HealthPost is a Kiwi, family-owned business that began in 1988, when the late founder Linley Butler started selling barley grass from her home in Mohua, Golden Bay. Since then, the company has grown organically.

In 2009, after Linley decided to step back from the day-to-day operations, her son Abel Butler took over as CEO, guiding the company’s evolution from a mail-order business to an online wellness retailer.

Today, HealthPost is both B Corp and Zero Carbon certified, offering natural health, clean beauty, healthy food and drink and eco-living products delivered directly to customers’ doorsteps.

With over 15,000 curated products from more than 500 ethical brands and a customer base exceeding 200,000 across Australasia and beyond, Abel says HealthPost is redefining what it means to scale sustainably.

What does a typical day look like for you as CEO of HealthPost?

When I’m home in Golden Bay, I’m up early and outside, even if it’s brief. Mornings are my best shot at separating busy work from important work. I aim to tackle something hard before the extra noise arrives.

Once the team are online, it’s a mix of scheduled calls and whatever turns up – questions, ideas, the odd fire. Most of my job is joining dots and working out what to prioritise and what to drop. Our team are the engine. I try to help, to push when needed and to shut up and listen.

I always check our trading numbers, reorder my priorities and then eventually stop – sometimes after six hours, sometimes 12+. If I’m feeling off, a short walk usually clears my head. Nature is my reset, so I’m out planting and tending to things on our land whenever possible, or walking on a beach – anything outside. Listening to music and learning, often about ecology and history, also help me unwind after a long day.

What was it like transitioning into leadership after your mother founded HealthPost?

Haha, well, I feel like the transitioning remains just that – very much still a work in progress. I came into the business at 20 years old to help with the transition from mail-order to online sales, then went on to run digital marketing, etc. I’m a bit socially awkward and a recluse at heart, so leadership didn’t come especially naturally.

Mum’s style was also unmatchable – she had a natural candour and authenticity, which was sharp and direct but also compassionate. She didn’t believe in profiting from the sale of health products – it was essentially a social enterprise to make natural health more accessible and provide a basic living for her and a couple of friends.

When I took over, the mandate changed slightly to financial sustainability to support steady growth and positive impact. We’ve always been incredibly blessed by a caring, dedicated team who can look past rough edges in style and delivery to the intent.

How do you balance staying true to your mother’s founding values while continuing to modernise the business?

A lot of long discussions with Mum and among us as a wider family underpin this. We’re very clear on purpose and vision, and these being non-negotiable – we want to contribute positively to wellbeing in a holistic way (human health, social, environmental) and leave a lasting impact.

We’re a B Corp so considering all stakeholders (not just shareholders) is baked into our governance, but this is a reflex that’s in our DNA anyway.

Mum’s approach of ‘do it for the love’ is where we come from, and we’ve tried to scale that in balance with growth, scale and all the pressures that can bring. I’m certainly not claiming we’re perfect, or have been, but I think we’ve been quick to act when we’ve realised we’ve strayed from our vision. We have clear values as a family and as a team. If something doesn’t smell or feel right, someone’s going to shine a light on it pretty quickly so it gets addressed.

What part of your day brings you the most energy or sense of purpose?

Someone said to me recently that the most important part of a leader’s job is to “manage the mood.” I love this, although it hasn’t always been my strong suit. I’m motivated by the impact we have on our team – I love seeing people learn and grow in their roles, whether through developing technical skills or growing as leaders.

If someone’s giving you their working week for five or 10+ years, you really hope it’s been a good experience for them. That’s a huge responsibility, and I’m proud to see some of our team grow in their careers, both with us and beyond.

The health benefits we’ve provided our customers through high-quality natural health supplements are also a big one, along with the chemicals they’ve avoided exposing themselves to by choosing more plant-based products.

We’ve received letters, cards and emails from customers who’ve shopped with us across multiple generations, thanking us for our service to their family’s health – that always makes my day.

What advice would you give to other Kiwi entrepreneurs looking to scale sustainably and authentically?

Build your network and don’t be too shy. When I look back at my journey, I think the biggest mistake I made was not finding great mentors much earlier. I tried to learn so much first-hand, living out in the country, with very little conception of what ‘good’ looked like.

As I’ve grown more confident, I’ve learned to reach out to people who are working in adjacent areas – be it of personal or professional interest.

The Sustainable Business Network are great, link in with them, consider B Corp. Give me a bell on LinkedIn and I’ll see if I can help. The world is awash with well-intended, warm-hearted humans with shared values and purpose.

Don’t let the news cycle fool you otherwise! Be clear on your why, practise communicating it often and widely, listen carefully to the feedback you receive, be cheeky in who you approach for help, and keep an open mind.