It's one of Wanaka’s business startup success stories in an environment littered with ideas that often never get out of the garage. But, Kiwi-as and turbocharged by a smart global digital marketing strategy, Mons Royale has kept on track to celebrate a decade in business this year.

Based on one of our most traditional products, the business was launched by two high country farmers’ offspring - Hamish Acland and Hannah Aubrey - who took merino wool, boosted its value with a new brand of outdoor apparel, and launched their product across the globe.

The long history of the wool industry - some estimates have wool accounting for 90 per cent of our export income in 1860 - and the language around brand identity makes for an interesting mix. For Mons Royale, transforming a run-of-the-mill product like wool, and building a marketable storyline behind it has been quite a haul.

Started in a small bedroom in Hamish and Hannah’s Wanaka rental home, the company now employs about 50 full time staff, most of them in Wanaka, and supplies 600 retail outlets worldwide, Hamish said.

There’s an office in Innsbruck, Austria, and plans for another in Vancouver; both large urban populations with a hankering for alpine recreation.

Closer to home, the warren-like offices upstairs in two buildings on Wanaka’s Reece Crescent are an evolving mix of racked garments, imagery, desks, and monitors.

There’s a glassed-off media production booth for inhouse content editing; a marketing area; an accounts department; creatives’ space; a sales and display room packed with samples; and the warehouse Hamish calls the “war room”, where spare wall space is covered with production timelines and imagery.

The workflow from concept to finished article repeats every 30 months. “Its crazy from creative to production. We’re thinking two and half years in advance,” Hamish said.

The desires of the sometimes elusive ‘Sammy’, a 26-year-old persona/avatar - and possibly their most valued client - is part of the storyboard. If ‘Sammy’ won’t wear it, they won't waste their time making it.

‘Sammy’ is based in Innsbruck, with a passion for the outdoors, and every piece he or she might consider for skiing or mountain biking are key to creating their designs.

What is its purpose? How will Sammy like it? Seasonal activities are all fed into an algorithm of uses, colours, fabrics and styles; refined through the design and production process; and resulting in the finished item on the shelf.

“We’ve got an army of people working together to create the energy of the mountains. Something that reflects the mountain lifestyle and connect with the energy and style Mons represents,” Hamish said.

The Mons concept was already evolving when Hamish met Hannah at a friend’s BBQ in Wanaka.

Hamish, a former national champ and professional freeskier had, like many retiring ski bums, a strong desire to do something which could match his enthusiasm for the alpine lifestyle he’d enjoyed since his teens.

Mons Royale sells more than half of its product to women.

Hannah was just back from four years working as a graphic designer in the dynamic environment of innovation consultancy Fahrenheit 212 in New York. Family expectations on the Lindis Valley sheep farm were that her corporate career was just getting launched. 

In a way it was, but not in the conventional sense.

“I never thought I’d end up working with merino,” Hannah said. Hooking up with a retired freeskier and “launching a woollen underwear company,” was not initially greeted with much enthusiasm.

The match lasted however, with the couple tackling their project from Hamish’s vision; based on his own experience on the pro circuit as a skiing nomad used to living out of a bag with only a couple changes of clothes.

He was a longtime fan of the benefits of merino wool’s natural qualities as a working undergarment, its ability to stay warm and “manage” odour so you could wear it for days without washing it.

However, socialising after a day on the slopes could be sartorially challenging. The majority of woollen products were still not suitable for public exposure in a cafe or bar - even in the ski industry.

The solution? Design their own products and take it to the largest sport trade show in the world: ISPO in Munich.

Their first modest range in 2009 consisted of one sample set of 12 styles in three colorways packed into a single bag. As outlined in an article by Hamish on the Mons Royale site, the couple booked into a nearby backpackers, made their sandwiches and set up in a six-by-six metre stand.

“We were naive and optimistic. We believed that of the thousands of people attending, a couple of hundred would see our amazing imagery and stop to talk to us. The reality was, our location was a shocker - we were in a dead zone. I spent most of my time at other brand's booths, enjoying their coffee and trying to steal people's precious time to hear my pitch. After four days we came away with leads, but no orders. We had crashed and burned hard. But like any good rookie, we soaked up the experience like sponges. I wasn’t going to quit after just one knock down,” he wrote.

Time for another plan. They both agreed the concept was worthy but it needed some branding legs to make it grow. After the show Hannah knuckled down to tackle the issue and they got to work on a new range. The colours were more vivid, the graphics bolder, and the branding image remained focused on the skiing lifestyle.

In 2011 they launched the “Who Says Winter Can't Be Hot?” campaign, and momentum grew.

“We wanted to connect with the energy and style Mons represents,” Hamish said.

An introduction to a Swiss retailer through his sponsorship connection to ski brand Volkl finally gave them their first big order, clearing their stock and gaining their entry into the competitive European market.

As the company grew, changes were taking place. More women were getting involved in alpine pursuits like skiing and mountain biking, and customer choices were based more on sustainability and ethical production rather than following fashion trends, Hannah said.

The company now sells more than half of its product to women; much higher than most outdoor apparel retailers.

Emerging technology such as Tencel wood fibre to replace polyester is increasingly being used to weave into the merino. They buy it ethically sourced through the ZQ certification process.

Manufacturing and the bulk of their market is based overseas, but the Aclands say their base in Wanaka provides them with the inspiration to work hard developing new products focused on an alpine lifestyle.

The company is now expanding its range into the growing mountain bike market.

Now with two small children, the Aclands’ focus has changed too. “We used to be looking five years ahead. Now it's something like 20.”

PHOTOS: Mons Royale