Getting enough bottles to keep up with 300 per cent monthly growth was one of the biggest problems for SleepDrops naturopath, medical herbalist and nutritionist Kirsten Taylor.
She told the PwC Herald Talks breakfast this morning of overcoming many issues to expand the business, now targeting the US$800 million ($1.2 billion) sleep medication market in global expansion plans.

The bottles were coming from Germany via only two annual production runs, so the decision was taken to ship them here from China by boat.

She also told how “one major international airline” was allowing pilots to use SleepDrops and how 53 per cent of pilots were falling asleep involuntarily and when they woke, up to 40 per cent of their co-pilots were asleep beside them.

Taylor was the keynote speaker, joining a panel which included Massey University vice chancellor Steve Maharey, entrepreneur Diane Foreman and JUCY chief executive/founder Dan Alpe.

Foreman got a reaction from the audience when she revealed how she drove past the future employees’ houses, “their biggest asset” so she could get an insight into their personalities.

People might interview for a job well but their house could be “disgusting”, she said, citing the example of finding a one prospective employee’s house with a broken down boat out the front and an unkempt garden.

“So I wondered how you are going to grow my business if you can’t look after your house?” she said.

She also interviews partners, telling how she discovered one undergoing IVF. Yet the partner needed to travel for the new job.

“How was I to know? You have to know the family situation,” she said telling of five separate interviews for a future employee.

Alpe told of launching into the United States where one obstacle to growth was Americans thinking the business was selling fruit juice. So it had to call itself JUCY RV Rentals to make it clear what it was selling.

Naturopath, medical herbalist and nutritionist Kirsten Taylor is targeting the US$800 million ($1.2 billion) sleep medication market as part of global expansion plans for SleepDrops.
Taylor developed the product for her own use in 2009, but it was the realisation that she was not the only person with sleep issues that led her to form the SleepDrops business, which is now on track to sell around $2 million of wholesale product in New Zealand this year.

Seven years on and the company has been No 1 in the natural health sleep remedy market for two years, and won numerous awards including Best Emerging Business at the Westpac Auckland Best of the Best Awards last year.

“I was in private practice and making remedies for people and I realised … that if I didn’t get them to sleep really well first then all of their other little niggles or health complaints took much longer to heal,” Taylor said.

The company is planning to work with Otago Medical School and the University of Auckland to develop clinical trials so it can enter markets such as Korea and Japan. Taylor said natural medicines could not be patented, so few companies spent the money on it. However, successful clinical trials would help with entering particular markets, she said.

“I’ve been offering sleep drops to the New Zealand public for 11 years … and we wouldn’t be the No 1 brand if they didn’t work,” Taylor said.

SleepDrops are already sold in pharmacies in Singapore, health clinics in the Caribbean Islands and the company has just had its three liquid remedies approved for importation into China, but the focus in the next year will be the US.

“The US was always my target market,” Taylor said.

“Fifty-six per cent of Americans don’t sleep, they’re really naturally health savvy,” she said.

If you’re experiencing stress or sleeping troubles this may be having adverse effects across many areas of your life including your work performance or your relationship with friends and family, not to mention finding time to exercise and eat well. There is overwhelming evidence to show that sleep is literally THE foundation of all health and wellbeing.
Not getting enough sleep each night can have a profound impact on our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing and has been shown to alter the expression of over 700 genes in the body. Studies show links between lack of sleep and a large array of health conditions including anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, premature ageing, memory loss, substance abuse and weight gain.

• Prepare for tomorrow. Check your schedule as you finish work for the day so you are not wondering if you have forgotten anything for the next working day. Make a list of everything you need to do the next day. Then leave the office at the office. Keep a notebook by the bed in case you get some ideas that need to be remembered. Write them down and then forget about them until tomorrow.
• Set an alarm to start your bedtime wind down routine 1 hour before your anticipated sleep time. Science has shown that interacting with screens can delay sleep onset by up to 1.5 hours so try to avoid interacting with technology in the lead up to bedtime as the light emitted from these screens can interfere with the body’s production of melatonin (your sleep hormone) and stop you from getting your much needed rest.
• Reduce Stress. Stress is undoubtedly the most common reason for sleeping problems. Cortisol, a hormone produced during times of stress, is stimulating by its very nature and can have a serious impact on your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. If you find you have a ‘second wind’ from 10pm until 1am and become energized at this time, or you go to sleep and wake again an hour or 2 later, or several times in the night – cortisol may be an issue for you.

• Take a blend of vitamins and minerals which will help your body to manage cortisol response and nourish your nervous and adrenal systems. Look for a formula with a combination of the following ingredients Magnesium, B vitamins, Vitamin C and Tart cherry (a natural source of melatonin).
• Introduce stress reducing activities such as pre-sleep meditation apps, yoga and regular exercise.
• Limit your caffeine consumption throughout the day as this will initiate a stress response and caffeine can take up to 9 hours to be metabolised and may therefore interfere with sleep.
• Limit alcohol intake. Alcohol may help some people go to sleep but it does not promote good quality sleep. You don’t get the full phases of sleep and it will often wake you up between 12am and 3am, which according to Chinese medicine is ‘Liver’ time.
• Breathing Techniques. Deep slow breathing can reset your nervous system and induce a state of relaxation which will enable you to get to sleep. If you are not sure where to start there are some fantastic guided mediations and breathing technique videos online.

If you’re struggling with Stress or sleeping troubles this may be having adverse effects across many other areas of your life including your work performance or your relationship with friends and family, not to mention finding time to exercise and eat well. There is overwhelming evidence to show that sleep is literally THE foundation of all health and wellbeing.
Not getting enough sleep each night has been shown to alter the expression of over 700 genes in the body. Studies show links between lack of sleep and a vast array of health conditions including anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, premature ageing, memory loss, substance abuse and weight gain. With approximately half of the NZ population having sleeping troubles it’s no wonder there is an increasing prevalence of these health conditions within our communities.

Quality sleep supports optimal healing and repair in the body as well as better preparing you for the daily challenges of life. By prioritising your sleep, you are protecting yourself from all aspects of ill health, giving your body the most powerful of anti- stress strategy and ensuring you get more out of your day.

If you find it hard to achieve your 8 hours of sleep each night, read on for our top sleep tips below.

• Reduce Stress. Stress is undoubtedly the most common reason for sleeping problems. Cortisol, a hormone produced during times of stress, is stimulating by its very nature and can have a serious impact on your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
  Do all that you can to mitigate the stress in your life. If you find you have a ‘second wind’ from 10pm until 1am and become energized at this time, or you go to sleep and wake again an hour or 2 later, or several times in the night — cortisol may be an issue for you.

You can reduce cortisol with these tips:

• Set an alarm to start your bedtime wind down routine 1 hour before your anticipated sleep time. Switch off your laptop and stay away from screens of all kinds. It has been scientifically proven that interactions such as emailing, texting and Facebook etc. can delay sleep onset by up to 1.5 hours so try to avoid interacting with technology in the lead up to bedtime as the light emitted from these screens can interfere with the body’s production of melatonin (your sleep hormone) and stop you from getting your much needed rest.
• Wash your worries away. A warm bath helps your muscles relax. Research has shown a hot bath or shower half an hour before bed helps bring about a change in your body temperature which is needed to fall asleep.
• Minerals and nutrition for relaxation. Mineral deficiencies are a leading cause of sleep disturbances as they can adversely impact on the nervous system and the body’s ability to handle stress. Minerals taken before bed can have a positive impact on naturally sedating the nervous system. They help neurons to “fire” more functionally. Find a formula which contains nutritional co-factors that support all phases of sleep and take it each night before bed.
• Breathing Techniques. Deep slow breathing can reset your nervous system and induce a state of relaxation which will enable you to get to sleep. If you are not sure where to start there are some fantastic guided meditations and breathing technique videos online.
• Avoid Alcohol. Don’t use alcohol as a sedative to get you to sleep as it does not promote good quality sleep.You don’t get the full phases of sleep and it will often wake you up between 12am and 3am which according to Chinese medicine is “Liver” time.
• Prepare for tomorrow. Check your schedule as you finish work for the day so you are not wondering if you have forgotten anything for the next work day. Make a list of everything you need to do the next day. Keep a note book by the bed in case you get some ideas that need to Do Remembered. Write them down and then forget about them until tomorrow.
• Develop a Regular sleep routine. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning 8 hours later. Even in the weekend try to get into a good sleeping pattern. Have a wind down period before bed with no stimulating activities involving the TV, computer, electrical device or intense physical activity. This is your time to unwind and relax.
• Make sure your bedroom is a comfortable temperature (18.5° C to 21″C) and reduce outside noise and light. Use ear plugs to reduce outside noise and black-out curtains and/or an eye mask to block out light. This encourages your body to achieve the deeper restorative phases of sleep.