A thriving business
Mama C’s Produce Cottage has become a hub for Waikato residents seeking fruit and vege. Caitlin Moorby reports.
What started as a roadside stall for Carolyn MaihiTopine’s free-range eggs is now providing all kinds of produce for Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia and beyond.
Mama C’s Produce Cottage popped up on Hakarimata Road a few months ago.
The store sells Maihi-Topine’s chicken and duck eggs, plus organic and spray-free produce from four other families.
Her parents were the first to join her stall after finding they had a lot of excess vegetables.
‘‘We decided to put them out on the roadside with the free-range eggs and the stall just took off on us,’’ Maihi-Topine said.
Debbie Clark up the road then approached Maihi-Topine about selling her produce and soon one stall became two stalls.
‘‘It got busier and busier,’’ Maihi-Topine said.
‘‘My husband said he wasn’t building another stall, so we got the cottage.’’
There are now five families in Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia who supply produce regularly. Besides Maihi-Topine and her parents, there are organic places in the Bay of Plenty and in Thames, and two other spray-free businesses the cottage sources goods from.
‘‘The outside suppliers help to boost it up and keep the range exciting. We concentrate on sprayfree and organic and also have a couple of ranges of products to build meals that go with our fruit and vege.’’
Pepper and Me spices and pastes, Small Batch NZ nut butter blends, Lifeforce Tonics and Lanies Skin Care are distributed through the shop, as well as homemade jams and chutneys.
Mama C’s has got bigger as word’s got around, Maihi-Topine said.
‘‘It’s a little hobby that’s grown a bit quicker than we thought, but we love it and the locals and people who use it love it.’’
The cost of the produce is on par with a fruit and vege shop, Maihi-Topine said.
‘‘We’ve kept it at a reasonable price, but it is organic and what’s there on the day is what you get.
‘‘It’s not a full shop, where we have everything. Basically, what the growers have or what we have in our gardens is what’s available.’’
The cottage is run without staff, Maihi-Topine and Clark put out the produce in the morning and pick it up at night.
Customers pay via a honesty box or deposit to a bank account.
So far there have been no issues with the honesty system, MaihiTopine said.
‘‘Earlier, we had one roadside stall theft, but since it happened, there’ve been no further issues.
‘‘I was born here and have returned to my roots and I have belief in my community that people are caring and honest.’’
Maihi-Topine has hedged her bets, though, installing surveillance cameras.
Everyone has been very supportive, Maihi-Topine said.
‘‘We seem to have found a niche and it’s taken off. We’ve received hundreds of notes, from the roadside days to now, from people saying they love it and will be back.’’ The store is also in the catchment area for people visiting the town’s walkways, MaihiTopine said. ‘‘We’re not in it to make money. It was never about that. But we’re providing a service to the community and if we can make one person eat healthier, then it’s a good thing.’’
People are liking the fact the food is spray-free and fresh every day, Maihi-Topine said.
‘‘I think we are changing the way a lot of people feel about their fruit and vegetables.’’
Mama C’s Produce Cottage has also provided a place to connect with neighbours, Maihi-Topine said.
‘‘I could not believe the calibre of talented people we have in Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia. Until you start doing something like this, you just don’t know.
‘‘We have lots of conversations out the front and now we have a spray-free herb garden, where people can come and put a coin in the honesty box and pick their own herbs for dinner.’’
Sarah Dodds owns Lanies Skin Care, which is stocked at Mama C’s Produce Cottage.
Dodds is a hobby beekeeper and lives just down Hakarimata Road.
She started making balms because she had a lot of excess wax, honey and herbs at her disposal. Her two boys have eczema and her husband has sclerosis and she’s found the balms have helped them.
She approached Mama C’s Produce Cottage and now sells skin and lip balms and bath soaks in the store.
‘‘Beyond Trade Me, it’s an initial place for people to come and try my products,’’ Dodds said. ‘‘It fits the concept of being local and spray-free.’’