South Taranaki iwi Ngā Rauru has made a
successful entrance into the food industry,
launching its new frozen smoothie drops at
the Iwi Chairs’ Forum in Whanganui last May.
Kaitahi – The Native Superfood Company is
a subsidiary of Te Kaahui o Rauru Trust, and
has been formed from a food business Social
Ecological Enterprise programme that Ngā Rauru
began with Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment support in 2015. The smoothie
drops come in three flavours - Triple Berry
Protect, Kiwi C Boost and Super Green Zing.
They contain traditional Māori foods, including
kūmara, pūhā and kawakawa, as well as more
usual ingredients such as raspberries, limes,
ginger, chia seeds and spinach. Such “functional
beverages” are expected to be fast growing
products internationally, Kaitahi business
development manager Leonie Matoe says. “It’s
about transforming our raw native plant foods
into healthy foods and beverages for everyone
to enjoy.” Kaitahi is working on new products to
follow, Matoe says, including freeze-dried and
powdered versions, and using the flavours to
make coconut-based icecreams. But it aims
to provide jobs that are good for both people
and the environment, and move production to
underutilised kitchens at Ngā Rauru marae. The
company took top honours at the Fine Food New
Zealand innovation awards in 2018, a welcome
surprise for the company.“It’s so great that our
product is validated by industry experts (judges),
we were a little naïve about just how great our
product is. We have many more creative ideas
to share with the world and I believe having this
recognition will support us to achieve our vision.”
THE SPIRITS WORKSHOP
As the name suggests, the story of Spirits
Workshop began in a workshop. Four friends
Rod, Antony, Bernard and Sam (all longtime
employees of the food, beverage and
dairy industries) got together one night and
pondered where the homegrown spirits to
showcase the unique tastes of New Zealand
were. “We are all proud of our contributions
in helping make the dairy industry a
successful international business,” the four
say. “With our collective experience we also
understand the strength of New Zealand’s
provenance in international food and
beverage markets.” So the group decided
to build a new business handcrafting and
promoting fine artisan spirits – with the aim
of making a world-beating single malt whisky
made with the highest quality Canterbury
malted barley. However, whisky takes time to
mature and the lads couldn’t wait. So they
devised Curiosity Gin, experimenting with
New Zealand botanicals such as kawakawa,
horopito, manuka, cinnamon, coriander
and citrus. It won two silver medals at the
international spirit competition SIP Awards in
2018.
www.thespiritsworkshop.co.nz
IWI
SMOOTHIE
COMPANY
LAUNCHES
hundreds of thousands of Chinese consumers
via Alibaba’s ‘Super Members’ channel which
has around 15 million members in Yangtze River
Delta. The new initiative “extends the reach of
premium New Zealand grown and processed
fresh milk into the hands of Chinese consumers,
giving them personal insight to the standards
of animal welfare and production behind the
product,” Lee says. “This experience enhances
their appreciation of New Zealand and will, I
believe, add to Chinese consumers’ demand
for more food products grown and produced in
this country. Opening a new online and offline
channel, which connects millions of Chinese
consumers with New Zealand food growers, is
one of the goals of Theland New Cloud and Milk
New Zealand Dairy.” Lee says becoming a part
of Alibaba means growth in New Zealand and
Australia will increase rapidly.
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/www.thespiritsworkshop.co.nz
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