Maraka! Maraka! Otautahi rises from the ruins - te karaka

PhotogRAPhS ANd woRdS nā Phil tuMAtARoA
Te Ao o te Māori
A wiNdow iNto the RiCh liFeStYleS oF CoNteMPoRARY MāoRi.
The story of Hayden Pohio’s Mānuka Boosta Bars is one of
ingenuity and whānau collaboration to conceive, develop,
produce and market a uniquely kiwi product to the world.
every two weeks Hayden (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Pikiao and
Ngāti Kahungunu) drives from his home in Auckland to
a small out-of-the-way factory in Hamilton to make his
Mānuka Boosta bars. He’ll spend two days working with
his part-time staff of six roasting, mixing, rolling, slicing,
wrapping and filling orders that will end up as far afield as
China and a supermarket shelf near you.
Hayden has always had an interest in the food industry.
After completing a Food Technology degree at Massey
University he set off overseas to gain experience in the UK.
After five years working for multi-national companies in
London and Liverpool he returned to New Zealand in 2005
to work in Mt Maunganui as a production manager. He then
spent two years working with his parents Adrian and Lania
in the family beekeeping business, Nature’s Country Gold –
a successful business they have been operating for the past
10 years from their Hamilton base.
Tired of working for others he started thinking about
what he could do for himself and it was his mother’s delicious
nut slice that provided the inspiration for what has
become a burgeoning business.
every bar is hand-made. Mānuka honey – regarded
as a super food – is the key ingredient combined with
100 percent natural ingredients.
“I wanted to make a natural energy product that
didn’t have a lot of rubbish in it and still tasted good,”
says Hayden.
With three varieties already on the market and sales in
the thousands both here and overseas it appears he has the
recipe for success.
66 te KaraKa MaKarIrI 2011
te KaraKa MaKarIrI 2011 67