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National | Business

TAHA drinks hot in demand

A NZ-owned beverage company that uses traditional Māori medicinal ingredients could have its products stocked in a major Chinese supermarket chain.  The company, Taha, is hoping to go into partnerships with iwi around the country.

Taha has had so much success, its suppliers can't keep up with the demand.

Co-Direct of TAHA, Simon Harman, says, "The demand has sort of taken us by surprise.  I'm doing some catch up work to get this pallet out to Countdown tonight."

Taha has been in production for only two years, sourcing kawakawa from tribal lands in the Waikato region and the North.

Harman explains, "Myself and Richard go out into the fields to pick the kawakawa.  Then we process it fresh, we don't turn it into a powder.  The fresh leaves go into the brew and we make a fresh extract of it, which is why you can taste it on your lips."

They've sent samples to supermarket chain ParkNShop in Hong Kong.  "They seem to really like the flavour of the Taha drink, so we're just hoping it will all go smoothly and Taha will be on the shelves later on in the year," says Harman.

But for now, Simon and his business partner Richard will try to keep up with the demand here in NZ.