Inspiring Wellness

Amy Wright and Erana Ngakuru (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) sisters and co-founders of Puku Ora in Tairāwhiti, were recently featured in the Air New Zealand Kia Ora Magazine. If you didn't manage to see the article in print, you can read the kōrero below.

‍When did you launch?

Six years ago in Gisborne. We were driven by a passion for holistic wellness and access to nutritional kai after struggling through our own personal and generational family health issues. We envisioned a space where the community could connect with nutritious, culturally inspired foods.  

What started with with fresh juices and salads at a cafe has evolved into a big operation and vision, using the Māori health model Te Whare Tapa Whā as the foundation. This describes health and wellbeing as a wharenui with four walls, representing taha wairua/spiritual wellbeing; taha hinengaro/mental and emotional wellbeing; taha tinana/physical wellbeing; and taha whānau/family and social wellbeing. Our core focus is optimising good gut health by creating solutions that lead to overall wellbeing.

Achievements/challenges?

Our team of 30 pumps out more than 2,600 school lunches every week day under the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme. We cater for events, operate the eatery and produce the Kotahitanga protein range. We also have a Mauri Fermenting range of kombutcha and saurkraut, which can be bought locally.  

We teamed up with Plant and Food Research to explore traditional Māori fermenting practices in the hope of developing a probiotic unique to New Zealand. Challenges have come up in many forms, from navigating the complexities of scaling our operations sustainably to ensuring our products meet the highest standards.

How do connections like Whāriki Māori Business Network help?

They provide a platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and community support. Being part of this network allows us to learn from others, share our experiences, and collectively work towards elevating Māori business excellence.  

Find out more about Puku Ora here