Venture capital rarely backs consumer brands—so how do you fund inventory, launch costs, and growth? This part explains NZ-specific funding options founders actually use.
1. 8 Product Brand Funding Options That Don’t Include Venture Capital
Venture capital rarely backs consumer product brands—so how do you fund inventory, launch costs, and growth?
This section unpacks NZ-specific options like inventory finance, working capital loans, grants, and export credit that real founders use to keep cash flowing without chasing VC.
Using personal savings to fund early product runs and setup.
Equity investment from personal network.
Credit facilities secured against personal or business assets.
Short-term financing secured against purchase orders or inventory.
Funds to cover cashflow gaps between production, shipping, and payment.
Non-dilutive funding from NZ government sources.
Equity funding from individuals or platforms like PledgeMe/Snowball.
Deferred payment terms or trade finance from buyers or export credit providers.
The Working Capital Challenge
- One of key challenge for consumer products is the cash tied up for a number of months in advance of being paid as you need to procure key ingredients, packaging and pay for manufacture, warehousing and shipping costs all in advance of getting paid
- Think about creative ways you can scale to manage the capital requirements eg small batch production, pilot stores, start with a mix of DTC and retail
Debt vs Equity — Which to Use and When
- Use Debt when you have reliable cashflow and you want to maintain full ownership
- Debt watch outs: personal guarantees can be required, regular payments can be challenging in early stages, limited availability pre-revenue/early-stage
- Use Equity when you’re pre-revenue or scaling fast, can’t support loan repayments yet, want strategic value beyond money, willing to share ownership/control
- Equity watch outs: potential loss of control, value/goal misalignment, setting value too high or low
2. Useful Consumer Brand Funding Resources, Links & Next Steps:
Document Name / Site | What You Will Get | URL |
Callaghan Innovation | Helps innovators access R&D funding, technical support, incubation programs, collaboration networks, and innovation guidance. | https://www.callaghaninnovation.govt.nz |
myNZTE (NZ Trade & Enterprise Portal) | Free exporter portal offering market guides, export tools, research, learning modules, and connection to NZTE advisors. | https://my.nzte.govt.nz |
Regional Business Partner Network (via business.govt.nz) | Government-subsidized advisory network to help grow businesses through local experts, support providers, and co-funding. | https://www.business.govt.nz/how-to-grow/regional-business-partner-network |
New Zealand Export Credit (NZEC, Treasury) | Export credit agency offering financial guarantees and trade credit insurance to mitigate export risks and support growth. | https://exportcredit.treasury.govt.nz/ |
Omni Calculator – Working Capital Calculator | Interactive tool to calculate net working capital, explain the formula, interpret results, and manage liquidity. | https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/working-capital |
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Consumer Brand Case Studies:
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