Ngaa Rauru food business gets $1.2m Provincial Growth loan to build Whanganui factory

Kaitahi frozen smoothie drops are shaken with water to make a healthy and nutritious beverage. Photo / Michael Craig

by Laurel Stowell laurel.stowell@whanganuichronicle.co.nz

Kii Tahi Ltd has been given a $1.2 million loan from the Provincial Growth Fund to build a factory in Whanganui.

Kii Tahi Ltd, the company owned by Waverley-based iwi Ngaa Rauru, has yet to finalise the payment agreement but a site for the factory, in the Castlecliff industrial area, is under negotiation.

The loan comes with a $184,572 grant to manage the building of a "foundation factory" that will manufacture food and beverage products, says Hayden Potaka, director of the iwi's holding company.

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was proud the fund could support the enterprise.

"This is a worthy project that ticks all the boxes for economic stimulation, job creation and sustainability," he said.

Helping the recovery from Covid-19 and boosting the Ngaa Rauru and Whanganui economies were also important, Potaka said.

Hayden Potaka is one of three directors of Te Pataka o Rauru, the iwi's asset holding company. Photo / supplied

Kaitahi - The Native Superfood Company is one of two Kii Tahi Ltd businesses. The other is a plant nursery at Wai-o-Turi Marae in Pātea.

Kaitahi began in 2003. Trial food products were researched at the Ngaa Rauru base in Waverley.

The final product chosen was frozen smoothie drops that come in three flavours. They won the Champion of Innovation award at the 2018 New Zealand Fine Food Show.

Some of the production is done by Freeze Dried Foods in Hawke's Bay, using ingredients such as puha, kumara, kawakawa and honey from the Ngaa Rauru heartland.

The finished product is kept at a Whanganui coolstore and distributed to about 30 Countdown supermarkets, some Bin Inns and Four Square stores.

The latest run was nine tonnes, Potaka said, and demand had been steady.

Kaitahi currently provides the equivalent of six or seven fulltime jobs. That's set to grow with the new factory.

There will be jobs for the builders, then six jobs on a first production line, and another six for a second future shift. A further 25 part-time jobs will be needed, to supply raw material from Māori-owned land in the area.

The new factory will be in Whanganui, where more Ngaa Rauru people live.

"It's a loss for Waverley but, by locating the factory in Whanganui, there is better access to infrastructure and support businesses," Jones said.

Kaitahi was also researching new products, Potaka said, both on its Ministry for Primary Industries-approved marae and with the help of Massey University.

It was looking for a new business development manager, after the departure of Leonie Matoe, and a project manager for the factory build.