From benefit to business empire
Two years ago, Sarah Page was unable to pay for heating after leaving an abusive relationship and being left with ‘‘absolutely nothing’’.
Now, the Christchurch businesswoman is planning to export her artisan vegan cheeses internationally, with the products garnering a cult-like following for their authentic dairy taste and texture, despite being made from plants.
Page, a French teacher by trade, started making cheeses in 2008 as a way to use up the excess goat’s milk from a small herd at her North Canterbury lifestyle block. From there, she started teaching classes to others, refining her skills and learning the art of cheese making.
She credits an innate understanding of food for helping her master the craft, but said following a recipe – even her own – was difficult for the self-proclaimed ‘‘rule breaker’’.
A messy divorce forced Page to leave the lifestyle block and goats behind, and she moved to Christchurch to start afresh.
After embracing veganism, she trialled making her cheese recipes with pumpkin, then searched for a sturdier vegetable to hold the shape and flavour. Along came kumara and the Diva Plant Cheese empire.
The vegetable is her point of difference in the growing plant-based food industry, with most other vegan cheeses made from seeds (such as sesame or sunflower), nuts, tapioca or soybeans.
Her products are dairy, soy and nut-free, stand up to the real thing in both taste and texture, and are much more nutritious, she said.
Page plans to use Canterbury-grown kumara after the next growing season, and is collaborating with Nga¯ i Tahu to cultivate a crop in Port Levy next year.
Page now offers aged cheddars, cream cheese and whipped tofu ricotta. A creamy camembert block is set to be rolled out by late June, with a blue cheese to follow. Next is international shipping, with Page tossing up options in America and Europe.
While the increase in people following plant-based diets is driven by many factors – such as price, preference and moral stances – limiting consumption of animal products is an undeniably growing trend.
In 2019, the amount of New Zealanders shunning meat jumped to 15 per cent, according to the Colmar Brunton Better Futures report. In 2018, that number was 10 per cent, and the year before, just 7 per cent.
Page said her success proved that ‘‘truly, anyone could do it’’.
‘‘I was on the benefit, I had nothing – now I’ve just bought a car and I have business cards.
‘‘We just need to support each other and shop from local artisans who really care about their products, it’s so so important.’’
The Riverside Collective, where Page holds a stall, is a dedicated space for local producers to share their wares.
Other merchants include handcrafted vinegar maker Artisan Vinegar, White Heart roasted hazelnuts, organic raw treat business Make It Raw, handmade confectionery business Kimbella’s Candy, speciality salt blend company Saveur De Sel, and hot sauce connoisseur SpicyBoys.
SpicyBoys owner Jay Madgwick-Pammet said he was browsing produce at the supermarket with his brother when they noticed a stash of Carolina Reaper peppers – the hottest peppers in the world – on the shelf.
On a whim, they ‘‘bought out the shop’’, came home and cooked up their first fiery sauce, which unsurprisingly had a ‘‘fair bit’’ of kick to it.
Madgwick-Pammet spent 2018 perfecting his recipe before selling his bottled sauces at the Opawa Farmers’ Market.
Next came a lemonade-style stall on Cashmere Rd, near Cashmere High School, which garnered far more attention until a Facebook post advertising space in Riverside Market caught his eye.
‘‘I used to work in software, something I wasn’t a big fan of, and I had the chance to work with food, something I am a big fan of, so it was a pretty easy choice.’’
Madgwick-Pammet now offers nine SpicyBoys’ products.
Brod Kvas owner Jack Bristow said his drinks followed an Eastern European recipe, which tasted similar to kombucha.
The traditional fermented Slavic and Baltic beverage is commonly made from rye bread.
Bristow launched the range at farmers’ markets before securing a spot in the Collective.
He said the hardest part about enticing the Kiwi market was encouraging them to try something unfamiliar, with flavours like original rye, hemp and manuka and beetroot.