Business North July / August 2021

| 3 Farro founders - James and Janene Draper. Success built on hard work and a love of food. “Our aim was simple – to showcase and support the finest New Zealand artisan producers and stock all the ingredients people would need to make delicious gourmet food under one roof.” Simple philosophy underpins success Karen Phelps Retail Farro W hen Janene and James Draper founded Farro in 2006 they had no idea of how big the business would eventually grow. “Our aim was simple – to showcase and support the finest New Zealand artisan pro- ducers and stock all the ingredients people would need to make delicious gourmet food under one roof,” explains Janene. Neither had operated a food business before. Janene was an optometrist with a passion for cooking (“I always had my nose in a cookbook”) and James brought business acumen to their new company as he had previously owned a successfully golf driving range business. It proved the perfect accompaniment of skills. They started off sourcing suppliers for basic ingredients, went around local markets seeking exciting artisan producers whose wares were not being supplied commercially, opened the doors of their first store in Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington in Auckland and the rest is history. Janene remembers that at the time the area was largely industrial with a smattering of resi- dential housing in the days before the quarry was developed into Stonefields. Farro was a new concept for the market at the time – although several competitors started at the same time – and so education of what Farro offered was an essential part of building the successful business. It now spans six different stores across Auckland – Epsom, Grey Lynn, Mt Eden, Mt Wellington, North Shore and Orakei as well as online store. “People say isn’t it great the business is so successful. But it’s on the back of 15 years of hard work,” says Janene. “The first two years were tough,” remem- bers James. “No one knew the name ‘Farro’. There was a bitumen factory next door. “But Farro has helped create a lot of change for this area and now it’s a drawcard for a business to base itself here because Farro is an attraction.” Now Farro is not just their story – it’s the story of all the artisans who have built their own successful businesses off the back of Farro’s success. to page 5 Specialising in all aspects of domestic and commercial plumbing • Plumbing • Backflow • Drainlaying • Gasfitting • CCTV • Hot water solutions Ph 09 354 4548 Email info@sxplumbing.co.nz 130B Main Highway, Ellerslie, Auckland 1051 PO Box 15032, New Lynn, Auckland 0640 Representing Excellence Master Plumbers • Certifying Plumbers • Certifying Drainlayers • Certifying Gasfitters