A social media campaign has given a former Batemans Bay resident a surge at a critical moment.
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The "Buy from the Bush" campaign is just what Kennedy the Label owner and designer Annabelle Kennedy (nee Buckley) needed in the middle of the worst drought in living memory.
But the Kennedy family have proved you don't have to live in the middle of a metropolitan city to run a successful business, in fact you don't even have to live in town. The business is run out of a home office on the farm based almost 50 kilometres north of Nyngan in Central West NSW.
Mrs Kennedy has built her more than 10,000-strong following on Instagram and successful children's clothing label around raising three kids and supporting her husband and family on the farm.
It is these kinds of businesses #buyfromthebush founder Grace Brennan was hoping to support when she first thought of the movement.
Ms Brennan is based out of Warren and had an idea the social media campaign would take off.
"It's remarkable, it's incredible what's happening in the past 10 days or so, but I am kind of not surprised that people in the city are engaging in it," she said.
"I think they do care a lot about what's happening out there and also they're enjoying finding the beautiful things that are available in the bush."
The orders are still rolling in. It's created brand awareness which is something that's hard to do from the bush.
- Annabelle Kennedy, Kennedy the Label.
The exposure for Mrs Kennedy's business has been invaluable. Friends and followers were tagging her in the original posts on the Buy from the Bush Instagram page.
"The Buy from the Bush initiative has had an enormous impact on my business with well over a thousand new followers on both Instagram and Facebook and 100 orders placed within that first week," Mrs Kennedy said.
"All with one imaged shared and a snipped on Sunday's Today Show. The orders are still rolling in. It's created brand awareness which is something that's hard to do from the bush."
Mrs Kennedy said the support was not just for her business but for the local community of Nyngan as well.
"When you buy local or support businesses from small rural areas, you're buying from a direct source and there's always a flow-on effect," she said.
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"You're not just buying from me, your $9.95 postage goes directly to our small family-run post office."
If you want to keep up with what's happening in Buy From The Bush find them on Instagram at @buyfromthebush. Follow Kennedy the Label at @kennedythelabel.
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