Waikato possum sock business spun out of Chinese medicine
Monday, 27 April 2026
The Small Business Project is a weekly series that shines the spotlight on Kiwi small businesses doing interesting and unusual things in their industries.
Marketer Daisy Smith is founder of Cambridge-based possum merino sock manufacturer Nooan. Smith tells Aimee Shaw why the Waikato business is not wanting to be a fashion brand, but does want to be a wellness brand - and how bringing on a US investor last year will turbocharge Nooan’s goals to become “the Lululemon of the socks industry”.
What has your venture set out to achieve?
How our possum Merino socks got started stemmed from my brother. He was very fit and athletic, but when we lived in Shanghai he started to get serious asthma. We think air pollution was part of the reason, and Western treatment wasn’t helping much, so we turned to a Chinese medicine doctor, and one of the things the doctor wanted him to do is to wear socks to sleep. Feet have lots of nerve endings, and so if feet are cold, the body won't feel relaxed, and if you don't feel relaxed then recovery won't happen, which is why he was told to wear socks to sleep. That was many years ago when we still lived in Shanghai, and so every year when we came back here for Christmas, he would always ask for merino socks.
When we started to launch our own socks in New Zealand, we started the whole process of testing the market and got very positive feedback. I personally was actually not a sock person, but that’s when I found out humans have two nervous systems. One system for fighting, and another more relaxing mode. It turns out warmth is a very important signal to tell yourself that you're safe and it's time to slow down.
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We started working on our possum socks - with possum fur known for warmth - before the Covid pandemic and it took us about two years to develop socks, from a special blend of merino wool, which were durable. Shortly after the pandemic hit we launched the business as an online store, and from there we started our distribution network. We launched in US this year, and have been running the business for the last three and a half years.
How much time and money have you invested?
The business was a side project for quite a while, but we attracted a sizeable investor last year, and so in the last six months it has been my main focus.
We have a small team now and what’s been put into this business is not a small investment any more. Up until the investor came on board, we put in a total of $150,000 over the years to kick start the business.
Our socks are made in New Zealand. The possum yarn is spun in Lower Hutt and the socks are made in Ashburton. We’ve sold hundreds of thousands of pairs, which sell for between $50-$60 per each.
What’s the biggest challenge your business is facing?
It’s a typical challenge that any new startup faces: Economies of scale. Trying to make sure everything is balanced, because you can outgrow and outpace yourself. You can invest and then not actually survive to the day you see your return. We have been managing it very carefully and so far are doing well, but to achieve our goal we still have a long way to go.
We’re growing our distribution network, we're growing what we call our “ambassador” program, and trying to educate the consumer on how to slow down and how to use warmth to help to improve their sleep and their lives.
What’s next for Nooan?
Expansion. When we first started, we approach all of the bigger retailers in New Zealand and I got no reply, but this year we literally got replies from everyone. That says something when your brand starts to become more recognisable, so we’re working on growing that side of the business.
Who’s your target market?
We think being 40 years old is the new 18. The reason we say that is because in marketing, we always love to educate young consumers, but now I think differently - when you're 40 you look back at 18, and you think you were a different person because you’ve become more stable, financially and emotionally. From the age of 40 you think more about taking good care of yourself. Before that, kids and getting everything sorted was the priority, and with longevity, you have another 40 years to go. So we really focus on the 40-plus market.
In three years’ time you will be …
Our material is unique to New Zealand, and I hope that we're able to introduce this material to the world with a brand name, rather than just exporting raw material. We want to achieve that, which is why we're making our international expansion. The next step is expansion across the US market.
We want to own the sock market so when people want to take good care of their feet, they think about Nooan socks. We want to create a linkage between those needs and our brand name. If we are able to do that, the market size can be huge. If you think about Lululemon, you think about yoga pants, and that's what we're trying to achieve. I don't think we're going to become Lululemon anytime soon - it’s a billion dollar business - but I do think the market can be huge for us, and that's what attracted our investor as well.
Most helpful piece of advice you have ever received?
There's so many different types of expertise required to run a business, so don’t be shy to ask for help. In terms of different aspects of the business, even though you know your brand, exactly how to add online ad campaigns, how to do TikTok shops, how to run your CRM (customer relationship management) - there's so many different aspects, and it's often very hard for anyone to know everything. It would be great for any startup or small business owner to have somewhere they could go to and consult in specific areas.
If you would like your business to feature in The Small Business Project, email Aimee Shaw at aimee.shaw@stuff.co.nz