Flying the Fern

Jess’s Underground Kitchen – from cooking at home for friends to an international business feeding hundreds

{Disclaimer: this episode was recorded prior to their announcement of closing the cafes and focusing on their frozen meal range}
Jess’s Underground Kitchen (JUK) started as a favour between friends, and quickly escalated to feeding hundreds of people every week.
Nine years on, JUK is making and delivering thousands of home cooked dinners around New Zealand, and frozen meals to supermarkets here and overseas.
Jess’ journey echoes typical kiwi values: making quality, fresh food with humility and authenticity, and innovating to do things in ways that suit both her and her customers.
In this episode of Flying the Fern, host David Downs talks to Jess about:
How JUK grew from a casual thing to a real business
Her motto - do less, better by sticking to your core business
Building an authentic brand
How the New Zealand Fernmark is a symbol for everything JUK’s about – hard work, humility and passionately believing in what you’re doing
What hasn’t worked; what she’s learned and what she’d do differently
Expanding into Australia 
 
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RESOURCES: 
To find out more, head to www.juk.co.nz 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myundergroundkitchen/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyUndergroundKitchen/  
 
To find out more about the FernMark Licence Programme please visit: https://www.fernmark.nzstory.govt.nz/

Trust Codes - helping modern producers tell their stories

Trust Codes is about enabling consumers to get more information about the products they’re buying. At the same time, it allows producers to stand out on supermarket shelves by telling stories about product provenance, quality and credence.
Today’s consumers are making more and more values-driven decisions, but it’s hard to know which products stand up to their requirements. Trust Codes are scannable QR codes that allow them to see in-depth detail about products before they buy them. 
In this episode of Flying the Fern, host David Downs talks to Paul and Emma from Trust Codes about:
How it actually works
How traceability, transparency and storytelling helps producers to stand out
How Trust Codes is helping to tell New Zealand’s story to the world
The significance of face time when selling a product overseas
The future of data in consumerism
 
To find out more, head to https://www.trust.codes/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trust_codes_limited  
 
To find out more about the FernMark Licence Programme please visit https://www.fernmark.nzstory.govt.nz/ 
 

Ārepa - brain food from natural New Zealand ingredients

Ārepa started from a simple idea and has evolved into world-leading neuroscience, creating foods and drinks that support brain health and performance.
Co-founders Zac Robinson and Angus Brown have grown the Ārepa range from scratch, and now have supply contracts across New Zealand and Australia. They’ve been pioneers in a cutting edge field with massive health benefits. 
In this episode of Flying the Fern, host David Downs talks to Zac about:
How they took the idea and made it into a business (including how they funded it)
How developing a world-leading product was only the beginning of the hard work
How they future-proofed their supply in the structure of the business
Why it’s so important to display their kiwi-ness
How they cracked the biggest supermarkets in Australia
 
To find out more, head to https://drinkarepa.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkarepa/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drinkarepa  
 
To find out more about the FernMark Licence Programme please visit https://www.fernmark.nzstory.govt.nz/ 
 

ecostore - the realities of being an environmental pioneer

ecostore is a global pioneer in sustainable business. They’ve been making eco-friendly products since 1993 - well before it was popular - and was the first business to be accredited with the New Zealand FernMark.
They’ve gone above and beyond to make sustainable household cleaning, health and other products, exporting them around the world and shaping New Zealand’s clean, green reputation.
In this episode of Flying the Fern, host David Downs talks to ecostore CEO Pablo Kraus about:
Paving the way for eco-friendly businesses and values-driven consumerism
How being from New Zealand aligns with their purpose, and helps to sell products around the world
Why their values haven’t changed over the years, and how it helps to guide their decision making
How they innovate, develop and produce new products
Their constant drive to do better
 
To find out more, head to: https://ecostore.com/nz/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecostorenz/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecostorenz/ 
 
To find out more about the FernMark Licence Programme please visit: https://www.fernmark.nzstory.govt.nz/ 

TRAILER | Coming 8 November 2022

Kia ora! Welcome to the Flying the Fern podcast. This podcast tells the stories of well-known New Zealand businesses delivering products and services that are made, grown or designed in New Zealand. Businesses that are carrying the official New Zealand FernMark, sharing their authenticity at home and abroad, and building New Zealand’s global reputation as a trusted origin of innovative, high-quality products and services. 
 
We dig into how these New Zealand business pioneers turned their ideas into reality - with determination, creativity, and perseverance. No sugar coating - just the facts. Where they came from, the battles they’ve fought and the scars they’ve collected along the way. Find out where they are going to next and how they are sharing our core New Zealand values with the world. 
 
If you are interested in the programme – find out more on our website: www.fernmark.nzstory.govt.nz