Trang and Pritesh can be found at the Grey Lynn Farmers Market, behind the coffee truck in the carpark.
How long have you been in New Zealand, and what brought you here?
Trang: I’ve been here 13 years. I came from Vietnam to Whangarei High School for year 12 and never left. I ended up doing a PhD in food science.
Pritesh: I’ve been here eight years. I had been working as sous chef at a luxury hotel in Mumbai and decided to come here for the adventure.
How was it finding jobs in New Zealand?
Trang: After finishing my PhD, I worked at Goodman Fielder until I took maternity leave for the birth of our daughter.
Pritesh: At first, it was tough getting work here. I was often told I was over-qualified for chef work but eventually I got a string of chef roles: La Rosa, Penelope, The Food Store, Rydges, The Grill and Auckland Fish Market.
How did becoming parents change your views?
It really got us thinking what the world will be like for the next generation. We started practising a zero-waste lifestyle.
And then we started learning about plant-based diets and how they are important for good health and the environment. Trang did some research and found that plant-based diets are much better for children.
How did you get the idea for your vegan patties?
It’s hard to cook when you are looking after a baby, so we started making a rudimentary version of the patties. We used to give them to friends when we went to visit for dinner. They were always popular - our friends encouraged us to make them into a business.
Apart from tasting great, what makes the patties healthy?
Our products can help people on plant-based diets get all the essential nutrients. Our products contain nine essential amino acids, good dietary fibres and good fatty acids. We designed our patties to be free of all the common allergens (soy, nuts, gluten, sesame, preservatives). People with gut issues tell us that they feel lighter after eating our food.
We are committed to making good food that is good for health and better for the environment.
How does your zero-waste philosophy flow through to your business?
‘Refuse' is the most important step, but it isn’t always easy. One of our suppliers insisted on using plastic bags when they sent ingredients to us, so we now go to them and collect the ingredients to avoid
that plastic.
We scrutinise every food source and make sure that they give us minimum or compostable packaging. To avoid preservatives and have a reasonable shelf life, we need to vacuum-wrap our patties, but we hated having to use plastic. Finally, we have found, and will be one of the first companies to use, a compostable vacuum bag for our patties. Our outer boxes are recyclable and printed with plant-based inks.
What part has the market played in your business?
We have met lots of customers who have become loyal buyers of our patties. We have been surprised how committed they have been to us. And our two-year-old daughter loves coming to the market - it helps that there is a playground and other children to entertain her.
Earlier this year you visited your families in India and Vietnam. What was it like visiting India?
Trang: Highly organised chaos! Mumbai was so different. There were people on the motorways. I kept saying “that man is going to die” and Pritesh laughed and said “no, he won’t.” The school buses were so crowded that they don’t properly stop. The buses just slow down, a few people jump off and then the kids jump on. It was a relief to go to Vietnam after that - Vietnam seemed so peaceful in comparison.
Pritesh: I used to think it was normal. When I first came to New Zealand, I used to wonder where everyone was.