A temporary ban on some New Zealand fish exports to the United States has been lifted in a win for commonsense, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay say.
The United States’ Court of International Trade lifted a preliminary injunction that temporarily stopped trade for nine fish species, including popular species like snapper, caught in the Māui dolphin habitat along the West Coast of the North Island.
“This is a win for New Zealand’s sustainably caught seafood and will help with the seafood sector’s contribution to our export-led recovery,” Mr Jones says.
The case in the US was brought by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in May 2020 against the US Government and alleged New Zealand’s measures to protect Māui dolphins from fishing threats did not meet US standards for imported seafood products.
“While the temporary halt affected only a relatively small portion of overall fisheries trade to the United States, we’re pleased to see trade of all our sustainably caught seafood resume. I am pleased to see commonsense prevail in the face of a spurious claim by environmental activists. This ban cost New Zealand in the region of $2 million in exports,” Mr Jones says.
“Lifting the ban means seafood exporters will no longer have to provide a certificate of origin when sending seafood products to the United States, and I’m pleased to see this step gone,” Mr McClay says.
The decision to remove the injunction followed an assessment, undertaken by the US Government at the New Zealand Government’s request, which showed protections for Māui dolphins were comparable with, met and even exceeded, the US standards under its Marine Mammal Protection Act.
“It’s the second assessment of this kind on our Māui dolphin protections, and both have shown our measures are as good as those of the United States,” Mr Jones says.
“New Zealand has worked hard to help protect Māui dolphins from fishing-related risks and this decision reaffirms we have good protections in place. Our protections for Māui dolphins include introducing onboard cameras and banning set nets and trawl fishing within core Māui dolphin habitat along the North Island’s west coast,” Mr Jones says.
“Vessels operating in this area have been required to operate cameras or carry an observer since 2019 and we’ve had no observed captures of Māui dolphins during this time.”
Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
World’s Number 1 RTD Brand Responds To High Demand With Exclusive Advance Release White Claw launches its ‘First Wave’ concept store for one weekend only, ahead of the official launch in late April.
Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa: White Claw, the biggest RTD brand in the world, is set to make its highly anticipated arrival in New Zealand in late April - and DB Breweries has responded to the initial demand for the RTD with an advance product drop.
With eagle-eyed Kiwis spotting the iconic white and black White Claw cans in the hands of well-known New Zealanders including pro surfer Ricardo Christie, singer Paige Tapara and pro Kiteboarder Marc Jacobs – but with no confirmed stockists in Aotearoa – an influx of enquiries, comments and questions began to flood the brand’s inboxes.
Lance Savali, appointed as a partner for the brand, comments: “I first tried White Claw while travelling overseas and really enjoyed it, so to have it finally land in Aotearoa is exciting.”
In response, DB Breweries - the official partner of White Claw in New Zealand, has announced a concept store called ‘First Wave’ - open for a limited time to satisfy demand ahead of its imminent launch.
First Wave is located in Auckland’s premium shopping district, Newmarket, and runs for one weekend only from April 5th to April 7th, stocking the first-ever shipment of White Claw RTDs on New Zealand’s shores.
Visitors can expect to be immersed in the world of White Claw as soon as they enter the store, with its iconic black and white branding throughout, a resident DJ on the decks, a fully stocked bar, a ‘Claw and Win’ machine and various ‘chill zones’ so visitors can kick back and enjoy their first refreshing sip.
The catch? There will be a strict limit of one pack per person to meet demand until the product officially launches nationwide in late April.
"The rumours are true! White Claw – the biggest RTD brand in the world - is set to arrive in New Zealand very soon,” says DB Breweries Senior Marketing Manager, Cormac van den Hoofdakker.
“We have underestimated the excitement and speculation the arrival of White Claw would cause amongst New Zealanders. While we’re not in a position to launch White Claw nationwide for another month or so, as a gesture of goodwill to fans of the brand we’ve committed to launching our ‘First Wave’ concept store in Newmarket.
“This will contain stock from our first shipment for fans eager to sample the refreshing taste - however, we will be implementing a strict policy of one pack per person to make sure people don’t miss out, so get in quick.”
Originally launched in the U.S. in 2016, White Claw quickly became the most iconic and ubiquitous RTD brand in the world, reaching cult-like status through an amalgamation of internet virality and meme culture, global media mentions, celebrity endorsement and worldwide demand.
It’s made from sparkling water, balanced with a pure alcohol base, under 100 calories and will initially be available in three flavours; Lime, Mango and Raspberry.
White Claw’s First Wave concept store will offer curious speculators and fans of the brand a chance to experience White Claw before it officially hits the shelves nationwide in late April.
Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to be among the first in New Zealand to taste the first drop of White Claw.
White Claw’s First Wave Concept Store
Where: 242 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland
When:
Friday 05 April, 2.00pm-7.00pm
Saturday 06 April, 12.00pm-6.00pm
Sunday 07 April, 12.00pm-4.00pm
Limit: 1x White Claw pack, per person
About White Claw:
White Claw is the world’s leading RTD known for pure tasting, crisp refreshment. Crafted using the proprietary BrewPure® process, White Claw is gluten free with 4.5% ALC/VOL and 100 calories per 355mL. Available in three flavours. To learn more about White Claw, visit nz.whiteclaw.com or @whiteclawnz on Instagram.
Please Drink Responsibly. All Registered Trademarks used under license by Mark Anthony Brands International Unlimited.
Innovative New Zealand apple producer, Rockit Global is fired up for its biggest season yet, which will see the company export around 200 million apples - almost double last year’s volume.
The Hawke’s Bay-based company will also be exporting all-year round from New Zealand for the first time to its ever-expanding network of international markets.
Chief executive, Mark O’Donnell says 2024 is going to be a year of unprecedented growth for Rockit, which is recovering well from the Covid and cyclone difficulties of the past few years.
“We have ambitious but achievable growth targets, and our aim is to become the world’s most-loved apple brand through our strong sales and marketing plan to help deliver a strong return for our growers following the challenges in 2023.
“We’re more than doubling sales in key global markets - China, the Middle East, Vietnam – and we’re expanding into newer markets we haven’t traditionally supplied, such as convenience channels targeting 7-Eleven and Circle K in North America.”
Rockit has also sold product into India, with the intention of securing a foothold in that huge market.
“Around the world, we’re seen as a brand with both attitude and a point of difference, through our innovative grab and go pack. We present differently to other fruit and to other apples. Our focus is on being a year-round FMCG product, rather than seasonal.”
O’Donnell says Rockit also engages with consumers in a refreshing and energetic way and, to that end, will shortly announce an exciting global IP partnership. In the past, it has promoted itself in China alongside popular consumer brands such as Minions. Rockit brand character, Rocki is also proving popular with consumers overseas, while new family packs launched in Asia have been a massive success.
“We always knew 2024 was going to be a big year, with our biggest harvest yet. However, the last couple of years were challenging after Covid hit at the peak of harvest which put enormous pressure on labour for picking and packing our crop. Then last year the cyclone took out a third of our apples.
“So instead of a steady climb to this point of doubling our crop, we’re doing it all at once. And this will be the first year where we fulfil 12 months’ supply from New Zealand. We’ve achieved this by increasing plantings in New Zealand and increasing our distribution channels and shelf space in global markets.
“Supplying from New Zealand across 12 months also ensures consistent quality for Rockit™ apples, as the taste profile is different in other countries, just as a sauvignon blanc from Marlborough is different to the same grape grown in other countries.”
O’Donnell said consumer awareness for the brand continues to improve each year, with 88% of premium consumers recently surveyed stating they love Rockit.
Sustainability is another Rockit focus, with New Zealand part of the pilot market for new sustainable tubes. “We did a successful trial here in 2022 and are looking to expand this with a bigger volume, along with rolling them out in various global markets. Rockit is working to tailor packaging formats and types to market requirements, with a particular focus on maintaining apple stability and quality, and reducing food waste.”
O’Donnell said New Zealand growers wanted to see their fruit available to Kiwis and we have achieved this with the support of Foodstuffs, BP, Farro and Independent fresh produce retailers.
“With more acres planted and expansion into the South Island, we have geographic diversity and access to some great blocks of land and partners. Building a fruit supply base that can endure changing climates and extreme weather events enables us to safeguard our year-round supply as we continue to expand our networks and quality reputation worldwide.”
While Rockit is a successful global company, its headquarters will continue to be in Hawke’s Bay, he says. “Most of our senior team relocated here from Auckland but others in the wider leadership team are based in Auckland, Tauranga and in our global markets. However, Heretaunga, Hawke’s Bay is our home, and our head office will remain here.”
Winner of the Supreme Award at the 2022 New Zealand International Business Awards, and the 2023 TVNZ NZ Marketing Team of the Year Award, Rockit is a Kiwi export and marketing success story, now selling into more than 30 different markets.
“We can’t wait to continue disrupting the apple category by doing things differently through our strong brand, marketing positioning and innovation as we take on the world one small bite at a time,” concludes O’Donnell. https://www.rockitapple.com/
Sandfly Security, the agentless Linux Security Company, celebrates securing seed funding from Gula Tech Adventures and Sorenson Capital to meet growing market demand for its comprehensive Linux security solution. Industries that power the world's infrastructure, including telecommunication services, manufacturing, and networking companies, rely on Sandfly to secure their Linux environments. Sandfly will use the additional funds to expand product capabilities and accelerate the company's go-to-market strategy.
Nearly all critical infrastructure runs on Linux, yet, to date, no security solution is compatible with the hundreds of versions of the popular operating system. Traditional approaches that use an agent to secure Linux systems face compatibility, performance, and stability hurdles. These solutions often cause excessive CPU usage, stability, and performance impacts, leading to productivity losses and vulnerable critical systems to attack. Sandfly's agentless approach solves these issues, giving customers the widest compatibility, performance, and safety for securing Linux.
"Linux runs the internet—95% of cloud workloads run on Linux. Industrial apps in robotics, edge devices, networking gear, and most critical infrastructure run on Linux. Yet, there are no good tools available to secure it that do not impact stability and performance," said Craig Rowland, CEO and Founder of Sandfly Security. "Linux security is hard to achieve—it's highly distributed, fragmented, and protection tools cannot disrupt mission-critical applications. This is why agent-based systems often won't work, and we're seeing strong demand for our approach as we eliminate the biggest problem: loading an agent."
Craig Rowland, CEO and Founder, is a seasoned entrepreneur with past successes building intrusion detection technologies. One of these technologies reduced false alarms by up to 95 percent and was successfully acquired by Cisco. Before moving into the private sector, Craig spent years working for the Chief of Naval Operations—U.S. Pentagon. Seeing how incidents happen and how security teams struggle to protect their critical assets, Craig saw first-hand how challenging it was to secure Linux via the traditional agent-based approach.
"Craig is one of the rare entrepreneurs who has repeatedly proven he can build lasting companies that solve tough problems," said Ron Gula, co-founder of Tenable Network Security and founder of Gula Tech Adventures. "The world relies on Linux, and we know how important it is to secure it—yet organizations don't—leaving critical systems vulnerable. Existing agent-based solutions have compatibility and performance impacts, are hard to deploy, and likely break things. The market is desperate for a solution that works reliably, is easy to deploy, and is effective with what it promises to do. That's Sandfly Security."
Visit sandflysecurity.com to learn more about securing your Linux environments.
Agentless, compatible, and fast to deploy, Sandfly Security goes beyond traditional endpoint detection capabilities to secure Linux boxes without latency issues or cumbersome deployments. Sandfly protects virtually any Linux system, from modern cloud deployments to decade-old devices, regardless of distribution or CPU architecture. Sandfly hunts for signs of compromise, tracks SSH credentials, audits for weak passwords, detects unauthorized changes with drift detection, and allows custom modules to find new and emerging threats. Sandfly does this with the utmost safety, performance, and compatibility on Linux. We do it without loading agents on your endpoints. Investors include Gula Tech Adventures, Sorenson Capital, and Alt Ventures New Zealand. https://sandflysecurity.com/
A summer surge of North American touch downs has fuelled record breaking US traveller numbers at Auckland Airport. As the aviation system prepares for the seasonal shift in schedules at the end of the month, early indications are the increased seat capacity delivered this summer has seen well over 500,000 travellers take to the skies between Auckland and mainland North America. Scott Tasker, Chief Customer Officer at Auckland Airport, said the mix of exciting new routes and additional carriers have cracked open the North American market, creating airfare competition and driving the demand. “Off the back of a 58% growth in available seats compared to last summer, we’ve seen an incredible response from travellers. There’s been 20% more New Zealanders and a whopping 56% increase in Americans and 14% increase in Canadians flying the North American routes over summer. The market is now bigger than it was in 2019,” said Mr Tasker.
Between October and March, six airlines have been flying non-stop to seven mainland North American cities from Auckland[i]. Between March to October, the Northern Summer aviation season, four airlines will continue flying non-stop between Auckland Airport and six North American cities.
“The capacity and competition have really benefited travellers with some great fares, which overall are down 12% on last year. There’s never been more seats available between Auckland Airport and North America and what we’re seeing is travellers are really taking advantage of this,” he said.
“North America is our third biggest inbound tourism market and within that the Los Angeles route has been a real bright spot. We’ve gone from one airline – Air New Zealand – flying once a day last summer, to having Air New Zealand, American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines, together flying up to four times a day.
“California has traditionally been a strong market for inbound tourism and when we look at the 40 million-odd Americans who had New Zealand at the top of their travel bucket list, more than 20% call California home. We've seen that flow through into traveller numbers with a 180% increase in US nationals on the Los Angeles route this summer.
“We also can’t underestimate the power of having those three major US airlines plus Air Canada connecting with Auckland. Collectively they have around 300 million people in their loyalty programmes, providing great brand and consumer reach, and domestic network coverage that makes a long-haul destination like New Zealand that little bit easier to get to,” said Mr Tasker.
“There is an amazing flow on impact for our vital tourism sector. Visitors from the US are coming here to experience the best regional New Zealand has to offer – whether that’s Māori culture and history, the great outdoors, cellar door sampling or simply a day at the beach – and they’re more likely than not to visit several regions on the same trip.
“Tourism and hospitality are a big part of our country’s economic success, and maintaining frequent, year-round airline capacity to and from our key inbound tourism markets underpins that success.”
Auckland Airport’s investment in a new domestic terminal will further enhance our desire to deliver a quality New Zealand travel experience to highly valued international visitors from the United States, Canada and elsewhere, with a quick, easy connection through to domestic jet services once the integrated terminal opens. Bringing a 26% increase in aircraft capacity, the new terminal creates opportunities to add more airline seats to jet-enabled domestic destinations along with 44% more space for passenger processing.
“While many travellers will stay in Auckland or connect to a ground transport option here, whether that’s a rental car, camper or bus tour, for around 21% of inbound travellers it’s the connection point to destinations across the country. We’re making sure that link is as fast and seamless as possible so they can get on with enjoying their holiday.”
[1] Tourism New Zealand, https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/insights/markets-overview/
[1] New Zealand summer (Northern Winter) AA, AC, DL, NZ, QF and UA flying to YVR, SFO, LAX, IAH, DFW, ORD, JFK.
Bangkok – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo joined Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara along with the ministers from the 12 other IPEF partners, in their first ministerial meeting this year.
During the virtual ministerial meeting on Pillars II-IV, Secretary Raimondo welcomed the significant progress made since the substantial conclusion of the negotiations for the proposed IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, the IPEF Fair Economy Agreement, and Agreement on IPEF in November 2023. The IPEF partners also discussed the ongoing cooperative work ahead across the three proposed agreements.
Additionally, the Secretary welcomed the February 24, 2024 entry into force of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to work closely with the IPEF partners to quickly begin operationalizing the agreement. Building on that progress, the Department of Commerce today published the text of the proposed Clean Economy Agreement, Fair Economy Agreement, and Agreement on IPEF.
The IPEF partners also discussed next steps to deliver concrete outcomes under the Framework over the next several months. This includes several new lines of effort under the Clean Economy pillar, including the launching of four new Cooperative Work Programs (CWPs), announcing that the inaugural IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum will be held in Singapore on June 5-6, and providing more details on the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund.
The IPEF partners further announced that the Ministers will next meet in-person in Singapore on June 6 to discuss the Supply Chain Agreement, the Clean Economy Agreement, the Fair Economy Agreement, and the Agreement on IPEF.
“I continue to be amazed by the energy and collaborative spirit that each of our IPEF partners brings to the table and by how much we have accomplished together in such a short amount time,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “This framework did not exist less than two years ago. And now, from completing the legal review of the proposed Clean Economy and Fair Economy Agreements and the Agreement on IPEF, to bringing the Supply Chain Agreement into force and launching additional meaningful initiatives, it’s clear that the next phase of IPEF will continue to deliver concrete results for each of our economies.”
Commerce Department Publishes Texts of Landmark Clean Economy Agreement, Fair Economy Agreement, and Agreement on IPEF
Following the substantial conclusion of the negotiations of the three proposed agreements in November 2023, the IPEF partners conducted an intensive legal review, including an in-person round held in Washington, D.C., on February 19-23, 2024. Having completed the legal review process, the IPEF partners today took a significant step forward with the finalization of the texts for the three proposed agreements. The IPEF partners will now undertake their respective domestic processes to prepare for signature of the agreements, followed by acceptance, approval, or ratification of the agreements.
The progress made under the proposed Clean Economy Agreement is a significant step forward in the Administration’s efforts as an international leader on climate action. In particular, the proposed agreement establishes a basis for how the IPEF partners can work together to pursue net-zero emission economies and promote the sustainable growth and success of all partner economies. The proposed agreement reflects the shared objective of the partners to work together and with the private sector to improve the business environment so that U.S. companies, as well as those of the IPEF partners, have more export and investment opportunities, thereby supporting strong jobs here at home. At the same time, the proposed agreement emphasizes the importance of supporting U.S. and IPEF partners’ workers and communities throughout the transition process.
The proposed Fair Economy Agreement aims to create a more level playing field for U.S. workers and businesses, as well as those of the IPEF partners, and to create a more transparent, predictable trade and investment environment across the Indo-Pacific. To achieve these goals, under the proposed agreement, the IPEF partners would work together to enhance their efforts to prevent and combat corruption including bribery, and support efforts to improve tax transparency and the exchange of information, domestic resource mobilization, and tax administration. In particular, the proposed agreement reflects how combatting corruption and enforcing labor laws can empower workers, with commitments to ensure that labor rights are respected, including to provide appropriate protections to migrant workers, and to take appropriate measures to prohibit employer interference with the exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.
To help ensure effective implementation of initiatives across the IPEF pillars and agreements, as well as ensure the durability of the Framework over the long-term for ongoing economic cooperation, the proposed Agreement on IPEF establishes two ministerial-level bodies, each to meet annually: an IPEF Council, which will consider matters affecting the collective operation of the IPEF agreements and Framework as whole, including proposals for negotiations on new agreements and accession of new members; and a Joint Commission to monitor the work under the Supply Chain Agreement, the Clean Economy Agreement, and the Fair Economy Agreement, with a view to identifying cross-cutting synergies and avoiding duplication of work.
As part of its ongoing commitment to transparency, the Department of Commerce is making public the texts of the three proposed agreements, which can be accessed here on its website.
Pillar II: Building Supply Chain Resiliency for the Indo-Pacific
Following the signing of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement in November 2023, the agreement entered into force on February 24, 2024, after five partners deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval. The IPEF partners are now working towards operationalizing the agreement, including naming their representatives to the agreement’s three bodies (the Supply Chain Council, the Crisis Response Network, and the Labor Rights Advisory Board), establishing chairs, and adopting terms of reference for each, as well as identifying their respective initial lists of critical sectors and key goods for cooperation under the agreement.
Pillar III: Cooperating to Accelerate the Transition to Cleaner IPEF Economies
The IPEF partners further discussed the progress on Pillar III since the substantial conclusion of the negotiations of the proposed Clean Economy Agreement in November 2023.
The IPEF partners welcomed the inaugural IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum, which will take place in Singapore on June 5-6, 2024. The Forum will bring together some of the region’s largest investors and philanthropies with government agencies and innovative companies and entrepreneurs to mobilize increased investment for climate-related infrastructure, technologies, and projects in the region. These investments will advance the goals of the 14 IPEF partner countries set out in the proposed Clean Economy Agreement. For more information and future updates, please visit: www.IPEFinvestorforum.org.
The IPEF partners also announced plans to provide $33 million in initial grant funding for the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund under the Pillar III Clean Economy Agreement. These funds will be instrumental in catalyzing up to $3.3 billion in private investment for climate infrastructure projects in IPEF economies party to the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement. The Fund’s founding supporters include Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States, which will take steps to complete their respective domestic processes to contribute funds, as well as raise awareness about the Fund and its opportunities for public and private sector stakeholders. The Private Infrastructure Development Group will administer and leverage the Fund to deploy concessional financing, technical assistance, and capacity-building support to expand the pipeline of high-quality, resilient, and inclusive climate infrastructure projects.
In addition, the IPEF partners took stock of the CWP on hydrogen announced in May 2023, as well potential new ones. Under the proposed agreement, the CWPs are a mechanism through which the IPEF partners or a group of partners prioritize their focus and resources on a common goal. On hydrogen, those interested IPEF partners have taken steps to advance the initiative, including establishing workstreams related to the exchange of information and sharing of best practices on methodologies, standards, and certifications developed by international bodies on the carbon intensity of hydrogen and its carriers, as well as cross-border pilots and demonstration projects.
The IPEF partners also announced four new CWPs based on proposals put forward by partners:
Pillar IV: Enhancing Transparency and Predictability in the Business Environment
The IPEF partners also discussed ways to deliver early results under the proposed Pillar IV Fair Economy Agreement to foster a more predictable and transparent business environment and help drive greater trade and investment among the partners. In recognition of the critical role of technical assistance and capacity building (TACB) on achieving the commitments laid out in the proposed agreement and ensuring effective implementation and enforcement of anti-corruption measures and improving transparency tax administration, the partners look forward to continuing to identify and implement TACB initiatives to strengthen anti-corruption efforts and the efficiency of tax administration.
About IPEF
In May 2022, President Biden launched IPEF, bringing together 14 regional partners – Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam – in a new model of economic cooperation. IPEF negotiations began in late 2022. In May 2023, the IPEF partners announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations for a first-of-its-kind IPEF Supply Chain Agreement. In November 2023, the IPEF partners announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations on the proposed IPEF Clean Economy and Fair Economy Agreements, as well as on a proposed overarching Agreement on IPEF to help ensure the durability of the framework and held a signing ceremony for the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement.
Source: https://www.commerce.gov/
"A US investor-backed Auckland company, MACSO, is using artificial intelligence to detect and measure air impurities arising from vaping and cigarette smoke."
In trials the technology has already been proven to reduce illicit vaping in one New Zealand middle school.
MACSO is partnering with US-based Piera Systems, who has developed a family of ‘intelligent particle sensors’ and is providing the hardware to fit MACSO’s AI model to measure air quality. As soon as vape particles are detected, a customised alert is sent in real time to those responsible for responding.
The solution also has a dashboard with a time stamp, to identify when vaping occurs, ensuring a comprehensive approach to air quality monitoring.
“As a purpose-driven AI company, dedicated to bringing the positive impact of artificial intelligence to the world, we are proud to be working with Piera on the mission to make schools vape and smoke-free to enable the next generation to study in a safe and healthy environment,” MACSO founder Saba Samiei says.
“Piera’s devices are a quarter of their competitor’s price for the same solution.”
MACSO has also recently installed artificial intelligence-enabled audio sensors for respiratory health monitoring of animals on commercial animal farms in China.
Both MACSOs solutions maintain a comprehensive record of each incident, allowing for the generation of detailed reports that are instrumental for trend analysis and policy assessment.
“What we have is a solution that is specifically trained to detect vape smoke using artificial intelligence,” Samiei says.
“We looked at existing solutions, such as fire alarms or other vape detection sensors. We realised, fire alarms can’t detect vape particles – other sensors showed that they could be fooled if someone sprayed deodorant. We also noticed some approaches such as audio or video which are expensive and breach student’s privacy and are at high risk of getting hacked. So, we developed a model that can differentiate between what is deodorant, what is smoke, and what is vape. Applying this model to Piera aerosol sensors on the edge means the solution is cost effective and protects everyone’s privacy.”
Raj Seelam, Piera’s VP of Marketing and Customer Success, says Piera is the world’s only low-cost centre that has scalable sensors to detect particle data.
“We measure particle counts. Most others measure particle mass. It’s very imperfect science. But MACSO has this world class process that converts data into meaningful insights.”
One device can motor nearly 100 square metres, Seelam says, with Piera having capacity to ship 5000 devices per month to New Zealand.
“The denser the device deployment, the better the results are – 50-100 devices per 1000 square metres will achieve blanket coverage.”
Despite vaping being unlawful for anyone under 18, Samiei says vaping has been an issue in schools, particularly in bathrooms. The number of New Zealanders aged 15-17 who vaped daily nearly quadrupled from under two percent in 2018-19 to seven percent in 2021-22, according to data from the New Zealand Health Survey. But younger children are vaping daily, as vapes are easy to acquire and get addicted to, affecting all students.
“One of the biggest issues isn’t just the kids who vape, it’s the ones who don’t,” says Samiei.
MACSO piloted a device in a bathroom at Cambridge Middle School a few months ago. Within two weeks the bathroom became vape free. Students realised they would be caught using vape products.
“Cambridge Middle School was delighted that the vaping activity ceased. Student Voice confirmed that students felt safer using the bathrooms,” Assistant Principal Natalie Marsh says.
While Piera’s Canaree air quality monitors provide real time vaping alerts, it’s the AI provided by MACSO that gives the devices the edge over any detection through audio or video. Its software has improved the accuracy and speed of Piera’s devices’ ability to detect vape aerosols in vulnerable environments like schools, hospitals, and hotels. The algorithm was deployed eight times faster with MACSO’s platform, with the accuracy of the model to detect aerosols improving by 15 percent.
Seelam says some students use body spray in toilets to mask vape smoke, but that won’t work with MACSO’s model.
“MACSO’s AI model is so good that it can distinguish between vape, smoke and body spray. Its model really takes it to the next level because the accuracy of the detection really goes up. Vaping has a unique signature, and MACSO models are looking for these signatures in the air; that’s how we detect it.”
“What we are doing now is bringing MACSOs model to market and deploying it. The first deployment will happen in New Zealand but we’re talking to schools here in the United States and customers in the United Kingdom.”
The devices can also monitor for wildfire smoke, as well as cooking, Seelam says.
“There are applications beyond vape smoke and that’s where we intend to continue our partnership with MACSO.
“We actually have a customer who is working on an application where they would help amateur chefs cook steak or salmon to perfection. Based on the number of particles it will automatically shut the stove down, so you won’t over-cook it,” says Seelam.
Piera’s vape and smoke solution devices will be distributed and installed in New Zealand by Vanguard Group. Samiei says deployment will extend beyond schools and could include hospitals and hotels.
“We’re already talking to a hotel chain that is interested, and encourage schools, hospitals and other businesses that want to make their environment vape free to get in touch with us.”
Story by Dave Crampton, https://nzentrepreneur.co.nz/
An agreement with the second largest electric utility group in North America for a five-year term that is expected to generate ~NZ$2m in total subscription revenue, or an additive NZ$0.4m ARR.
ikeGPS Group Limited (ASX/NZX:IKE) or IKE, today announces that:
+ It has entered into a five year agreement with the second largest electric utility in the U.S., upgrading them from IKE’s legacy product to its new PoleForeman structural analysis platform + The initial purchase order is for the first year of the agreement, for ~NZ$0.4m. + This customer serves approximately eight million customers in the southern U.S. region. + Specifically + Over the coming period, this commitment means over 650 engineers at this electric utility will use IKE Poleforeman’s advanced capabilities for structural analysis and the design of distribution assets, to meet grid resiliency and network capacity targets over the coming decades. + This upsell signifies a more then ten-fold increase in annual recurring revenue from this customer. + An expected consequence of this Standards decision at the utility is that additional engineering companies and communications groups, working across this utility’s network, will also adopt IKE PoleForeman.
This contract follows recent announcements including that:
- IKE had also signed a ~NZ$3.7m subscription contract with a Fortune 150 Company and one of the ten largest Investor-Owned Utilities in the U.S., upgrading them from IKE’s legacy product to its new PoleForeman structural analysis platform. Over the coming five years, this long-term customer commitment means that over 1,000 engineers at this utility will use IKE Poleforeman’s advanced capabilities. - IKE had also signed a NZ$0.8m three-year subscription deal with a Fortune 500 Company that serves approximately four million customers on the east coast of the U.S. Since launching the IKE PoleForeman product late in 2023, more than 30 enterprise customers in the U.S. have signed onto the platform representing total contract value expected to exceed ~NZ$7.5m from this new product, that will be recognized over the coming periods as subscription revenue.
New customer wins have included flipping one of the ten largest utilities in North America from a competitor. IKE anticipates winning further significant contracts with tier-1 customers in the short and medium term.
Source: https://www.nzx.com/
Boston, Massachusetts — February 29, 2024
VoxPop, the voice-to-text platform that bridges the gap between listeners and broadcasters, is expanding its operations in the United States with the appointment of Gabe Bullard as Director of Editorial Strategy and Jon Peck as Director of U.S. Sales and Marketing.
VoxPop is an engagement platform developed by journalists and used by NPR’s 1A, WBUR’s On Point, Maine Public/Maine Calling, and shows around the world. It allows listeners to send high-quality audio of questions, comments, and interview responses to the shows they follow, and it gives producers the tools to put those comments into shows seamlessly. With these new appointments, VoxPop is prepared to work with more U.S.-based programs.
“Social media is becoming less reliable and more fragmented. Journalists are one algorithm change away from losing their audiences. We’re hoping to help radio shows and podcasts establish and hold onto a valuable connection with their listeners” says Bullard, who implemented VoxPop into the editorial workflow of NPR’s 1A.
The VoxPop Advantage
Crystal-Clear Audio: VoxPop optimizes audio recorded on users’ smartphones and produces high-quality recordings—no more crackling phone lines or glitchy video call audio.
Efficient Production: VoxPop transcribes listener submissions as soon as they’re filed; and presents the text to producers for easy review fast and accurately enough to rely on during live broadcasts.
Audience Connection: VoxPop connects a show with its listeners through a dedicated app, strengthening a direct relationship that transcends social media apps.
Accessibility: VoxPop encourages people to share their perspectives, regardless of background, language, or location, and without the need to register a social media account or compose a response.
Enhanced Editorial: By turning listeners into contributors, VoxPop adds new perspectives and voices to shows.
“In an era dominated by screens and text, human voices are a potent force for connection,” Peck says. “The spoken word resonates. ”
About VoxPop
New Zealand-based Kinga Voxpop Ltd “VoxPop”, is at the forefront of audio innovation, working with syndicated NPR shows such as WAMU’s 1A and WBUR’s On Point. Its mission: to amplify voices, empower communities around trusted information sources, and redefine how we engage with speech and sound. With assistance from the Google News Initiative (GNI) VoxPop is helping small newspapers transition to digital subscription models. In NZ, it has built a prototype Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) with Community Access Media Alliance (CAMA) station Radio Hawke’s Bay, and in Maryland, USA, is helping Springsong Museum gather oral history about legendary U.S. author, Rachel Carson.
About Gabe Bullard and Jon Peck
Gabe Bullard is an award-winning journalist with years of experience in audio production and public media. He has been a reporter, editor, strategist, and manager at Louisville Public Media, National Geographic, WAMU and NPR’s 1A, and WBUR and NPR’s Here & Now. Gabe was a Nieman Journalism Fellow in the 2015 class and holds an MA in Literature, Culture, and Technology. In his role at VoxPop, Gabe will advise newsrooms and shows on how to incorporate the app into their editorial workflow, how to structure prompts for listener responses, and how to more deeply engage with contributing listeners.
Jonathan Peck, MBA, brings a wealth of experience in multimedia marketing strategies to his role as Director of US Sales and Marketing at VoxPop. With a track record at WBUR Boston, WAMU 88.5 (Washington DC) and PRX in launching and scaling major media properties, Jonathan specializes in enhancing audience engagement and driving revenue growth across diverse platforms. His expertise in data analysis, digital marketing, and brand building aligns with his passion for empowering broadcasters, creators, and communities to amplify human voices and foster meaningful conversations in order to make the world a better place for his kids.
Source: https://www.voxpop.nz/
We’re excited to announce that we have raised $20.5 million AUD in Series A funding led by Silicon-Valley based firms Altos Ventures and Footwork.
Uh huh, you read that right. We’re taking Tracksuit to the world and powering the future of brand marketing! This funding marks our second external investment, taking Tracksuit to a valuation of $142.9 million AUD and achieving $9.5 million ARR in just under three years.
Some absolutely legendary investors, Lenny Rachitsky (ex-Airbnb and Founder of Lenny’s Newsletter), Allbirds Co-Founder Tim Brown and frank body Co-Founder Bree Johnson also participated in the round.
We’ll be using the funding to continue to power the best brand tracking solution in the market that delivers unbeatable value for our customers, while supercharging our growth into the US and UK market.
“Our goal with Tracksuit was to improve upon the traditional market research model by making it much easier to understand and way more affordable — reshaping the future of marketing and market research,” Tracksuit’s Co-Founder and Co-CEO Connor Archbold says.
“We’ve built our platform on best-in-class methodology, and this strategic funding further validates our ambition to be the common language to measure, understand, and communicate the value of brand.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time at Tracksuit where we’re moving from experimentation to building and scaling. We’re over the moon to have the support and belief of our incredible investors, as we continue to help the most exciting brands today become the iconic brands of tomorrow.”
“The funding, along with our partnership with the Altos Ventures team, speeds up our plans to democratize brand marketing data and market research,” Tracksuit’s Co-Founder and Co-CEO Matthew Herbert says.
“It underscores the demise of growth-at-all-costs strategies and lifts the importance of full funnel and top-of-funnel marketing. By helping brands know what marketing efforts are working and how to discuss brand health with their teams, Tracksuit is putting them back in control of their brand-building success."
We are incredibly grateful to have the backing of world-class brand builders and experts in scaling companies as we move into our next phase of growth in 2024.
Attracting customers like frank body and Willow and Blake Co-Founder Bree Johnson to come on board as an investor, as well as incredible individuals in the tech industry like Lenny Rachitsky and Allbirds Co-Founder Tim Brown, is testament to Tracksuit’s mission of building the future of brand marketing.
“Across the thousands of startup decks I've looked at, I've almost never seen a growth trajectory like the growth Tracksuit has seen,” Lenny says.
"Understanding brand health was a big driver of strategy at Airbnb (such as what are levels of awareness and consideration by market, compared to competitors, etc). Though I wasn't driving this work, my sense is that the teams would have killed for a tool like this."
"It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Tracksuit,” Bree says. “Having used the technology at frank body and experiencing first hand the impact it had on our business it was a no brainer to invest in their team and their vision. I feel very honoured to come along for the ride and look forward to seeing Tracksuit change the way people view brand and marketing."
We’re also bringing in additional deep expertise and guidance to our board as we focus on expansion into the US and UK in 2024.
Altos’ Anthony Lee will be joining Blackbird General Partner Samantha Wong on Tracksuit’s board, while Footwork’s Co-Founder and General Partner Mike Smith will join as board observer. Mike Smith is the former COO of Walmart.com and Stitch Fix. Marketing legend Mark Ritson also joins the ranks as a formal advisor.
"Our partner Nikhil was lucky enough to invest in Canva in their seed round a decade ago, and since then Tracksuit is the most special culture we've heard about 'down under', Mike says. “The business has exceptional signs of product-market fit — not just as a company based in New Zealand, but compared to others around the world."
Anthony echoes this, saying Altos invests in global companies with the potential for long-term, sustainable growth.
“Tracksuit has created a simple, beautiful solution to a very real problem, and we’ve heard from many customers who love the product. We were impressed by their early traction across four markets, all while being super efficient and maintaining a bootstrapped mindset,” he says.
“We’re excited now to see US companies adopting Tracksuit’s affordable, always-on solution to track the growth of their brands and empower their marketing teams to make data-driven decisions.”
Since Tracksuit’s launch in early 2021, we’ve grown to more than 60 full-time employees and are now tracking over 4000 brands across five geographies: New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Tracksuit’s growth is a direct reflection of marketing becoming more measured and valued worldwide. After a period when many businesses over-indexed into performance marketing during the digital advertising revolution, brand marketing is back. Sustainable brand building is the future, not growth at all costs.
We exist to serve our community of marketers and agencies worldwide by elevating the work they do and proving their impact. If we’re growing, our customers are also growing – it’s a beautiful, reciprocal relationship. Consider our product a love letter to those who have felt undervalued, misunderstood and not properly seen or recognised for their contribution to business growth.
We’re stoked to be the chosen brand tracking solution for more than 400 consumer brands and are lucky enough to count some of the world’s best brand leaders as customers, such as Athletic Brewing Company Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Katz.
“Tracksuit is an invaluable tool for any marketer looking to gauge the effectiveness of their investments. It’s helped us keep a pulse on consumer awareness of Athletic, and understand if what we’re doing is working,” Andrew says.
“Because Tracksuit is ‘always on,’ we can continuously monitor and understand the health of our brand in real time. Its intuitive and user-friendly interface ensures that key stakeholders can readily access and interpret the data.”
Goodman Fielder Senior Insights Manager Kay Bramley says Tracksuit provides her team with real-time tracking, is simple to use and is cost effective.
“Being ‘hands on’ makes our team closer to our brands. The Tracksuit team is very innovative and have been receptive to our suggestions for improvement, while the platform has been optimised based on feedback. It’s made brand health tracking accessible for everyone, and is a tool we can use every day.”
There’s a lot on our radar, so we’ll keep this short.
Having access to data is great. But knowing what to do with the data is even better. Our product roadmap is geared towards providing marketers and agencies with actionable insights that make their jobs easier.
We’re building on our existing functionality to:
Beyond that, we’re expanding our surveying capabilities to help our customers in the US unlock new levels of regional granularity to support their strategic growth conversations. We’re also planning some next-level integrations so we can serve our data up in the tools marketers and agencies are already using every day.
Our total funding to date now sits at around $27.9 million AUD with existing investors Blackbird, Icehouse Ventures, Ascential and Shasta Ventures also participating in the series A round.
If you’re interested in joining us on this journey, check out our open roles! If the role you’re looking for isn’t listed, still reach out – we love chatting to talented humans about future opportunities.
We are beyond thrilled to be setting out on our next chapter of growth. A huge thank you to our customers and our investors who are backing our mission to build the future of brand marketing. Onwards!
© American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand Inc • Site by HighlandCreative.com.au
