Romene | Utilising the Kickstarter Stand at New Zealand Gift and Homeware Fair.
What was meant to be a quiet test of the waters at New Zealand’s largest gift fair turned into the ultimate green light for Romene. With a tiny Kickstarter stand, a handful of samples, and plenty of nerves, founders Megan Seator and Alice Lee came home not only with orders from high-end retailers but also with a new confidence in their pricing, their product, and their place in the market. Now they’re scaling up production, preparing to launch into stores before summer, and realising that their “soft launch” was actually the starting gun.
Megan Seator and Alice Lee at their Kickstarer booth at the New Zealand Gift and Homeware Fair
When Megan and Alice headed to Auckland for the New Zealand Gift and Homeware Fair, they thought they were signing up for a soft launch, a small stand, a few samples, and a chance to test their story on the market. Instead, their Kickstarter stand became a turning point.
Held at the Auckland Showgrounds, the spring gift fair is the biggest of its kind in New Zealand, attracting hundreds of wholesalers across categories from ceramics to cosmetics. With only 1.2 metres of display space, Megan and Alice kept their expectations modest. “We just wanted to get our name out there and maybe hand out a few samples,” Megan recalls.
But the response was immediate and encouraging. Buyers from a range of retail segments showed interest, particularly those catering to international visitors. Orders started coming in. “It became more than we could have ever asked for,” Megan says.
The opportunity also revealed the realities of scaling. Having promised delivery within eight weeks, the pair are now deep into their first large manufacturing run. Initially considering contract manufacturing, they’ve opted to keep production in-house for now. “it gives us more control and security” says Megan. By retaining control, they’re also preserving margins that can be reinvested into R&D.
Beyond manufacturing, pricing emerged as another unexpected challenge. “Our formulation is high-end, and once you add wholesale mark-ups, I worried whether buyers would accept it. But walking around the fair, we realised there is absolutely a market willing to pay for quality.”
The event also tested their teamwork. With such a small stand, Alice fronted sales while Megan roamed the exhibition floor with samples, targeting buyers that they wanted to get in front of, and directing them back to the Romene stand. “It meant we got in front of the right people. Even if they didn’t order immediately, they left knowing our name.”
Now, with confidence from Auckland behind them, Megan and Alice are setting their sights on the South Island. A speaking invitation at a Rural Women’s event in Dunedin will double as a chance to meet retailers in the Dunedin Community, with the shopping routes of cruise-ship visitors firmly in their sights.
Reflecting on their journey so far, Megan compares the experience to long-distance running. “The R&D phase felt like training for a marathon. The fair was the starting line. Now we’re running the race, and before we know it, we’ll probably be training for the next one.”
For Romene, what began as a tentative soft launch has quickly become a sprint into a new phase of growth, proof that even the smallest stand can open the biggest doors.
Follow the journey of Romene
LinkedIn: Megan Seator and Alice Lee