Fresh soups a winner despite pessimism
The Shenhavs were told when canvassing supermarkets pitching the idea of a new range of fresh soups, there was no way they could compete with the big guys.
The company, Pitango Innovative Cuisine, was named the Best Emerging Business in the Enterprise North Shore Business Excellence Awards and the Auckland Emerging Exporter of the Year in the Export New Zealand (ENZ) awards.
The company was also a finalist in the innovation and exporting categories of the Shore awards.
Ofer Shenhav, who was born in Israel, is a chef while his Kiwi-born wife, Yasmin, was a dance teacher.
She says although an unlikely combination of careers, their backgrounds have helped them create some unique products, including their newly-released spring lamb with roasted garlic, red wine and rosemary.
Their Moroccan chicken soup with chickpea, mint and cumin was named the best chicken soup on the market by Metro.
The Mairangi Bay family business was started in 2001 when the couple returned from overseas but struggled to find what they considered good quality, healthy, ready-to-eat food in supermarkets. They started with fresh, organic, homemade-style soups, growing from a few varieties to 11.
The company later moved in to making hummus and has a range of five dips.
Yasmin Shenhav says the key to the company’s success is a focus on providing a top quality product concentrating on texture and taste.
Company philosophy is to use premium organic ingredients and create innovative low fat recipes with a contemporary edge.
They prefer to have their products made in the traditional way – for example, pumpkin is peeled by hand before cooking – but will upgrade their production facilities to match the growth of their business as long as quality isn’t compromised, she says.
“Our products are home-made yet gourmet.”
Now the Shenhavs are committed to going global.
After an Australian trial with 60 Coles stores and several IGA outlets in New South Wales and Victoria, Pitango products are sold in 430 Coles supermarkets throughout Australia. Shortly the company will begin trial shipments into Woolworths Australia. It exports to Hong and Thailand.
“We are increasing our market share year by year, leaving behind the big companies we are competing.”
“Our business is rewarding, satisfying and challenging.”
“We have a passion for what we do. For us our business is a part of our lives.”
Pitango and regional winners from Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Canterbury are finalists for the ENZ National Emerging Exporter Award, for a business exporting less than three years. The winner is named next month.
Reprinted with kind permission from North Shore Business- FOCUS