Award spurs growth and employment for smoothie drops company

Kaitahi As One is riding a wave of success with its ‘‘smoothie drops’’ – designed for people who want a smoothie but don’t have fruit and a blender handy.

The company won the small supplier category at the Foodstarter awards on Thursday, after a period of intense growth for the iwi (Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi) owned Taranakibased company.

Arohaina Owen, the working group lead for Kaitahi, said the win meant it could grow and provide more employment opportunities for its people.

The business currently employs seven workers. ‘‘Our whole priority is always about inter-generational business success, so we can let our babies know that if they want to be a chief executive of a business one day, then they can learn along their life in the different businesses we have.’’

Kaitahi smoothie drops are concentrated frozen smoothie ingredients in a tablet form. Consumers just add the drops to water or milk and shake, with no blender required, Owen said.

The concept for the business came from discussions about how the iwi could use its land and what more could be done to create employment opportunities, Owen said.

‘‘We already had a plant nursery, so we thought OK, maybe we could grow Ma¯ori ingredients and look into making smoothies as part of a diversification strategy for our businesses,’’ she said.

Discussions began in 2016 and Kaitahi took its smoothie drop product to market in 2018. The company won the Te Ma¯na Atatu¯ Whanganui Ma¯ori Business Supreme Award in 2019 and the Fine Food Most Innovative New Foodservice Product Award in 2018.

Just before the Foodstarter Final on Thursday, Kaitahi was also awarded $54,000 in funding from High-Value Nutrition Ko Nga¯ Kai Whai Painga, the New Zealand National Science Challenge. The initial seed money for the business came from government funding.

Owen encouraged other small businesses to look around for funding opportunities. ‘‘There are so many organisations and places, whether it be government departments or the private sector that want to help.

Pania Winterburn and Arohaina Owen, of Kaitahi As One. The smoothie drop company won the small suppliers’ category at Foodstarter awards.

‘‘Often the challenge for businesses is they don’t know where to ask for help, and they don’t know how to ask for help. So it’s about bringing the right partners together with these small businesses.’’

Applications for FoodStarter were open from November 2020 through to February 2021. The top 10 finalists were picked out of 217 entries to present their products in the Pressure Cooker Pitch Final.

Kaitahi won the category for products already stocked in some New World supermarkets while plant-based Lilo Desserts won the start-up category.

Both companies will be given the opportunity to stock their products in New World stores throughout the country and business development support.

Kaitahi was already stocked in some Countdown stores nationwide.