It was a family business on the brink of collapse, but by harnessing the power of social media, Bridestowe Lavender Estate has become a global tourist destination.
Robert Ravens could see the potential as a tourist site in 2007 and purchased the property as a retirement project.
“We had no customers and no technology. We didn’t know anything about anything,” he told A Current Affair.
In 2010 Ravens ran out of money, and the business was on the brink of collapse. His son James – a former corporate executive based in Hong Kong – saw a marketing opportunity harnessing the power of social media.
It was the Chinese social media site Sina Weibo where their brand initially took off. By September of 2010 busloads of tourists had begun travelling to the property from all over Asia.
James Ravens is now the general manager of Bridestowe and is involved with all aspects of the business – from farming through to staffing and technology. He says social media has been the key to their success.
“The photos that we post are about a bit of an eye break, just a beautiful picture that doesn’t ask anything of you and just delivers a bit of joy and beauty in your day,” he told A Current Affair.
Since it’s rise in popularity began, Bridestowe introduced a lavender ice cream truck which features heavily on visitors’ social media pages.
“That’s become our Instagram moment,” James said.
“We have one policy in this place in our cafe, which is never run out of lavender ice cream.”
Another success for Bridestowe has arisen from Bobbie the Bear – a purple teddy created to get rid of the farm’s excess dried lavender, made on the estate.
Bobbie became an overnight sensation in China after model Zhang Xinyu posted a photo posing with the bear on social media.
Bobbie was also given to Chinese President Xi Jinping during his first visit to Tasmania in 2014. That year, Bobbie was the most faked product in the black market.
A total of 85,000 tourists made the journey to Bridestowe last season, with even higher numbers predicted for this coming year. But with their growing popularity comes a new set of problems.
The flying of drones has been restricted to certain times of the day, as the Ravens discovered their constant hum was taking away from the tourist’s experience.
With only five separate clones of lavender on the site, there’s also a biohazard risk with every tourist that sets foot on the property. If disease was to strike, it could wipe out the entire crop.
The Ravens have had to prepare for their lavender becoming infected, stocking clones off site in the Yarra Valley, and also in Cambridge University in the UK.
Bridestowe is located in the rural town of Nabowla in north-eastern Tasmania. It was selected to grow lavender over 90 years ago because of the favourable climate, and because of its isolation.
The 263 acres of lavender flowers normally bloom in early December and last until the end of January.
