Supplier Stories

Meet the team! Juno Gin is the handiwork of husband-and-wife duo Jo and Dave James. They met at primary school in New Plymouth and four years ago, this unassuming couple, left their careers and combined their science backgrounds and passion for gin to start dreaming and experimenting to craft their ideal gin. “I love gin,” […]

Meet the makers! The journey to award-winning bean-to-bar chocolate that started in a converted garage in Snells Beach. 🤩 Nico & Emily Bonnaud, the team behind the beautiful award-winning Auckland craft chocolate business Honest Chocolat, started in 2016 as a side project to their full-time occupations — Nico a pastry chef, and Emily an Interior […]

🥖 Meet the team! Max Fuhrer — Arobake founder & Master Baker (Aka chief, cook and bottle washer!) — started his baking journey in 1989 in a small bakery in Aro Valley in Wellington. Fast forward 30+ years later – a bigger bakery and shop across the road from the original, a team of 30, […]

Central Otago is known for its long, dry summers, stunning autumn colours, crisp winters and rush of new life in spring, not to mention jaw-dropping scenery wherever you turn, but there’s also a special kind of alchemy going on. On the quiet shores of the unbelievably blue Lake Dunstan, the olive trees of Dunford Grove […]

Meet the team at The Fudge Cottage, New Zealand! For decades this family-owned Christchurch business has been handcrafting the finest artisan fudge from a traditional family recipe. 🥛 Their deliciously creamy fudge is made using fresh New Zealand milk and cream combined with carefully selected natural ingredients. We are thrilled to include The Fudge Cottage […]

Wairarapa is known for sprawling vineyards with wineries attached, but in the heart of the Greytown, the district’s only urban winery is doing things a little differently. Alexia is the result of a labour of love, a winery built in the community where its founders live, their children go to school and their hearts lie. […]

There’s a chocolate revolution going on, with its heart in Wellington’s foodie laneways. Wellington Chocolate Factory is leading the rapidly-growing shift towards ethical, small-batch craft chocolate — and has been doing so since back in 2013. New Zealand’s original, organic, bean-to-bar chocolate producer, Wellington Chocolate Factory (WCF) handcrafts some of the finest chocolate you are […]

Here at We Love Local we donate one percent from each sale to charities via the One Percent Collective and when we can work with a local artisan maker who also gives back, then it’s even better.  Shining Peak Brewing is an institution in Taranaki, and feature in our Tasty Taranaki Gift Box. As well […]

It’s undeniable that chocolate brings a bit of magic into people’s lives, according to Hawke’s Bay business La Petite Chocolat. Owners Sel and Asli Gider say helping to share that feeling is what drives them, and their goal is to create a positive impact in their community with their chocolates.  We value the human connection […]

Koakoa is the te reo Māori term for happiness, and that’s definitely the feeling you get when you taste the beautiful products crafted by this family-owned Kāpiti Coast distillery. Owned and operated by Bec Kay and Chris Barber, Koakoa is renowned for its award-winning signature Limoncello, and now also produces a range of the most […]