FAMILY TIES
With a connection to the past, present and future, Kono may be the ultimate family business.
Connected to past, present and future, Kono is the ultimate family business.
Rachel Taulelei has been the CEO of food and drinks company Kono for five years, but her association with the company and Wakatū – the Māorifamily-owned incorporation behind it – goes back much further.
The Wakatū story dates back to the 1820s and 1830s, explains Taulelei. Wakatū has about 4000 shareholder families. What connects them is they are all descendants of the traditional Māori landowners of Te Tauihu – the Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay regions. “My great, great grandfather was one of those people,” says Taulelei. “I have a very deep connection to Kono that is much greater than simply taking on the role of CEO in 2015. It’s the ultimate family business. “You have inherent responsibilities to care for your place and your people in a way that goes beyond the balance sheet.”
And then there’s the intergenerational promise, Taulelei explains, to preserve and enhance Wakatū’s taonga – the resources that have been handed down to them – for the benefit of future generations.
The intergenerational approach to sustainable and responsible food and beverage production allows Kono to operate with a values-driven perspective.
The past few months have revealed the volatility of the food and global markets, but Taulelei is optimistic that it’s the right time for New Zealand producers and their produce to shine. “As a Māori organisation, we think intergenerationally,” she says. “We try to avoid the temptation to act transactionally and we always invest in our people – our owners, our team and our partners both here and offshore – with a long-term view in mind.”
She says its long-term and values-driven perspective has helped position Kono as a brand that consumers trust. “It allows you to go the distance, it allows you to ride out those lumps and bumps that crop up in business, because you’ve got your eyes on the prize for a prosperous future for your grandchildren and your grandchildren’s children and beyond.”
Taulelei is excited about what the future holds, not only for Kono but for the New Zealand food industry as a whole. “What’s been created in the past few months is this phenomenal world view of New Zealand in and around trust. We’re seen as a trusted producer, a trusted place and a trusted decision maker.” For Taulelei and Kono, it’s about finding the consumer that resonates with their ethos and then bringing them along on the Kono journey. Kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whanaungatanga (relationships) and pono (integrity) are just a few of the values at the heart of what drives Kono.
“Whanaungatanga is the idea of extended family,” she says. “We extend this not only to our own team but to our customers. You’re part of our whānau – that’s how we want people around the world to feel. And then there’s pono – integrity – essentially doing what you say you will, and meaning it. These are all ideas you might find in any number of companies in the way of values, but we have a particularly unique relationship with those words and those concepts. They each have whakapapa.”
Taulelei says there’s a lot to be positive about within the food and beverage sector and she believes there are many people involved in the primary sector that are redefining what it means to be a good custodian or a great practitioner. “What I’m excited about and makes me optimistic is that in the New Zealand primary sector we have many great storytellers; we have amazing stories and we have a work ethic that ensures we’ll be able to keep doing that. We are incredibly smart in the world of food and agriculture when it comes to the technology we’ve created.”
Taulelei is a firm believer that New Zealand really is a world-leading food-processing nation. “We have these small-scale fishers who catch for the nation, and they’re amazing, but we also have small, medium and large food-producing companies who export to the world. New Zealand’s food story has to have all levels of producers to be the amazing kaleidoscope that it is.” kono.co.nz
“WE ALWAYS INVEST IN OUR PEOPLE – OUR OWNERS, OUR TEAM AND OUR PARTNERS OFFSHORE – WITH A LONG-TERM VIEW IN MIND.”
RACHEL TAULELEI