Pitch Circus
Kiwi creative taking bangerritos to the world
BEN POLKINGHORNE’S idea of a burrito-flavoured sausage is just crazy enough to catch on, which is why we may see the Kiwi-born (but now London-based) entrepreneur’s bangerritos spreading through New Zealand – and maybe even further – over the next year.
It is also why advertising creative Ben Polkinghorne took out top honours at the latest IdealogLive Pitch Circus start-up competition*.
Polkinghorne’s love for burritos started with home dinners as a child. However, he had all but forgotten about them until he discovered California-style Mexican restaurant chain Mexicali Fresh in 2010.
“I thought ‘Oh my God, you can buy a burrito fresh?’ I had to try every burrito in Auckland and find the best one.”
His obsession led him to create The Auckland Burrito Review Facebook page in 2011, with the goal of reviewing every burrito the city. It gained a mini- cult following of more than 1,800 people.
Polkinghorne used the page to “piggyback on election hype” last year and meet politicians Jacinda Ardern, Russell Norman and Nikki Kaye to ask tough questions like, “If you could represent the realistic outcome of the upcoming election as a quesadilla, which party would be the refried beans no one wants?”
Then, while chatting with friend and sausage-connoisseur Matt Simpkins, the pair dreamed up an idea which The Auckland Burrito Review unbiasedly called “the biggest innovation since the sausage roll”: The taste of burritos and the convenient casing of sausages.
Next stop: production. Through his job at ad agency Colenso BBDO, Polkinghorne met Wade Lewis, who owned a boutique sausage factory and the pair got working on a sausage filled with pork, black beans, red cabbage and red onion, to be served with guacamole, hot sauce and sour cream – all wrapped in a tortilla.
Bangerritos were launched last December on a footpath BBQ outside the Ponsonby Workingmen’s Club, but soon got picked up by boutique supermarkets Nosh, Farro Fresh and Moore Wilson, as well as a few New World stores. By June he had sold 50,000.
Polkinghorne worked during daytime hours at Colenso, while his evenings, mornings and weekends were spent on Bangerritos. He says his work at the agency was integral to his success, as he was surrounded by creative people he could bounce ideas off.
Polkinghorne recently moved to banger Mecca: London where, true to form, he tried seven different burritos in the first week.
He hasn’t quite quit the day job yet, working at ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, known for its Nike “Just Do It” slogan and Old Spice commercials. All other time is spent on bangerritos.
His New Zealand plans are to buy a food truck, expand throughout the country and take the product to Sydney, where he has already had interest from gourmet supermarkets.
If things go well in New Zealand and Australia he will target the London market where, he says, there is more room for niche products. “There is a cafe here that literally just sells different kinds of cereal, and a restaurant that only sells gourmet hotdogs and champagne.”
A New Zealand Trade and Enterprise spokesperson says Polkinghorne needs to find the right business partners and look into whether the London market is ready before taking his product there.
“Replicating what the business does in New Zealand may not be the best way to approach other markets.”
Meanwhile Polkinghorne's former boss, Colenso BBDO managing director Nick Garrett, says he believes in the bangerritos idea, which is why he was always tough on him.
“Ben is equal parts wonderfully naïve, emotionally stupid, very tenacious and extremely talented. The wrong combination of those four things and Ben would be an absolute disaster. However somehow he makes it work and to great effect.”
Now Polkinghorne is experimenting with new flavours. He landed a partnership with tequila company Jose Cuervo and after some disastrous prototypes, recently launched a tequila-flavoured chicken bangerrito.
He has future plans for vegetarian and beef flavours, but says he will only release them “when there is some kind of interesting twist”.
Meanwhile, the business advice offered to all Pitch Circus winners may come in very handy. “I’m sort of making it up as I go along. I don’t really have any idea what I’m doing.”
*Every IdealogLive Pitch Circus winner receives cash, business advice, a bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky, and a profile in Idealog magazine. To find out about entering, email editor@idealog.co.nz.
“If you could represent the realistic outcome of the general election as a quesadilla, which party would be the refried beans no oneone wants?”
Ben Polkinghorne