Page 33 - Fiji Traveller 2023 Issue 5

that we have really good Fiji ginger and I decided to use lemongrass as we had a bush
next door. It was perfect and turned out delicious. I shared it with my friends, and they
said that I should start a business. I shared the idea with other people and then our first
break came at the Food Innovation Show at the Australian High Commission in 2020.”
Ginger Lei’s current customer base includes hotels, cafes, the café they co-own
(Ginger Kitchen on the Fiji Museum balcony), and expats and locals. However they are
keen to scale up so they can bring down costs and capture more of the local market.
Environmental sustainability is also at the heart of the business.
"From the very first time we started brewing, we decided that we were not going
to use plastic,” says Tora. “There are environmental problems using single-use plastic
or plastic in general, and we didn’t want to add to that waste. So, we have always
tried to recycle using old beer bottles using proper brewing sanitizer. But that was a
high maintenance process, so we decided to use kegs. At events and functions, we
only serve via kegs because it’s reusable, and we serve in glasses and paper cups,
preferably from recycled materials.
“We do a very small batch of plastic bottles for Sofitel but that’s because we see
their recycling efforts. They separate their refuse, and these bottles end up at proper
recycling places.”
During her Greenpreneurs pitch, Tora emphasised the alarming rates of diabetes in
Fiji, showcasing her company’s efforts to address these challenges.
“In Fiji, diabetic amputations occur every 8.5 hours. One in three Fijians are diagnosed
with diabetes,” Tora reminded participants, highlighting the urgent need for healthier
beverage options.
“Ginger Lei is an all-natural, wild-fermented ginger beer, made from all natural Fijian
products; Fijian ginger, raw cane sugar, lemon, lemongrass, guava, and soursop,”
explains Tora.
“Wild fermentation means we make our own yeast culture. So our product becomes
a probiotic because of the wild-fermentation process, which means it’s good for the gut
and is also low in sugar.”
While Tora and Wakaniyasi have day jobs in communications and marketing
respectively, they say the Covid-19 pandemic showed the need to have something to
fall back on.
“When the first wave of Covid hit, I said that we had to do this. We are not out of
the woods yet and if there is another crisis and our jobs are affected, we have a small
business that we can lean on that will be able to support us,” Tora recalls.
Fiji exports some F$3 million worth of ginger each year, with Australian, American and
New Zealand companies all using Fiji ginger in well-known products.
“The Fiji ginger market is big but what needs to happen is the value-adding in country,”
says Tora. “People take it overseas and then value add on it and turn it into a beverage
and then come and sell it back to us, when we could be doing that ourselves, creating
healthier options and also reducing imports.”
As they scale up, Ginger Lei hopes to be able to export to other countries.
“There already has been interest from around the region from people that we have
met who have businesses that would like a carton or two. That would be something we
would love to work with as well–just to share some Fijian ginger beer goodness with the
region and the world.”

GingerLei Beer Fiji
Ginger Kitchen

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