| 111 Business keeps bubbling along nicely Hugh de Lacy Pete’s Natural owners Pete and Marleen Suy. PRODUCTION Pete’s Natural mmca.co.nz P. 03 545 6565 Proud to support Pete’s Natural. accounting firm — Xero Large Accounting Partner of the Year 2021. 32 Hau Road, Motueka 021 0785 758 mrspete@petesnatural.co.nz Freshly squeezed, NZ grown fruit • No nasties, chemicals or preservatives “We made too much, gave some to the neighbours, and they raved about it so much and urged us to start making it commercially.” A couple from Belgium with a background in baking are riding a wave of popularity for their Pete’s Natural carbonated fruit drinks, produced from all-New Zealand ingredients – including the glass bottles – in a solar-powered factory in Motueka. Pete, a qualified baker, and Marleen Suy started their own bakery in Belgium at the age of 21, and ran it successfully for nine years before emigrating to Colorado and doing the same there. Since they couldn’t get residency in the United States, and their two girls were about to start high school, they followed a long-held goal of Pete’s to move to New Zealand. Their urgency to move was fuelled by the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado in 1999, in which two students murdered 12 class-mates and a teacher. “We wanted to make sure the girls had a secure future, and we also wanted a safer environment for them,” Marleen says. On arriving in Nelson the Suys bought a bakery in Richmond, and after a few years they started making lemonade at home for themselves and friends. “We made too much, gave some to the neighbours, and they raved about it so much and urged us to start making it commercially – and that’s how Pete’s Natural was born,” Marleen says. For their first six years Pete and Mrs Pete, as Marleen calls herself, produced their fizzy fruit drinks from home, but five years ago the couple set up a factory in Motueka, and today it employs seven staff. Pete’s Natural produces 12 different flavours, including three – Lemon Manuka Switchel, Beetroot Manuka Lemonade and Hemp Manuka Lemonade - that they call Super Sodas which are sweetened only with manuka honey. “Our drinks are a healthy option compared to other fizzy drinks,” Marleen says. “They’re made with real fruit, not from concentrates, are low in sugar and don’t contain any nasties. “The sugar we use is also a raw organic one, not bleached, so it’s healthier than refined sugar. “We also support local growers as much as we can, something we call Fair Trade@Home, and every dollar you spend with us stays in New Zealand.” Pete’s Natural buys its fruit solely from within New Zealand, usually a minimum of two tonnes if they plan to squeeze it themselves, but other quantities get squeezed under contract elsewhere. Much of the fruit comes from the top of the South Island, but other sources of supply include Hawke’s bay, Gisborne and Kerikeri. Varieties include lemons, limes, black currants, raspberries, feijoas and chillies. “We take care of our own distribution, with all orders sent out by courier,” Marleen says. “We have a few small distributors scattered round the country, but the bulk gets sent from our Motueka factory, with orders delivered overnight in the South Island and within two business days in the North.” The biggest seller remains their original lemonade, comprising 25% of output. Since everything is sourced within New Zealand, the company has been little affected by Covid, apart from a temporary bottle shortage.
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