A quality brand with a family connection. The Paulin family have owned orchards in the Clyde Valley for three generations. Their history stretches back more than 100 years, starting when Robert Paulin returned from Gallipoli and purchased the first property in 1921.
The newest owner in the large family of growers, Tim Paulin, spent his early years growing up on the orchard. He then studied horticulture at Lincoln University, spent the best part of two decades managing a local summer fruit orchard, worked in fruit growing operations n North America, and more recently managed some of the largest cherry orchards in the region. So, it's fair to say he was well-equipped to take the reins of 3 Kings Cherries.
This new venture, which was started when land was secured in 2017, includes a seven-person syndicate owning 30 hectares of cherries across 45 hectares of land, along with a majority stake in a neighbouring 31-hectare cherry orchard.
The story about how the business acquired its name starts with a school bus ride in the 1980s. On route to St Gerard's Primary, Tim's cousin, Gary, shared stories about how he would visit a rock formation high above the family's orchard. This isn't a place you'll find on a map, rather a nickname coined by his Uncle Peter and something unique to the Paulin family.
Fast forward four decades and Time was charged with the task of developing a brand for the new venture he formed with six other shareholders.
"I'm truly passionate about growing and really enjoyed working with other great businesses, but I got to the stage where I didn't want to have any regrets and give ownership a go myself," says Tim.
"I'm pleased to now have that chance. I have a number of good people involved, who wanted to back me because they have faith in the business and in my family so we got together and made it happen."
“When discussing the brand the other shareholders said, you started it, you’re at the front of it, you’re the grower, it’s linked to your history – let’s market it around you and your family.”
“So, I wanted to create that connection to the location and to reflect the contribution from all of my wider family. My Uncle Frank had an orchard beside the Clyde Dam, Uncle Pete’s orchard was across in Earnscleugh, and, along with our family orchard, you can see all of the properties our family has ever owned from the rocks my cousin called the 3 Kings.”
"It's a nod to all the support and information I've absorbed through my time working alongside my uncles, my father, and siblings, and to everyone else involved in our journey."
While the outline of the rock formation features prominently in the visual brand, the colours, imagery, and importantly, the story behind the brand are used to leverage better value for their cherries. Tim highlights that as competition increases, the importance of investment in branding for growers becomes more evident.
“Our brand is a way we differentiate ourselves. It’s well thought through, from the story you can see on the website to the colour palette and design of our packaging.”
“We export around 75% of our cherries and understand that New Zealand is a niche market and need the brand to reflect that.”
“As an industry, if we think cherries are just another commodity in the market, we won’t be producing them for too long – it’s too expensive and they are too risky to grow.”
Branding is a tool for 3 Kings to use to establish and build a loyal customer base through creating a story that they can connect to, along with an image of quality and exclusivity.
Tim also has a strategy to brand a particular type of exceptional cherries in a way that positions them differently to the usual, quality cherries they produce.
“Every few years we get a percentage of a cherry crop which is exceptionally good and we’ll run a separate brand for that product.”
“I think of it like chocolate. Consumers will buy Cadbury regularly and every now and then a special edition will come out, they’ll try it. That’s what I’m trying to do with our cherries – it will be a special edition every four or five years.”
“We see it as an opportunity to add a bit of additional value for our loyal customers who are partnering with us every year selling our fruit for us.”
The 20% of cherries heading to the domestic market is sold through MG.
“The things I look at when I choose to work with people is if I can communicate with them, get along with them and trust them” adds Tim.
“MG has always been open with their information and a trustworthy group and they’re the strongest in the market. That’s why we are solely supplying them with our domestic volume.”
