A Growing legacy
The legacy of Kaipara Kūmara…a family story
Ant Blundell has no plans to retire for many years yet but he will ensure Kaipara Kūmara remains an iconic local and New Zealand business when he one day steps aside as Managing Director.
It’s hard to doubt a bloke who’s very being was morphed into a Countdown Bricks Farm Figurine back in 2022 - a fun career highlight Ant never saw coming.
The concept encouraged people shopping at Countdown stores (as they were branded back then) to create their own miniature farm at home, based on the real-life growers and farmers supplying Countdown stores with anything from Gisborne spinach and Kaipara Kūmara to Ōpōtiki kiwifruit or Karaka tomatoes.
Soon enough, much to the amusement of his family, staff and mates, he became a Countdown collectable in honour of growers delivering the world class produce to New Zealanders, ending up in the homes of tens or thousands of Kiwis throughout the North and South Island.
But Ant stresses the accolade was not about him but the entire business, all employees and the hundreds of people who have worked so hard throughout its 55-year history to make it the success it is.
"Let’s face it, all the growers work bloody hard to produce some of the best produce in the world," he says.
You see Kaipara Kūmara and its eight or so kūmara growing clients around Ruawai, Dargaville and Te Kopuru, supply around 27% of kūmara to New Zealand’s domestic market. Key customers include Woolworths, produce wholesaler MG Marketing, processors Mr Chips and Proper Crisps.
Nowadays up to 6000 tonnes per annum is supplied by Kaipara Kūmara’s loyal growers.
That volume of produce and success is down to all those growers who work so hard to create some of the best produce in the world, observes Ant.
“They did it bloody tough after Cyclone Gabrielle with many growers losing their entire crops and that was really hard on them,” says Ant.
“They are a resilient bunch up here and have bounced back but we need more Kiwis buying much more kūmara to keep the money flowing back into our local community. I mean why wouldn’t you – it tastes so good and is so versatile to cook with. There is a recipe for every occasion!”
“We are a small community but we work hard together, support each other and punch above our weight. There are so many successful businesses in Kaipara and many of them have been start-ups that grown from the ground up.”
Ant knows plenty about community and says a big focus of the business is to give back and help out.
That includes supporting the local Ruawai schools and kindergarten, the Ruawai Volunteer Fire Brigade, local sports teams and Northland Emergency Services Trust - among others.
Supporting the community who supports the business and their business partners is a no-brainer for Ant and the team.
With around 35 staff at Kaipara Kūmara, the business is a substantial local employer in a township where everybody knows everybody.
The spirit of Ruawai epitomises the essence of the mighty Kaipara, says Ant.
“We are a small community but we work hard together, support each other and punch above our weight. There are so many successful businesses in Kaipara and many of them have been start-ups that grown from the ground up.”
Ant should know, as he has taken over the mantle from his father Gary who gave up his career as a cabinet maker in the mid-1960s to manage a mushroom growing facility in Manurewa.
A few years later he moved the family to Ruawai to embark on a mushroom growing operation with support and financial backing from his brother in-law’s father Colin Smith - owner of the renowned Greenhill Stud, a substantial Ruawai sheep and beef unit.
Greenhill Gardens was established and in 1970 the first commercially grown mushrooms were produced in the thriving rural town.
In true sync with how Kaipara Kūmara operates to this day, Ant says the first box of mushrooms harvested in November 1970 was gifted to the Ruawai Volunteer Fire Brigade to auction off and raise funds for the cause.
“The generosity of the community spirit in Ruawai and Kaipara has never left.”
Due to the financial-intensive nature of the mushroom operation and a lack of capital, this was phased out in the late 1970s by which time pumpkins and kūmara had been grown in decent volumes.
In no time after venturing into mushrooms and with the support of other kumara growers, Greenhill Gardens was marketing over 500 tonnes of kūmara per season.
Gary soon cottoned on to the value of the grower supply model being an invaluable add-on to the business as he progressively took on more kūmara supply from other growers around the region. Foodtown and other markets were the recipients of the growing volumes of Kaipara’s kūmara stocks from as early as 1971.
What really gave the business a boost was Gary creating another industry first in 1991 when he began commercially washing the vegetable, which created a whole new market thanks to a premium product.
“Dad was ahead of his time. He was a pioneer and a visionary. He just got out there and made things happen - like being the first guy to sell direct to supermarkets when others were telling him not to.”
“I am really proud of the whole family legacy in the business. We run the business like a family”
Gary created relationships and a legacy and was the first person to slice and plastic-wrap pumpkins and other vegetables and fruit for supermarket shelves. This was soon followed by salad bags and other added value lines.
Not only has Ant just been honoured for 25 years volunteering as a firefighter in the Ruawai Brigade, he is an ambassador for the Northland Rescue Helicopters and also helps raise funds for the cause annually.
For many years, Ant has held an executive role on the United Fresh 5+ a Day team.
Their mantra is simple – to increase the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables for better health in all New Zealanders by encouraging Kiwis to ‘eat five or more servings of colourful, fresh vegetables and two servings of fruit every day for health and vitality’.
It’s something Ant reckons is bloody common-sense.
“I mean why wouldn’t you want to eat well and have your family eat well. My concern is that fruit and vegetable consumption is on the decline, so what are people eating instead? I am not sure people are consuming healthy alternatives when you consider bugger all comes close to fresh fruit and veg.”
As the Kaipara Kūmara kaupapa ticks along, Ant is proud of his team for the way they conduct themselves with such humility, hard work, community mindedness and plenty of fun along the way.
He says you can’t achieve anything without a good team.
That consists of his wife Helene, his brother Pete, a couple of long-time family friends (who are all but family) Jill and Sam, and plenty of other smiling faces who have equally thorough knowledge of the business and who are just as committed to keeping its success going.
“I am really proud of the whole family legacy in the business. We run the business like a family and that’s why we built a big new facility a few years back, to make it nice and simple with great bathrooms for everyone and a big kitchen and lunchroom which local community groups can use when they need a venue.
“We gift our facilities to community gatherings and that’s what Dad would have wanted us to do - keep looking out for others.”