Arohaina Owen from Kaitahi As One
New World shoppers across Aotearoa will be able to enjoy one of New Zealand’s most innovative new products when FoodStarter winner Kaitahi As One, launches in stores nationwide.
Kaitahi As One’s range of award-winning frozen smoothy drops are packed full of sustainable, native ingredients that will be new to many supermarket baskets. With ingredients like pūhā and kawakawa, the range is designed for people that want a smoothy that is fuss free, easy to make and full of nutritious goodness.
The South Taranaki iwi-owned enterprise was crowned the winner of FoodStarter earlier this year, in the small supplier category, at the augural nationwide competition.
Over the last six months, the business has been working with industry mentors and leading business support to enable it to upscale and fast-track its way onto supermarket shelves nationwide.
Commenting on the nationwide launch, Arohaina Owen from Kaitahi As One said the whole business had been working tirelessly towards this amazing milestone since it won at the FoodStarter Pressure Cooker Final in March this year.
“The past six-months have been an intense whirlwind. Our nationwide New World is not something we could have achieved in such a short space of time, without the support of our FoodStarter whānau. The support and mentoring we have received as competition winners has been invaluable
“When we started Kaitahi As One we wanted to create a business that no only celebrated native Māori ingredients but supported the local community. The win hasn’t just been about us, it’s also helping to create new employment opportunities for our community, which is incredible.
“The whole team is really excited to mark this next major phase in our business and introduce these amazing native superfoods into more homes across Aotearoa.”
FoodStarter is proudly supported by New World, Ministry of Awesome, Foodstuffs South Island, Foodstuffs North Island, New Zealand Food Innovation Network, ChristchurchNZ, Strategy Creative and Auckland Unlimited.
“FoodStarter is a fast-track journey with the goal of enabling long-term success to some of New Zealand’s most innovative food and beverage suppliers,” says Owen. “Kaitahi As One exemplifies the spirit of the competition. It is an amazing example of innovation, sustainability, and community enterprise, and it has been a privilege to have been able to share this journey with them.
“We know our customers are going to love Kaitahi As One and everyone at FoodStarter is very excited to see what the future holds for them.”
FoodStarter, a nationwide competition and a celebration of innovation across the food and beverage sector, is just one example of how New World is supporting its local supplier community and entrepreneurs to make the journey from innovation to supermarket shelf.
Entries are open for FoodStarter 2022, visit foodstarter for more details.
Foodstarter categories are:
- Food & Beverage Start-up – for businesses who aren’t currently ranged with New World
- Small Suppliers with New World – for businesses who are ranged with New World
The amazing prize package includes:
- Opportunity to range the winning products in the New World supermarket network across New Zealand.
- Product development and manufacturing support from New Zealand Food Innovation Network.
- Expert business support and mentorship from Ministry of Awesome.
- Branding and marketing support from Strategy Creative.
- $2500 grant for workspace at GridMNK, a place for creators, innovators and entrepreneurs in Auckland.
