Milestones

On December 12th, 1999 founders Becky and John got married at Moke Lake outside of Queenstown. It was a weekend affair and a bold choice outdoor wedding (no backup plan!)

We paddled away (professional river guide version of chariot) to begin our new lives
together, then came back and danced and danced. We gave all of our guests a bottle of Goodbye SANDFLY, a product that had just been formulated, but not yet released.

It was a glorious day! The start of our lives together, and the start of Goodbye. Twenty five years feels like something to celebrate both in our marriage and in this amazing business. So many beautiful relationships with customers and suppliers tended and strengthened over the years.

It started with how to get out B Corp logo added to our packaging, and 18 months later has transformed our look. The white background is gone, replaced by sky green and hill green and young green. Laura from Creative Jam worked with us to create packaging that says natural, fresh and dare we say it, fun. We're excited about the new look as it tells our outdoors story so beautifully right on the package.

We have so many customers that repeat purchase our products that we started looking for how to deliver refill sizes in better packaging. These new cardboard jars look absolutely amazing. And in the first month, we've already sold through half of what we made for the season. Woa! You like the jars too!

Sunny, the refillable sunscreen tank got her first outing in October at Colour Cambridge, offering free certified natural sunscreen to the 800 attendees of the Kids in Need event. So fun to see both kids and adults respond so willingly to getting their sunscreen in this way. Sunny looked after a whole lot of families!

Yippee Aye Aye Aye, Vanilla Balm has been acknowledged as the glorious multi-balm superpower we know it is. Winning Gold in the Multi-Balm Category of the Clean + Conscious Awards for Australia and New Zealand!

Emily Fletcher, Awards Founder and Head of Research and Education, reflects on the journey: "Consumers today are more informed and seek out products that align with their values. However, the challenges of greenwashing and misinformation persist. Our Awards play a crucial role in empowering consumers with trustworthy information to make healthier, more responsible choices."

We have been working towards this for nearly two years, formalising our Business to Business capability for improving Health and Safety programmes for outdoor teams. We are now accepted into the Circularity Directory with Sustainable Business Network in Aotearoa. Certified natural and refillable skin care at scale!

Visit Circularity Directory

It's not just about the performance of the product and the natural ingredients, it has to feel amazing, and offer the best packaging options possible. Combining a great product with a refillable aluminium container won the tick from the judges. Sun Balm is the sunscreen winner of the Good Magazine's Best of Natural Awards. We're grateful for the recognition and associated media.

It was the trip of a lifetime, 14 days on a private trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. We adventured with our teen children, our old raft guide friends of nearly 30 years, and their teen children.

With 40 degrees plus every day, our products took care of us. A new product was tested and limited released as a result. Canyon Vanilla recovery oil!

Becky wrote a post, Grand Canyon Awe which includes a video.

We are now a Certified B Corp.

This designation means we're part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact.

We have worked towards this certification gently since 2014. It's incredibly satisfying to bring such a long goal to realisation.

Being in this thriving impact driven community feels like coming home.

Just in time for winter, as our warehouse becomes a chilly place even in the "winterless North", we've closed our commercial space in Kerikeri. We had reached the end of a lease, and took the opportunity to free up some resources. Goodbye's order fulfillment is now handled by a woman-owned, woman-led warehouse based in Tauranga. Half the Goodbye team, in the form of John and Becky took the opportunity to have a long break, traveling to the US to see family and do a 14-day river trip on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

Brand new for New Zealand spring, we've completed the circle with returnable stainless steel containers for sunscreen and bug repellent. A $20 deposit becomes a store credit when a container is returned. In NZ the return paid for by Goodbye. Super!

Good for People. Good for the Planet.

Good Market is a curated community of social enterprises, cooperatives, responsible businesses, civic organizations, networks, and changemakers.  We are delighted that Goodbye has been accepted into this network. See our profile here

We've added a Sun Balm sunscreen 200g in stainless steel. It is endlessly re-usable as a container, and can be refilled with our compostable pouch. This allows not only active families but bigger groups, events and workplaces to provide high quality sunscreen. Individuals use personal 15g tins and use a wooden spoon to refill from this bigger container as needed.

We're changing the face of sunscreen with this waste-free sunscreen option.

Each year we purchase over one million sunscreen items from supermarkets in New Zealand. All in plastic.

Finally, sunscreen packaging that makes sense. TheSustainable Sunscreen Starter Kitoffers a high-performance natural sunscreen in refillable system without plastic tubes or bottles. This is possible because of our innovative water-free formulation.

One small thing makes a BIG difference. It means the world to all of us.

In search of an honest vanilla, founder and product maker for Goodbye, Becky Cashman teamed up with award-winning Heilala Vanilla.  

Heilala does more than supply great vanilla.  They work from the foundation of the process, assisting the Tongan community that plants and grows the vanilla orchid. They tend each step with care and integrity.

Goodbye OUCH Vanilla Balm starts with Heilala vanilla beans warmly infused in organic jojoba oil for several weeks. This infusion is added to balanced vegan waxes and oils to make a delicious, sexy and incredibly soothing balm for lips and skin. 

certified natural by NATRUE thru BioGro and certified vegan.

Well, we didn't get to go personally, but two of our Outdoor Heroes did. Erica Dawson sailing Nacra 17 just weeks after she broke her leg in a training session. And Alicia Hoskin in K2 and K4 canoe sprint events. We watched, we cheered them on, we celebrated their efforts to get there in the face of travel restrictions and training hurdles.

We are super, super proud that our products went with them.

We acknowledge the hard times as much as the good, because they shape us, and ultimately for the good. Covid has been a bear and Countdown did not make it any better with their data-driven decisions that do not see a difference between us and a multi-national that was once like us, and still tries to look like it's small and cute, but is definitely not.

As of this month, both Goodbey OUCH Manuka Balm and Sun Balm ranges have been completely removed from the Countdown shelves.

Goodbye SANDFLY continues to be available in Countdown (and is also in Foodstuffs banners New World, Four Square and PaknSave).

While we didn't want to see that result for Goodbye OUCH, there's a sort of freedom in it. We are re-focusing ourselves and what it means to be a visionary business. Because visionary business creates a future all of us can celebrate.

The brand new and absolutely gorgeous magazine, Woman profiled all of the SheEO business Ventures, in support of the incredible ways that this community has shown up with funding and resources for purpose-driven, woman-led business.

I've spent a lifetime talking to people about getting outdoors and why it's important. From guide to product maker, I'm still doing the same thing- helping people have an awesome time outdoors. But I don't talk about the business of being in business often and Dita De Boni from NBR gave me an incredibly generous interview on Goodbye. It's a reflection on being authentic, working in community, and responding in a Covid year.

In a year that Covid is teaching us about asking for help, SheEO is teaching me that when I ask for help, it's there.

We have just been named a SheEO Venture, alongside stunning sister businesses Kiri Nathan Ltd, Jobloads, AWWA and Nisa. Support, collaboration, celebration and acceleration to make a difference in this beautiful world of ours.

Being a woman-led business just got a whole lot more fabulous.

It’s been a huge 6 months, not for sales, but for learning. Like many businesses we miss the tourists who do lots of amazing things outdoors in New Zealand. We wrote a bit about this journey, and the reality of Support Local from a small business perspective. We are grateful that Kiwis are so quick to get in behind the home grown brands. Here’s more about our story in the post-Choose to Change.

We’ve decided to have more fun, and get back to sharing our love of plant oils. Becky has begun developing new products offered just through the online shop, with the first one being a new serum called Grateful Face. And coming soon to New Zealand supermarket shelves….. Goodbye OUCH Vanilla Balm. It’s been amazing to be back in product making. Becky said after “birthing” Sun Balm two years ago that she wasn’t doing any more products. Now she’s got about eight products in development, with another dozen ideas behind that.

This month we begin to celebrate our TWENTY years as a business.

Goodbye SANDFLY started in 1999 with product development in conjunction with river guiding on the Dart River, the same year that John and Becky got married. Since then we’ve had two children and grew a business, adding sister brands and serving New Zealand.

Twenty years seems like a long time, a sort of life’s work, and we know that we have made a difference by being on the education side of natural products, by our resourcing and of course, by the care we’ve taken in product development and offering high performance products that feel good on the skin.

Organic New Zealand just published a four page article about Goodbye and our family. Now THAT is something! Read thefull article here.

Sun Balm is coming! After 6 years in development, more than a few growls and tears, we are finally able to bring you this NATRUE certified natural sunscreen. It is high performance and a joy to use. We’re just getting onto store shelves this month, and will start celebrating in mid November.

Goodbye says hello to some space after 19 years working from our home. With the last few years getting increasingly ridiculous on the use of lounge, hall, dining and sometimes even kid rooms, we now have a warehouse in Kerikeri. Our home has been claimed back from the desks and boxes. Within a week we wondered why that took us so long to make it happen.

It took a few years, (and a few no’s), but Goodbye OUCH Manuka Balm is now ranged in most Countdown stores in the country. The brand update begins going into stores this month.

Becky becomes an Activator for the first New Zealand Group of SheEO, supporting women business owners with interest free funding and support.

With the inclusion of the SANDFLY 150ml in both Foodstuffs groups (PakNSave, New World and Four Square) and Progressive (Countdown, FreshChoice and SuperValue) we have established SANDFLY as a mainstream brand that people can expect to be on shelf in any grocery store.  Here’s a clip of article that Supermarket News published.

As a family business, our business has to flow around the framework of a thriving, active family. Sometimes that means things take longer than you’d expect. For example, the re-launch of the OUCH 12g- took, truthfully 3 years. One year to accept there was a barrier to getting the product on shelf, one year to consider our options and one to actually create a response.  The Register picked up the story of the process of adjusting the OUCH packaging.

“Now that we’ve completed the process, the new OUCH 12g has been ranged and included in Foodstuffs South Island and has picked up a whole lot of new stores in the North Island. The feedback from buyers is really positive and our rep manager says we’re “onto a winner.”

“While the process is essentially a re-launch it was every bit as big as a new product launch, and the reception to it has been just as exciting. I’m proud of what we achieved and love the new look. It was worth it.”

You challenged me to write and ask clearly. And then, as a group, you sent a sustained YES with donation after donation coming in over the following week. Because of the subscribers of Outdoors is Good, OceansWatch now has $1970 in funds to purchase UFO cookers and cast iron pots. My son Isaac and I went over to Opua to see Anam Cara finish loading, heading up to the Solomon Islands. Becky

It took us awhile to realise this, we are the first grocery brand in NZ to achieve NATRUE certification. Sunday Start Times ran a story about the Health and Beauty industry confusion over the un-regulated word “natural”. We were quoted based on our NATRUE certification. Our April press release got picked up by Supermarket News, and our local Northern Advocate.

Becky went to Taupo with Goodbye as a supporting sponsor of the Whai Ora Spirited Women’s Adventure race which saw 1200 women in teams of 4, navigating a multi-phase race. What a commitment by all, the women and the organisers who put on a truly great event. Look forward to supporting next years event in the Opotiki area.

Months of work in documentation and confirmation of natural raw ingredients and clean manufacturing process, followed by an audit of our facilities, and…

We are super glad to say that all products in all goodbye BRANDS are officially NATRUE certified through BioGro NZ.

NATRUE is an internationally recognised and incredibly robust auditing system for certifying true natural cosmetics. This recognition gives you confidence in buying supremely beautiful, truly natural products.

After 18 months in development, Goodbye NITS has begun working with a charter group of NZ Primary Schools to run a teaching unit called Awesome Hair Awareness (AHA!) The is a one week co-ordinated effort to get a positive conversation going so that dealing with headlice is easier. With the feedback from these 11 schools, AHA can be tested, refined and expanded in 2017.  As the creator, Becky’s intention is that AHA will improve the culture of talking about and dealing with headlice in New Zealand.

Goodbye OUCH launches OUCHLESS Blog as a landscape for talking about ingredients, product quality, consumer power, and making your own natural products. And always, it is linked to a connection with nature, with beautiful images and videos made from Becky’s organic property in Northland. Ramona Cording, also raising her family in Northland, and major fan of Goodbye OUCH, joins the blog as editor.

Becky gets to talk with Carly Flynn about the natural living and the trend to natural products on Radio Live.

NZ Business profiles Goodbye’s commitment to 1% of gross sales donated through 1% for the Planet. Photo is OceansWatch director Chris Bone and Becky celebrating Caliph’s “splash” after 5 months of work being done in the boat yard. Caliph is preparing to go work in the Pacific Islands on behalf of OceansWatch.

Sandfly Map and our Top tips for Dealing with Sandflies had us show up in 30 publications around NZ this season. Thanks to Liane Donovan of Donovan PR, she looks after us beautifully.

Goodbye PRODUCTS joins 1% For the Planet. Our chosen partner is OceansWatch, an international organization based in Whangarei that focuses on ocean communities, preservation and sustainability. We have been working with OceansWatch since 2012, and are very glad to formalize this relationship via 1% for the Planet.

New brands Goodbye NITS and Goodbye OUCH are available in approximately 150 locations in NZ. Feedback is really good, and we settle in to build these brands with the attention and generosity we’ve given to Goodbye SANDFLY.

Sister Brands Goodbye OUCH and Goodbye NITS are born. So exciting to see the Goodbye extension. These brands allow us to participate in a wider conversation with families dealing with the bugs and bumps of kids growing up.

We've been recognized as the #1 selling natural repellent in NZ, again! And winner of Natural Products NZ James & Wells Excellence in Marketing Award for 2011. This is a billion dollar industry, pretty excited to be recognized for “generosity marketing”.

Becky’s new book, Why Natural Matters plus 8 Simple & Positive Steps to Health is being launched mid February 2012! This coincides with the start of our new on-line shop for overseas customers.

On December 2, Becky and Goodbye Sandfly were profiled in a one page article in the NZ Herald. In July Goodbye Sandfly won the Northland Region award from biz.govt ANZ Flying Start Business Competition. We are grateful to see years of steady work gain some attention, because what we’re doing is not just about us, it’s about giving goodness to you.

The new magazine, called It’s Not about the Bugs, has 10 expert contributors from all over New Zealand. Cashman, who is both American and a Kiwi has been in New Zealand for 15 years. “Since I’ve been in NZ, I have met the most skilled, awake, alive, & generous people. To me they are the essence of “good folk” and bring with them great hearts as well as amazing skills”, says Cashman.

TV or Nature? Time watching television combined with the increase of computer use and mobile technology means we’re not outdoors as much. Yet, there is compelling evidence that we are better off emotionally, physically & even academically when we spend more time outdoors. The magazine It’s Not about the Bugs will be a little bit of “how to” mixed with a whole lot of inspiration to do more things outdoors. “Nature gives us everything we need to be well; but it’s up to us to make the time to be in it,” says Cashman. It does not have to be grand wilderness, either. A view of trees even in an urban setting is beneficial.

We were featured in the Southland Times Mirror!

South Island brand quits Karamea summers & Queenstown winters and moves north. Attracted by volcanic soil and world class sailing country- we’ve bought 5 acres of land near Kerikeri in Northland. Our plan is to grow a whole lot of organic food.

In John’s idea of the perfect lifestyle, he sussed out this beauty on Trade me, that went on auction for $1 reserve. After duking it with out with 2 other bidders for 45 minutes on auto-extends, John got our 23 foot Compass Southerly “Sea Bond” for $2400. Sight unseen & based in Whangamata, John & friend then took a week and sailed it up to Kerikeri. Yep, she’s great!

Goodbye Sandfly launches into Progressive’s chain of supermarkets Countdown, Woolworths & Foodtown, associated brands FreshChoice & SuperValue as well as Foodstuffs New World, Pak n Save & Four Square. Very busy month for the Sanderson house, everything shipped from our home!

Christchurch Press featured us on the front page in this excellent article entitled "Fierce & Hungry."

Goodbye Sandfly was formulated in 1999 during an ocean retreat. Becky loaded up all her essential oils and a layer empty small brown glass bottles in “Little Red”, a Mazda 323 and drove from Queenstown to the Catlins, on the east coast of the South Island of NZ. She worked with the oils, then when her nose became confused, she took walks on the beach and sang to the ocean.

With John and Becky both working as guides for Funyaks on the Dart River, they were able to work with guests day after day to refine the formula. Guests quickly fed back what they liked, and the overwhelming top formula became Goodbye SANDFLY.

Beyond the story of formulating in 1999, Goodbye SANDFLY grew steadily in the early years along with many other essential oil based products under a brand called Essential Touch. It ran alongside a massage therapy clinic run in Queenstown. The products business was closed down in 2004 because having a baby and running two businesses just didn’t quite hang together for Becky. In 2005, in anticipation of a move to the west coast of the South Island, Essential Touch became only Goodbye SANDFLY.  By October 2007, John and Becky were bottling together at the kitchen table every evening in the weeks and months after their 2nd child was born. The following year, they began contract manufacturing Goodbye SANDFLY, which freed up the kitchen table to be a kitchen table. John joined the business in 2010 with the nationwide launch of the brand into grocery.