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We got the lowdown on Matt's fairtrade story for this week's Journal. Matt helped launch All Good by importing New Zealand’s first fairtrade and organic bananas back in 2010. They've been bringing us products that are good for the land, good for the growers, and, good for Vic Books' customers ever since.
What is your day job? I'm the co-founder of All Good, so by day I'll be delivering boxes of Oat Milk to cafes throughout Wellington. What is your connection to Vic Books? I'm a customer and now the delivery boy. I've also known Jessica Godfrey, Vic Books GM for quite a few years. We collaborated on some Fairtrade events and activities when she worked for Caffe L'affare and I was starting All Good bananas with my business partners. You pioneered Fairtrade bananas in this country and now you've added Oat Milk to the All Good portfolio - apart from both being edible what else do they have in common? All Good is all about finding tasty food & beverage that's good for you and good for the land - our All Good bananas leave a better taste in your mouth because they contribute schools and medical clinics for grower communities in Ecuador. And our Oat Milk is offering the best tasting milk for a Wellington Flat White, while reducing our footprint on this planet. And together they taste pretty great in a smoothie! Why Oat Milk, how did that come about? We saw the growth in alt milks years ago, only it seemed like some of the less sustainable crops were getting popular - almond and soy fo rinstance. We started trying to formulate an Oat Milk that would pair with great coffee about 3 years ago. Oats are far more sustainable and match with coffee better. We tried options right across the world and ended up working with a partner in Sweden who had been doing it for years and understood what Baristas were looking for. A lot of people who are into ethical products will wonder why it's not made in New Zealand, why Swedish Oat Milk? We wish it could be made in Aotearoa, but for now our partner in Sweden is uniquely able to turn Oats into a really creamy milk that can stretch without separating when using the steam wand in an espresso machine. It's all about taste and the Swedes make the very best tasting Oat Milk. We're looking to bring this knowledge to Aotearoa so we can make it here. Tell us about the project of replanting - why is that important to you? All Good is committed to being good for the land. The climate crisis is very scary and we need to ensure we are not contributing to growing emissions. So we’re using native forest carbon credits by planting trees in Rarakau, Southland with Ekos NZ to offset the emissions from transporting our Oat Milk from Sweden to Vic Books and other cafes and homes across the country. We have just changed to All Good Oat Milk after having blind tastings of three different Oat Milks, yours came up tops! Why do you think that is? We have lots of friends who are baristas, so over the last 3 years we've been doing endless blind taste tests ourselves with baristas in Wellington, Auckland and London. Over many iterations we've been able to develop an Oat Milk that does justice to the great speciality coffee roasted here in Wellington. You're going to be at Vic Books giving away samples of All Good Oat Milk lattes from 10am-noon, Tuesday 13 October. Do you think dairy lovers will like them? They will be amazed they didn't try a plant milk earlier - we're very keen to give flexitarians a better tasting option than regular milk. One day dairy milk will be the 'alternative'! Have you got a book that you recommend to friends? Rat King Landlord by Murdoch Stephens is a gem for anyone who's flatted in Wellington. What do you like about it? Give a copy to your landlord and watch for the response! Which literary character do you most identify with? William Boot, in Evelyn Waugh's Scoop. He's perpetually out of his depth. And the media landscape hasn't improved much since then either. Hardback or paperback? Paperback! Favourite coffee? All Good Oat Milk Flat White please! |
