Page 45 - Fiji Traveller Issue 1

Producing peanut butter the ‘Island Style’ way Story: Kite Pareti

The idea for a delicious new Fiji-made peanut butter was born
during a family holiday several years ago.
“All we could find was peanut butter with lots of additives,
preservatives and sugar,” says Labasa-born Gary Pickering,
founder of Island Style, whilst on a family holiday in the west of
Viti Levu.
Then the family spotted a man selling home-grown peanuts
from a roadside stall near Lautoka. “We pulled over and we
thought, well, why don’t we just buy some peanuts. We’ll make
our own peanut butter for the boys.”
Those peanuts were mixed with virgin coconut oil and a hint
of sea salt, and the island-style peanut butter was ready. “We
blended it up and the boys just loved it,” he says.
Back in New Zealand, the art of making delicious peanut
butter became a regular pastime for Pickering’s wife, Heather.
She made batches for family and friends and sold jars at local
markets. “The feedback was really good,” Pickering says, with
their first batch selling out within an hour.
The couple persevered and eventually some New Zealand
supermarkets started stocking the tasty product.
Pickering says operating a business was “out of the realm of
their knowledge” initially, as he was used to being a “salary guy
working for someone else.”
The learning curve was steep.
“We approached our local council and got sign-off for making

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