your advice for someone struggling in business right now? What are your top tips for other woman wanting to get into business?
The phrase that instantly sprung to mind when reading both of these questions was “nothing worth having, comes easy”. As I said earlier, business is like a roller coaster with huge highs and lows but you have chosen to get on the ride for a reason, remind yourself what that reason is and use it to fuel you to keep going.
I also think having a business mentor to talk to or someone who can give you good practical advice, is an amazing idea/asset to have. This doesn’t necessarily have to be someone in your particular industry either, just someone with some form of experience and who you trust to give honest feedback. My dad quite often fills this role for me but also various suppliers we work along-side and investors.
Top tips to stay motivated?
I’m a list maker so I love ticking tasks off a ‘to do’ list and that sense of accomplishment that follows. Years ago I was taught that once you have written down everything that needs doing, start with the easy/quick things first, to build momentum to then tackle the bigger stuff.
What are your future plans for your business?
We play in an extremely competitive space that is dominated by large corporate players so our big picture focus is going head to head with them to cement our brands within the market and capture as much market share as we can. We have few exciting product launches to continue growing and diversifying our range, as well as involvement in some big events/festivals too.
Words that you live by?
I love a good inspirational quote as much as the next girl so I have a few but being a perfectionist I especially love “Done is better than perfect” and regularly remind myself this when creating things at work. For general life I also love “Live fake rich now, be real poor later”, especially when your scrolling Instagram and questioning why your saving instead of buying designer handbags like everyone else.
Did covid-19 affect your business at all and if so how did you adapt or pivot?
Yes it did. We typically sell B2B with the bulk of our customer base being Liquor stores, rather than the end consumer who actually drinks the product. When lock down hit, all the Liquor stores closed their doors so sales came to a complete stop. We were not equipped to sell online at the time so our first challenge/adaptation was working out a way to do that. We managed to work with some existing digital retail outlets, who sold the product on our behalf and we also put a lot more energy behind our digital presence to keep the brands in people’s minds. It was a really tough time and one that we just had to wait out for the most part. We were just extremely lucky that when the country did eventually open up again, sales boomed and we made up for the lost time.
What’s something you wish you could tell your younger self?
That you have the best Dad in the world and you are so lucky to be able to work a long side him and experience this business journey together. It won’t last forever, so embrace it while you can, learn from him and maybe not be so critical when he does something embarrassing haha.
Also, being terrible at spelling will cost you so always make sure to triple check everything you do, then get someone else to check and not print 50,000 units of packaging with miss spelt words.
