The SME Stream

• Creating a Global Brand with Lush Co-Founder Rowena Bird

  In this episode, Sienna tells her dad Ben she wants to grow up and start her own beauty brand — just like Rowena Bird from Lush. Rowena’s journey started with literally mixing products by hand and somehow grew into helping build one of the biggest and most loved ethical beauty brands in the world. Sienna and Ben chat with Rowena about: What she was like as a kid and how she got into beauty Starting out as a beauty therapist and working with The Body Shop Selling products from the boot of her car and how the bath bomb was born in a garden shed The good bits, the hard bits, and the “what are we doing?” moments of building Lush from scratch Whether the famous “secret Lush master plan” is actually real 👀 Big mistakes, bouncing back from setbacks, and random career twists like becoming a balloon pilot Skincare and confidence tips for teens How to grow a global brand without losing what matters What advice she’d give young people who want to build something of their own And what she’d tell her younger self It’s a funny, honest chat about doing things differently — and changing the world one glittery bath bomb at a time! Follow The Podcast on Socials: TikTok: Ben | Sienna | The Hits Instagram: Ben | Sienna | The HitsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Jamie Mackay: The Country host on the projected dairy prices for 2025/2026

  The global dairy market is expected to face a period of weaker commodity prices off the back of a growth-filled 2025. According to Rabobank's Q4 Global Dairy Quarterly Report, global milk production growth is estimated to have peaked in Q3 2025. The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• The Country 11/12/25: Emma Higgins talks to Jamie Mackay

  The global dairy market is expected to face a period of weaker commodity prices following "stunning" global milk production growth across the second half of 2025, according to Rabobank, in its Q4 Global Dairy Quarterly Report. So is a $9 milk price now on the cards?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• The Kiwi company powering global cinemas

  Meet the operating system behind the global box office. We’re with Stuart Dickinson, CEO of Vista Group, a Kiwi software provider serving almost half the world’s major movie theatre chains. Stuart explains how Vista handles over $15 billion USD in transactions annually, with the shift from simple coke and popcorn sales to luxury dining and beverage service. Hear about Vista's transformation to a higher-margin Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription model and the associated risks and opportunities. Find out about the real impact of streaming, why a theatrical release is still good for a film’s bottom line, and why theaters love horror movies. Plus, the financial metrics retail investors should watch to track Vista’s ongoing transformation. Plus, Stuart explains his confidence in the future of the cinema experience—even in the Netflix age. For more or to watch on YouTube—check out http://linktr.ee/sharedlunchShared Lunch is brought to you by Sharesies Australia Limited (ABN 94 648 811 830; AFSL 529893) in Australia and Sharesies Limited (NZ) in New Zealand. It is not financial advice. Information provided is general only and current at the time it’s provided, and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. We do not provide recommendations and you should always read the disclosure documents available from the product issuer before making a financial decision. Our disclosure documents and terms and conditions—including a Target Market Determination and IDPS Guide for Sharesies Australian customers—can be found on our relevant Australian or NZ website. Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. If you require financial advice, you should consider speaking with a qualified financial advisor. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Appearance on Shared Lunch is not an endorsement by Sharesies of the views of the presenters, guests, or the entities they represent. Their views are their own.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• How cheap drones became the defining weapon of modern conflict

  Drones have gone from hobbyist toys to decisive tools of war and essential infrastructure for industry. Few people have had a better vantage point on that shift than FenixUAS founder Dr Andrew Shelley. In the latest episode of The Business of Tech podcast, the economist and aviation specialist explains how a decade of incremental innovation has transformed uncrewed aircraft into platforms that can reshape modern warfare, agritech and even search and rescue.​ From DIY quadcopters to smart weapons New Zealand’s first drone rules arrived ten years ago, when the technology was still rudimentary and often home‑built. “Pretty much every part of drone technology has improved,” Shelley said. Better batteries and lighter and stronger materials have almost doubled flight time, while mass‑manufactured airframes have brought the price of drones down. and far more capable sensors and onboard software. Other advances, such as sensor technology and onboard software, have flowed into features many consumers now take for granted, such as obstacle avoidance, rock‑solid position hold and follow‑me modes, as well as increasingly autonomous flight profiles.​ The Ukraine war, now approaching four years in duration, has been characterised by the use of drones by both Ukrainian and Russian forces. The changing face of warfare Shelley recalled watching footage of a small first‑person‑view drone in Ukraine flying straight past a Russian electronic warfare vehicle “festooned with antennas” and striking the armoured vehicle ahead of it. The drone was trailing a hair-thin fibre-optic cable, allowing it to avoid radio jamming systems. “To a certain extent, what we’re seeing in Ukraine is that the old is new again,” said Shelley, pointing out that the current generation of drones echo some of the cruise‑missile tactics from the early 1990s.​ Shelley traces a clear line from ISIS workshops that assembled drones from AliExpress parts, through Turkey’s TB2 Bayraktar successes and Russia’s use of DJI’s Aeroscope detection tools, to today’s battlefields where consumer‑grade quadcopters handle intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and precision strikes. The West, he argues, has been complacent: “Turkey was leading the way with its Bayraktar TB2, Iran is clearly leading the way with its Shahed series drones and we are playing catch-up,” he said, pointing out that the US is now reverse‑engineering an Iranian drone rather than setting the pace.​ Artificial intelligence is only beginning to make its mark in commercial uses in New Zealand, but Shelley says the leading edge is already visible in applications like Christchurch‑based SPS Automation’s large agricultural drones. These systems can autonomously identify wilding pines and apply “a small amount of chemical herbicide” to individual plants, an approach he argues could transform conservation economics by reaching areas that are “almost impossible on foot” or too expensive to service with crewed aircraft.​ Agritech, data and the search and rescue gap If the military implications dominate headlines, Shelley sees at least as much untapped potential in agritech and emergency response. He cites spray drones that can drop slug bait on vulnerable crops in muddy conditions where tractors would churn up soil and helicopters are cost‑prohibitive, turning marginal blocks into productive land. Pasture management is another frontier. Instead of consultants walking paddocks with pasture meters or towing instruments behind quad bikes, he expects drones to fly automated grids soon to map grass cover and optimise feed wedges across entire farms, backed by “clever software” to interpret the imagery.​ Search and rescue, he argues, is “one of the things we haven’t done well with”, despite New Zealand’s vast coastline, mountains and national parks. Shelley believes agencies need to change their mindset and accept that in bad weather or hazardous terrain, “we have to move into a mindset where we’re happy to lose the technology,” risking a $100,000 drone instead of a multi‑million‑dollar helicopter and its crew to find people in distress.​ Building a drone industry – and workforce FenixUAS sits at the centre of the fledgling drone ecosystem, training over a thousand civilian and government operators a year, including the New Zealand Defence Force, and certifying many of the country’s advanced drone operators. That gives Shelley what he calls a broader overview of what everyone’s doing with drones than perhaps anyone else in the country, from agritech to infrastructure inspection. While firms like Tauranga-based Syos, and SPS Automation point to a growing UAV scene, he says the real bottleneck is software talent, with drone companies crying out for mechatronics and software engineers who can turn raw imagery into usable insights.​ Listen to Episode 130 of The Business of Tech podcast featuring Dr Andrew Shelley, streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. Your weekly tech reading list The year the tech billionaires won (again) - BusinessDesk Canaries in the code mine: what AI is doing to first jobs for Generation Z - BusinessDesk ChatGPT’s New Internet Browser Can Run 80% of a One-Person Business - Entrepreneur The Data on Self-Driving Cars Is Clear. We Have to Change Course - New York Times AI-Powered Browsers Are Failing Badly - Futurism China set to limit access to Nvidia’s H200 chips despite Trump export approval - FT Australia's ban on social media for users aged under 16 comes into effect; platforms that do not comply risk fines of up to AU$49.5M - The Guardian OpenAI Staffer Quits, Alleging Company’s Economic Research Is Drifting Into AI Advocacy - Wired SpaceX to Pursue 2026 IPO Raising Far Above $30 Billion - Bloomberg From Llamas to Avocados: Meta’s shifting AI strategy is causing internal confusion - CNBC See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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