November 26, 2024 • 25 mins
Claire Edwards from the Tora Collective joins us on the Podcast today.
We discuss Claire’s journey from Golden Bay to Marlborough and now Tora.
From University to bars in Wellington and finding soulmates, to starting a sustainable, catch to order kaimoana business.
What strikes us about Claire is her really strong and uncompromising standards and values. She has a deep connection with the consumer, and does it all with the longevity of the environment in mind.
Thanks for chatting with us Claire!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Black heels and tracked wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Rural Women and Zed podcast hosted by Emma Higgins
and Claire Williamson.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Today on the podcast, we have a yarn with Claire Edwards,
co founder of the Torto Collective and an all round
amazing gal.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We discuss her journey from Golden Bay to Marlborough and Twater,
from University, dive bars and Wellington and finding soul mates
to starting a true sustainable catch to order Kaimwana business.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
What strikes us about Claire is her really strong and
uncompromising standards and values. We discuss her connection with the consumer,
the importance of seasonal produce and doing it all with
the longevity of the environment in mind.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Plus we discussed some hot tips on how to just
get that project done Cole.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
So hey, so this morning when we're chatting to you, Claire,
you're obviously beaming in from martin Borough, but ordinarily you
live in the beautiful Whited Upper. Do you want to
give us a little bit of a backstory about how
you came to being there, because from what I understand,
that's not your natural habitat.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah. No, yeah, So Twater is where we reside and
originally I'm from the South Island, so born in Tacica,
in happy and happy country, and grew up predominantly in
Marlborough and of course ended up in a little thay,
little royal town in MILANOI are called Tata because of love.
(01:34):
Woman end up in some crazy places, I suppose.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, tell us a little bit. Did you brought it
up yourself? How did you find your man?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
We met in the classy sways at a bar in
Wellington many years ago at about four am. Solid, So yeah, solid,
that's right. Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So so you met your man He is from Twitta
as well, and that's how you ended up where you
are now. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
So Troy grew up Actually he was in a more
rural and isolated community called white Rock or Naptike, which
is a bay south of Twitter, which probably had I
don't know, two families living there, no reception, no power,
nothing like that. And his parents are fishermen of fishers,
(02:24):
so they were first catching wet fish and then moved
to crayfishing and yeah, and then when he was about
five they moved to Taa and that was has since
been his home and.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So clear, how did you come to live in twt
with your lovely man Troy and have a lovely kamuana business.
What was your journey workwise, life wise, family wise up
until that point.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, so I we started at the staff. I didn't
really know what I wanted to do when I left
high school, so I just worked in retail for quite
a few years, trying to figure it out, really saving
money to travel, and then quite like decided I quite
liked to business. I was really interested in the business
(03:22):
that I was working in, which at the time was
an icebrea cash so I thought, okay, I'll give the
marketing and business to go. So I went to Victoria
University and loved it. Was really inspired by my lecturers,
and yeah, learned a lot which was pretty cool. And
then yeah, I ended up in the marketing obviously, in
(03:45):
the marketing industry, so I was working for you always
worked for New Zellain companies. Suddenly enough and my husband
and wife owned outfits, which is quite funny saying that
now we're in it the same position. But yes, I
worked in the wine industry for sometimes back down in Marlborough,
and then Nuri and I connected and got together, so
(04:07):
we did long distance for some time until I ended
up in Tatter and I just sort of it honestly
begun whilst we were still living in separate islands. So
because there is a cray fisherman, that's his background and
that's his family history. When we got together, there was
a conversations of like, oh, yeah, where does crayfish? Though,
(04:30):
you know, I've been working in the one industry and
seeing you know, menus or restaurants across the country and
sort of had this realization that yeah, there's this mass
of black and cray fishing, seco facial power or any
of those sorts of really iconic care. We crima wanna boots.
So explited to me what's happens in the majority of
(04:53):
these species go overseas and the rejects of what actually
stays here for our kiwis and our chests. So there's
quite a few problems. The one was that with like
a real lack in these foods and our kiwis food identity.
So that was like a problem that I saw. Troy,
(05:16):
you know, was really frustrated that the kiwis were left
with the bad quality reject first that were left in tanks.
Not only that that fish was you know, the fishermen
didn't even make their money back on so they were
losing money. Yet that Fishes then solved expert prices to Kiwis.
So it was all of these sort of problems and
(05:37):
upon there's this like initial discussion, it was like, oh,
can we do something about it? You know, like he's
already fishing with the fisherman, I've got the marketing and
business side. Like we had this like real passion and
desire to make a change.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
So we really just dove into deeping and.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Started like planning this idea in business whilst we were
living in different islands and kept it off, you know,
pretty much as soon as I've moved to Tater amazing.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So tell us a little bit. For those that are
not familiar with the Tater Collective, it's incredible to hear
about the genesis of why you started it. And for
someone who's listening that doesn't know much about what you do,
give us a little snapshot of what it is.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So we were fishes, we catch crayfish power and Kenner
predominantly and sell it to Kiwi's and altered. So our
whole cocopart is about keeping kamawana here and supplying it
to Kiwe's and giving them the best and freshest fish
that there is. So in order to do that, we
(06:40):
have had to create a sort of a new method
of fishing and selling seafruit, which is really untypical in
Altered but when you think about it, it's really back
to basics. So what we do is we catch to order,
so people place their order with us, We wait till
there's the weather window and we'll go catch the kamajuana
and then shift the same day, so it's with our
(07:02):
customers the following day. So pretty much everything that we
catch is under the water one day and what that
custum is the next. So it's fresh as humanly possible
for us, really unless you're catching it yourself and eating
it the same day. And you know that also is
not just about freshness, it's also aligned with ychokopa about sustainability,
(07:26):
So only catching what we need and yeah, we've put
we employ a whole bunch of other sustainability tools I
suppose that aren't required by law in alt but that
we've decided to do to protect our fisure and our
beat job.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah, I love that, and I believe that this business
actually was burst during some time around the COVID times
and obviously now we're four years on nearly, so talk
to us a little bit about the growth that you've
had over that time, because I know you during COVID
things were a little bit out of the ordinary. But
all businesses, I suppose need to be sustainable, both financially
(08:07):
as well as environmentally, needs to look after its people
and it needs to live by its value. So how
does the how's that growth of the Tater collective kind
of moved over time?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, it's grown quickly and it's evolved naturally. Like we don't,
I suppose limit ourselves to rules in a sense like
with COVID. Yeah, it was crazy launchings within this pandemic
which really impacted the fisheries in particular because the export
(08:41):
markets shut down. So yeah, when we started our business
as well, we don't want to want to use any
plastics or polystyrene, so because there was no sustainable packaging
alternatives out there, we just limited our market to grow
to vialanced region and dropped out fish up and fishbends.
And we're really committed to, you know, sticking to that
(09:03):
value for us, and yes, so we were delivering it
around up great Wellington was our region. We just launched
his business. Come OVID happened, the export market crashed. Everyone
was selling crayfish at like, you know, below the well
below cost prices and altered, and we're thinking, oh my god,
we're absolutely screwed, like we've.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Just started our business.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And anyway, luckily, I think because we stuck to our
values and people really believed in what we were doing,
they stuck with us and they supported our business and
we made it through that time and we just evolved
really like we started with restaurants, and then when restaurants
shut down, we just started to go through it to
consumer a lot earlier than what we had planned because
(09:48):
obviously when we wanted packaging to be able to deliver it,
you know, get it grated to them. So we started
just packaging it ourselves and cardboard boxes and seaweed and
dropping it off all across the Greater Welingtin over COVID
when people couldn't leave their homes. And it was super
cool because we got to connect with our customers directly
and hear some pretty amazing stories of why people were ordering.
(10:09):
That's the special Climba Wanna. But anyway, fast forward, we
you know, came to the next spring summer season and
we had sust out our packaging by then, so yeah,
just growing and evolving and hustling. We created our own
home compossible ice plats, which were the first in the
(10:30):
world we seemed to think anyway, And yeah, we're pretty
proud of that, which meant that we could ship our
fish across the country, keeping it alive and fresh and
doing it sustainable. So yeah, I think because we honestly,
we just start to our values and we're really got
(10:51):
to really I suppose a bit stubborn, and we had
to make things work. So yeah, people just came along
for the ride. I suppose they just liked what they
were seeing. And the business has grown quickly, which has
been really cool.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, and you tell such a beautiful story, like on
your website and across all of your socials, And obviously
that's your marketing background coming out, but I'm actually really interested.
So I run a business with my partner and we're
involved in a couple of different things together, and I'm
interested in your perspective with you and Troy, and I
(11:28):
know you have sort of different roles within the business,
but working together and living together being partners. How does
that go? Like, how do you make that a success?
Because I'm sure we could all learn something from that.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I don't think there would be the picture of a
success in that in the department. Honestly, it was. It
was really difficult that like, because I mean, you're hustling
so hard, things have difficult financially, You're you know, under
so much pressure. And back then we didn't have a
deckhand either, so like we were working on the boat together,
(12:04):
we're working on land together, and we were living in
like some pretty unideal situations as well. Like, it's super hard.
I mean, I'm not gonna like sugarcoat it. We definitely
had our days. We were probably wanted to push each
other off the boat, but you get through these times,
(12:26):
and yeah, like Toori and I just have such a
passionate and undying love for each other really that no
matter what happens in our relationship, we're just we we
know we're going to stick together forever. But yeah, we've
learned a lot, I think over the years, and then
they're much better at, like us, sticking in our roles
and being a bit more organized. It's all of those
(12:48):
sorts of things that you learn along the way, and
now we're Yeah, I suppose we run the business well together,
whereas at the start it probably was pretty hectoic, to
be honest. Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I like how you talked about basically staying in your lane.
And I know from personal experience, every time I stray
from mine, that's when the eras occur or the problems occur.
So I can totally relate to that one. So clearly,
tell us a little bit about segueing slightly. Tell us
a little bit about what it takes to be a
bit of an underdog in what is such a huge industry,
(13:27):
being the commercial fishing industry. That's kind of the space
that you're playing in or up again, So tell us
a little bit about almost there. It seems to be
like David and Goliath's story. What are your experiences in
that respect.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, it's been interesting. Especially when we started our business.
There was a lot of big organizations that didn't like it.
You know, they tried to shut us down through many
different ways, and we were definitely scared, Like we were worries.
We were scared to watch stay on social media because
you know, we've been old sort of just shut up
(14:02):
and get in line is lack of a better words.
But yeah, so we definitely held back at the start
of it. We were, you know, had that fear, and
then we realized, hey, look like these guys actually can't
do anything to us, Like we're going to do this anyway.
And our community was the thing that pushed us forward
(14:23):
because as we were sharing the story of like, hey,
this is what we're doing and obviously highlights what isn't
being doing and all those sorts of things, but people
loved it. They're like, oh my gosh, like I love
to hear about this stuff, and we love to support
what you guys are doing. So in yeah, I suppose
battling that fear came with the support from our community
(14:43):
and that just pushed us forward to do it because
it felt like, oh, yeah, this is the right thing
to do and we're being supported in it, so let's
keep doing it. So yeah, I suppose that's what it's
been like. It is the underdog, is it heard? It's
start if you just keep going.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Yeah, it's kind of like that feel the fear and
do it anyway sort of thing. And I don't know,
I always find that when you have sort of a greater, cause,
like I think, you guys have got some really really
strong values. When you have that sort of behind you,
it gives you a little bit of strength to kind
of keep things moving forward in the direction that you want, right.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, that's right. And I think that's the cool part
of our business is it's not about fishing and selling fish.
It's really about changing the fishing industry is itself and
the food industry. You know, That's what our underlying goals are, victorically,
and I think that's why people get behind it, because
it's not just a fishing business really Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah, yeah, it's a lot more than that. And so
talk to me a little bit about the process of
ordering and stuff, because I know that you guys fish seasonally,
so you let the stock obviously have its chance to
replenish and sort of get ready for the next season.
So talk us sure what that year sort of looks
like for you? And if I'm I'm having a dinner
(16:04):
party in Cambridge in a couple of months time, how
do I order from you?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Yeah, it's been a hard thing to simplify because I
suppose it's not really done right. So we've tried, We've
tried to make it as simple as possible. So people
jump on our website and they will see a fishing forecast,
like the weather's looking good on Wednesday, we'll be we'll
be diving then, you know, which means get your order
in before Wednesday, and so when they get their order
(16:32):
in and we go out catching on that Wednesday, and
then it's westing one Thursday, so you can place like
we've got genuinely got two catches a week, so you know,
one and earlier in the week and one later in
the week to sort of suit as many people as possible.
But yeah, outside of that, we only fish seasonally. So
(16:53):
like crayfish, we fished from October until March, and then
we have a resting period when they're mating, and then
we start again in May and that goes until the
end of July, and then we stuff again as the
females drop their eggs, and then it starts again and
each species has its different season. So yeah, and I
(17:15):
think it's great. Like, you know, a lot of people
are viously contact us in those periods saying, hey, this
is what I want. I want some growfish. How can
I get some? But it's just like an you saying
like tomatoes have this season, if a katas have this season, Like,
we need to be eating feasily in order to protect
the species. And it's a nice thing to do, so
like that, to hold off and wait, and it makes
(17:36):
it more joyful and enjoyable when you do the chance
to enjoy that fish. You know.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
It's a nice reminder, isn't it that food is actually
a season or produce more or less, particularly when we're
talking about fresh fruit and vegetables. And it's a nice reminder,
isn't it that actually what we see in the supermarkets
might be imported from somewhere else because that suits their
growing season versus you know what we have here.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, and because of these food markets, we have become
so disconnected from our food and they're understanding, you know,
like going and that's what's cool about the movement going
back to vegetable markets and going direct to fishes and
going direct to all of these sorts of love food supplies.
It's cool we're reconnecting to Cooper, Tuanuku and seasons and yeah,
(18:25):
it's special. I love it.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
So you have such a busy life, right you are
involved in loads of different things, and obviously the tater
collective is a central part of that. How do you
find balance for yourself? What does balance for you look like?
And how do you manage to protect that time?
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, to be honest, to be honest, the booth four years,
there wasn't much ballance. It was definitely work and hustle.
But you know, I'm stoked about that. But now I'm
definitely finding a bit more of a balance. Life is
a bit more normal, say at least, but yeah, I
think get up early, like we are always up before
(19:08):
sunrise that you know, it always gives me a chance
to go for a runner, a look at sunriser at sunset,
like I love having those at least enjoying a sunrise
or a sunset each day. Oh, it's just run. It
helps with your sleep cycle as well, and it's just
the best part of the day, right, You get the
best views, in the best energy. So yeah, I suppose
(19:32):
that's when I make time for myself. I'm really I've
had to become really organized. Like I'm not an organized person.
I'm more of a chaotic person. But I've had to
train myself to become organized. So like every Monday morning,
I'll wake up, I'll do an hour like planning out
the entire week and each day I make sure I
wake up or you know, when I'm getting into my hair,
(19:54):
spend that time my diary and planning to ensure nothing's missed.
You know, your mind can be clear at night time
when you're going to sleep, things are organized. Yeah, So
tools like that to help you be able to enjoy
your time outside of my.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, I absolutely love those practical tips actually, like I,
you know, make sure you do some exercise with the
sun at one end of the day or another, which
is beautiful. I'm really interested in your tips because you know,
over time your business has sort of growing and it's
evolved a little bit. If there's people out there at
(20:33):
the moment, and there are a lot of them, it's
a pretty tough economic climate. There are some people who
are battling and being made redundant and are looking for
other opportunities. What advice would you give to someone who
might be looking to execute on a dream or something
that they think could be valuable to the world. And
obviously you've got a few different hats in that space
(20:56):
with your marketing background, but yeah, what are your thoughts
on that?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Honestly, I think try and fail and try again, Like,
do not be a praise of giving things a go.
You have to have faith in yourself. It's something that
I've learned, Like, you can, honestly, you can do anything.
And don't let this like limiting self beliefs come into
your mind of I can't do that because financially works
my funnel or whatever it might be. I totally understand that.
(21:23):
But you know, start it as a side hustle, start
it as a passion project. Spend your evening, you know,
making your arts and craft or creating a product or
whatever it is you might want to do. Yeah, you've
got to believe in yourself and you've got to put
the work in, you know, Like you have to be
prepared to work hard and be committed to your mission
and not give up. So keep trying, keep changing, keep evolving,
(21:46):
you know, hustle, work your weekends, having no social life
for a little bit, be broken in order to upscore
your life and career. But you'll get it, you know.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Like, honestly, failing is the best thing I think that
I've ever done, because failing allows you to see things differently,
to change, to evolve and grow and to get.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Where you need to be, so do not be scared
of failing, and do not be scared of everything ago.
That would be my key advice in life and business,
that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
Yeah, some great tips there. I think from that, it's
kind of summing all of that up. Change comes from
those tiny steps that you do daily, right, So when
you can think about that big project or the end result,
it can be a bit overwhelming. But what you've just
talked about is breaking it down, doing the hard work,
small steps daily, because there's that all quote or saying,
(22:36):
isn't it if you do what we've always done, we'll
get what we've always got. And what you've talked about
is the antidote to that, which doesn't often get spoken
about in the context of really having to put the
hard work and sometimes for years.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, Yeah, and I think as well, what's really important
is make sure you have a mission. You know, it
has to connect to some sort of core value inside you, right,
like whether it's helping people, helping nature, helping humanity, I
don't know, saving something like. I feel like there really
needs to be some deep, rich connected reason of like
(23:10):
why you're doing something, because it will keep you motivated
and it will it really set yourself a part as well,
you know, doing things just for money. Yeah, there's a
great reason for it, but you.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Know, sometimes it can only take you so far, right, Yeah,
that's right. And so speaking of missions and having a
plan and projects, what do the next couple of years
look like for Clear Edwards?
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah? Funnily enough, I did some goals sitting a couple
of nights ago with the old Lionsgate wat opening And
I'm not sure if you guys.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Are spiritual in that vibe, but anyway, yeah, those goal
is to spend more time with family, like doing things
that we enjoy, camping, tramping, all that.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Sorts of stuff. Like, you know, we spent so much
time focusing on my head and getting our business to
where it is the last five years, and that's time
to like focus on ourselves. We want to have better,
so you know, yeah, that's sort of what we're going
to be focusing on alongside like growing our business. Has
got a lot of plans and ideas whotorically active of
(24:22):
diversifying into different theories and different things. But I suppose yeah,
I'm prioritizing now and realizing that like we don't need
to rush this time. These things can come later, And yeah,
like enjoying other parts of my life outside of work,
which is yeah, family, babies and those sorts of things.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Yeah, And it's actually just so important to have those
recharging moments, isn't it in to think about what you're
doing it for. You know, there's actually no point and
working really hard if you don't have a reason. So Clear,
I just want to sort of wrap up today by
really honoring you for who you are. You're one powerful
(25:11):
Wahina and ever since I first met you, I've just
been so enthralled by your journey and how strong you
are and standing in your values and what matters to you,
and also growing a really beautiful, successful business that's grounded
in something that's also really special to me, food production,
and connecting sustainable food production with consumers. And yeah, you've
(25:34):
just shared some really beautiful golden nuggets with us today.
So we really really appreciate your time and what you
bring to the world.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Oh, thanks so much, ladies. It's been a pleasure to
share and it always is. And yeah, love what you
love your money as well, It's awesome.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Thank you so much. Clear, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Clear
Black heels and tracked wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Rural Women and Zed podcast hosted by Emma Higgins
and Claire Williamson.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Today on the podcast, we have a yarn with Claire Edwards,
co founder of the Torto Collective and an all round
amazing gal.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We discuss her journey from Golden Bay to Marlborough and Twater,
from University, dive bars and Wellington and finding soul mates
to starting a true sustainable catch to order Kaimwana business.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
What strikes us about Claire is her really strong and
uncompromising standards and values. We discuss her connection with the consumer,
the importance of seasonal produce and doing it all with
the longevity of the environment in mind.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Plus we discussed some hot tips on how to just
get that project done Cole.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
So hey, so this morning when we're chatting to you, Claire,
you're obviously beaming in from martin Borough, but ordinarily you
live in the beautiful Whited Upper. Do you want to
give us a little bit of a backstory about how
you came to being there, because from what I understand,
that's not your natural habitat.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah. No, yeah, So Twater is where we reside and
originally I'm from the South Island, so born in Tacica,
in happy and happy country, and grew up predominantly in
Marlborough and of course ended up in a little thay,
little royal town in MILANOI are called Tata because of love.
(01:34):
Woman end up in some crazy places, I suppose.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, tell us a little bit. Did you brought it
up yourself? How did you find your man?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
We met in the classy sways at a bar in
Wellington many years ago at about four am. Solid, So yeah, solid,
that's right. Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
So so you met your man He is from Twitta
as well, and that's how you ended up where you
are now. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
So Troy grew up Actually he was in a more
rural and isolated community called white Rock or Naptike, which
is a bay south of Twitter, which probably had I
don't know, two families living there, no reception, no power,
nothing like that. And his parents are fishermen of fishers,
(02:24):
so they were first catching wet fish and then moved
to crayfishing and yeah, and then when he was about
five they moved to Taa and that was has since
been his home and.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So clear, how did you come to live in twt
with your lovely man Troy and have a lovely kamuana business.
What was your journey workwise, life wise, family wise up
until that point.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, so I we started at the staff. I didn't
really know what I wanted to do when I left
high school, so I just worked in retail for quite
a few years, trying to figure it out, really saving
money to travel, and then quite like decided I quite
liked to business. I was really interested in the business
(03:22):
that I was working in, which at the time was
an icebrea cash so I thought, okay, I'll give the
marketing and business to go. So I went to Victoria
University and loved it. Was really inspired by my lecturers,
and yeah, learned a lot which was pretty cool. And
then yeah, I ended up in the marketing obviously, in
(03:45):
the marketing industry, so I was working for you always
worked for New Zellain companies. Suddenly enough and my husband
and wife owned outfits, which is quite funny saying that
now we're in it the same position. But yes, I
worked in the wine industry for sometimes back down in Marlborough,
and then Nuri and I connected and got together, so
(04:07):
we did long distance for some time until I ended
up in Tatter and I just sort of it honestly
begun whilst we were still living in separate islands. So
because there is a cray fisherman, that's his background and
that's his family history. When we got together, there was
a conversations of like, oh, yeah, where does crayfish? Though,
(04:30):
you know, I've been working in the one industry and
seeing you know, menus or restaurants across the country and
sort of had this realization that yeah, there's this mass
of black and cray fishing, seco facial power or any
of those sorts of really iconic care. We crima wanna boots.
So explited to me what's happens in the majority of
(04:53):
these species go overseas and the rejects of what actually
stays here for our kiwis and our chests. So there's
quite a few problems. The one was that with like
a real lack in these foods and our kiwis food identity.
So that was like a problem that I saw. Troy,
(05:16):
you know, was really frustrated that the kiwis were left
with the bad quality reject first that were left in tanks.
Not only that that fish was you know, the fishermen
didn't even make their money back on so they were
losing money. Yet that Fishes then solved expert prices to Kiwis.
So it was all of these sort of problems and
(05:37):
upon there's this like initial discussion, it was like, oh,
can we do something about it? You know, like he's
already fishing with the fisherman, I've got the marketing and
business side. Like we had this like real passion and
desire to make a change.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
So we really just dove into deeping and.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Started like planning this idea in business whilst we were
living in different islands and kept it off, you know,
pretty much as soon as I've moved to Tater amazing.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So tell us a little bit. For those that are
not familiar with the Tater Collective, it's incredible to hear
about the genesis of why you started it. And for
someone who's listening that doesn't know much about what you do,
give us a little snapshot of what it is.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So we were fishes, we catch crayfish power and Kenner
predominantly and sell it to Kiwi's and altered. So our
whole cocopart is about keeping kamawana here and supplying it
to Kiwe's and giving them the best and freshest fish
that there is. So in order to do that, we
(06:40):
have had to create a sort of a new method
of fishing and selling seafruit, which is really untypical in
Altered but when you think about it, it's really back
to basics. So what we do is we catch to order,
so people place their order with us, We wait till
there's the weather window and we'll go catch the kamajuana
and then shift the same day, so it's with our
(07:02):
customers the following day. So pretty much everything that we
catch is under the water one day and what that
custum is the next. So it's fresh as humanly possible
for us, really unless you're catching it yourself and eating
it the same day. And you know that also is
not just about freshness, it's also aligned with ychokopa about sustainability,
(07:26):
So only catching what we need and yeah, we've put
we employ a whole bunch of other sustainability tools I
suppose that aren't required by law in alt but that
we've decided to do to protect our fisure and our
beat job.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah, I love that, and I believe that this business
actually was burst during some time around the COVID times
and obviously now we're four years on nearly, so talk
to us a little bit about the growth that you've
had over that time, because I know you during COVID
things were a little bit out of the ordinary. But
all businesses, I suppose need to be sustainable, both financially
(08:07):
as well as environmentally, needs to look after its people
and it needs to live by its value. So how
does the how's that growth of the Tater collective kind
of moved over time?
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, it's grown quickly and it's evolved naturally. Like we don't,
I suppose limit ourselves to rules in a sense like
with COVID. Yeah, it was crazy launchings within this pandemic
which really impacted the fisheries in particular because the export
(08:41):
markets shut down. So yeah, when we started our business
as well, we don't want to want to use any
plastics or polystyrene, so because there was no sustainable packaging
alternatives out there, we just limited our market to grow
to vialanced region and dropped out fish up and fishbends.
And we're really committed to, you know, sticking to that
(09:03):
value for us, and yes, so we were delivering it
around up great Wellington was our region. We just launched
his business. Come OVID happened, the export market crashed. Everyone
was selling crayfish at like, you know, below the well
below cost prices and altered, and we're thinking, oh my god,
we're absolutely screwed, like we've.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Just started our business.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
And anyway, luckily, I think because we stuck to our
values and people really believed in what we were doing,
they stuck with us and they supported our business and
we made it through that time and we just evolved
really like we started with restaurants, and then when restaurants
shut down, we just started to go through it to
consumer a lot earlier than what we had planned because
(09:48):
obviously when we wanted packaging to be able to deliver it,
you know, get it grated to them. So we started
just packaging it ourselves and cardboard boxes and seaweed and
dropping it off all across the Greater Welingtin over COVID
when people couldn't leave their homes. And it was super
cool because we got to connect with our customers directly
and hear some pretty amazing stories of why people were ordering.
(10:09):
That's the special Climba Wanna. But anyway, fast forward, we
you know, came to the next spring summer season and
we had sust out our packaging by then, so yeah,
just growing and evolving and hustling. We created our own
home compossible ice plats, which were the first in the
(10:30):
world we seemed to think anyway, And yeah, we're pretty
proud of that, which meant that we could ship our
fish across the country, keeping it alive and fresh and
doing it sustainable. So yeah, I think because we honestly,
we just start to our values and we're really got
(10:51):
to really I suppose a bit stubborn, and we had
to make things work. So yeah, people just came along
for the ride. I suppose they just liked what they
were seeing. And the business has grown quickly, which has
been really cool.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, and you tell such a beautiful story, like on
your website and across all of your socials, And obviously
that's your marketing background coming out, but I'm actually really interested.
So I run a business with my partner and we're
involved in a couple of different things together, and I'm
interested in your perspective with you and Troy, and I
(11:28):
know you have sort of different roles within the business,
but working together and living together being partners. How does
that go? Like, how do you make that a success?
Because I'm sure we could all learn something from that.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I don't think there would be the picture of a
success in that in the department. Honestly, it was. It
was really difficult that like, because I mean, you're hustling
so hard, things have difficult financially, You're you know, under
so much pressure. And back then we didn't have a
deckhand either, so like we were working on the boat together,
(12:04):
we're working on land together, and we were living in
like some pretty unideal situations as well. Like, it's super hard.
I mean, I'm not gonna like sugarcoat it. We definitely
had our days. We were probably wanted to push each
other off the boat, but you get through these times,
(12:26):
and yeah, like Toori and I just have such a
passionate and undying love for each other really that no
matter what happens in our relationship, we're just we we
know we're going to stick together forever. But yeah, we've
learned a lot, I think over the years, and then
they're much better at, like us, sticking in our roles
and being a bit more organized. It's all of those
(12:48):
sorts of things that you learn along the way, and
now we're Yeah, I suppose we run the business well together,
whereas at the start it probably was pretty hectoic, to
be honest. Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I like how you talked about basically staying in your lane.
And I know from personal experience, every time I stray
from mine, that's when the eras occur or the problems occur.
So I can totally relate to that one. So clearly,
tell us a little bit about segueing slightly. Tell us
a little bit about what it takes to be a
bit of an underdog in what is such a huge industry,
(13:27):
being the commercial fishing industry. That's kind of the space
that you're playing in or up again, So tell us
a little bit about almost there. It seems to be
like David and Goliath's story. What are your experiences in
that respect.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, it's been interesting. Especially when we started our business.
There was a lot of big organizations that didn't like it.
You know, they tried to shut us down through many
different ways, and we were definitely scared, Like we were worries.
We were scared to watch stay on social media because
you know, we've been old sort of just shut up
(14:02):
and get in line is lack of a better words.
But yeah, so we definitely held back at the start
of it. We were, you know, had that fear, and
then we realized, hey, look like these guys actually can't
do anything to us, Like we're going to do this anyway.
And our community was the thing that pushed us forward
(14:23):
because as we were sharing the story of like, hey,
this is what we're doing and obviously highlights what isn't
being doing and all those sorts of things, but people
loved it. They're like, oh my gosh, like I love
to hear about this stuff, and we love to support
what you guys are doing. So in yeah, I suppose
battling that fear came with the support from our community
(14:43):
and that just pushed us forward to do it because
it felt like, oh, yeah, this is the right thing
to do and we're being supported in it, so let's
keep doing it. So yeah, I suppose that's what it's
been like. It is the underdog, is it heard? It's
start if you just keep going.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Yeah, it's kind of like that feel the fear and
do it anyway sort of thing. And I don't know,
I always find that when you have sort of a greater, cause,
like I think, you guys have got some really really
strong values. When you have that sort of behind you,
it gives you a little bit of strength to kind
of keep things moving forward in the direction that you want, right.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, that's right. And I think that's the cool part
of our business is it's not about fishing and selling fish.
It's really about changing the fishing industry is itself and
the food industry. You know, That's what our underlying goals are, victorically,
and I think that's why people get behind it, because
it's not just a fishing business really Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah, yeah, it's a lot more than that. And so
talk to me a little bit about the process of
ordering and stuff, because I know that you guys fish seasonally,
so you let the stock obviously have its chance to
replenish and sort of get ready for the next season.
So talk us sure what that year sort of looks
like for you? And if I'm I'm having a dinner
(16:04):
party in Cambridge in a couple of months time, how
do I order from you?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Yeah, it's been a hard thing to simplify because I
suppose it's not really done right. So we've tried, We've
tried to make it as simple as possible. So people
jump on our website and they will see a fishing forecast,
like the weather's looking good on Wednesday, we'll be we'll
be diving then, you know, which means get your order
in before Wednesday, and so when they get their order
(16:32):
in and we go out catching on that Wednesday, and
then it's westing one Thursday, so you can place like
we've got genuinely got two catches a week, so you know,
one and earlier in the week and one later in
the week to sort of suit as many people as possible.
But yeah, outside of that, we only fish seasonally. So
(16:53):
like crayfish, we fished from October until March, and then
we have a resting period when they're mating, and then
we start again in May and that goes until the
end of July, and then we stuff again as the
females drop their eggs, and then it starts again and
each species has its different season. So yeah, and I
(17:15):
think it's great. Like, you know, a lot of people
are viously contact us in those periods saying, hey, this
is what I want. I want some growfish. How can
I get some? But it's just like an you saying
like tomatoes have this season, if a katas have this season, Like,
we need to be eating feasily in order to protect
the species. And it's a nice thing to do, so
like that, to hold off and wait, and it makes
(17:36):
it more joyful and enjoyable when you do the chance
to enjoy that fish. You know.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
It's a nice reminder, isn't it that food is actually
a season or produce more or less, particularly when we're
talking about fresh fruit and vegetables. And it's a nice reminder,
isn't it that actually what we see in the supermarkets
might be imported from somewhere else because that suits their
growing season versus you know what we have here.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, and because of these food markets, we have become
so disconnected from our food and they're understanding, you know,
like going and that's what's cool about the movement going
back to vegetable markets and going direct to fishes and
going direct to all of these sorts of love food supplies.
It's cool we're reconnecting to Cooper, Tuanuku and seasons and yeah,
(18:25):
it's special. I love it.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
So you have such a busy life, right you are
involved in loads of different things, and obviously the tater
collective is a central part of that. How do you
find balance for yourself? What does balance for you look like?
And how do you manage to protect that time?
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, to be honest, to be honest, the booth four years,
there wasn't much ballance. It was definitely work and hustle.
But you know, I'm stoked about that. But now I'm
definitely finding a bit more of a balance. Life is
a bit more normal, say at least, but yeah, I
think get up early, like we are always up before
(19:08):
sunrise that you know, it always gives me a chance
to go for a runner, a look at sunriser at sunset,
like I love having those at least enjoying a sunrise
or a sunset each day. Oh, it's just run. It
helps with your sleep cycle as well, and it's just
the best part of the day, right, You get the
best views, in the best energy. So yeah, I suppose
(19:32):
that's when I make time for myself. I'm really I've
had to become really organized. Like I'm not an organized person.
I'm more of a chaotic person. But I've had to
train myself to become organized. So like every Monday morning,
I'll wake up, I'll do an hour like planning out
the entire week and each day I make sure I
wake up or you know, when I'm getting into my hair,
(19:54):
spend that time my diary and planning to ensure nothing's missed.
You know, your mind can be clear at night time
when you're going to sleep, things are organized. Yeah, So
tools like that to help you be able to enjoy
your time outside of my.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, I absolutely love those practical tips actually, like I,
you know, make sure you do some exercise with the
sun at one end of the day or another, which
is beautiful. I'm really interested in your tips because you know,
over time your business has sort of growing and it's
evolved a little bit. If there's people out there at
(20:33):
the moment, and there are a lot of them, it's
a pretty tough economic climate. There are some people who
are battling and being made redundant and are looking for
other opportunities. What advice would you give to someone who
might be looking to execute on a dream or something
that they think could be valuable to the world. And
obviously you've got a few different hats in that space
(20:56):
with your marketing background, but yeah, what are your thoughts
on that?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Honestly, I think try and fail and try again, Like,
do not be a praise of giving things a go.
You have to have faith in yourself. It's something that
I've learned, Like, you can, honestly, you can do anything.
And don't let this like limiting self beliefs come into
your mind of I can't do that because financially works
my funnel or whatever it might be. I totally understand that.
(21:23):
But you know, start it as a side hustle, start
it as a passion project. Spend your evening, you know,
making your arts and craft or creating a product or
whatever it is you might want to do. Yeah, you've
got to believe in yourself and you've got to put
the work in, you know, Like you have to be
prepared to work hard and be committed to your mission
and not give up. So keep trying, keep changing, keep evolving,
(21:46):
you know, hustle, work your weekends, having no social life
for a little bit, be broken in order to upscore
your life and career. But you'll get it, you know.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Like, honestly, failing is the best thing I think that
I've ever done, because failing allows you to see things differently,
to change, to evolve and grow and to get.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Where you need to be, so do not be scared
of failing, and do not be scared of everything ago.
That would be my key advice in life and business,
that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
Yeah, some great tips there. I think from that, it's
kind of summing all of that up. Change comes from
those tiny steps that you do daily, right, So when
you can think about that big project or the end result,
it can be a bit overwhelming. But what you've just
talked about is breaking it down, doing the hard work,
small steps daily, because there's that all quote or saying,
(22:36):
isn't it if you do what we've always done, we'll
get what we've always got. And what you've talked about
is the antidote to that, which doesn't often get spoken
about in the context of really having to put the
hard work and sometimes for years.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, Yeah, and I think as well, what's really important
is make sure you have a mission. You know, it
has to connect to some sort of core value inside you, right,
like whether it's helping people, helping nature, helping humanity, I
don't know, saving something like. I feel like there really
needs to be some deep, rich connected reason of like
(23:10):
why you're doing something, because it will keep you motivated
and it will it really set yourself a part as well,
you know, doing things just for money. Yeah, there's a
great reason for it, but you.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Know, sometimes it can only take you so far, right, Yeah,
that's right. And so speaking of missions and having a
plan and projects, what do the next couple of years
look like for Clear Edwards?
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah? Funnily enough, I did some goals sitting a couple
of nights ago with the old Lionsgate wat opening And
I'm not sure if you guys.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Are spiritual in that vibe, but anyway, yeah, those goal
is to spend more time with family, like doing things
that we enjoy, camping, tramping, all that.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Sorts of stuff. Like, you know, we spent so much
time focusing on my head and getting our business to
where it is the last five years, and that's time
to like focus on ourselves. We want to have better,
so you know, yeah, that's sort of what we're going
to be focusing on alongside like growing our business. Has
got a lot of plans and ideas whotorically active of
(24:22):
diversifying into different theories and different things. But I suppose yeah,
I'm prioritizing now and realizing that like we don't need
to rush this time. These things can come later, And yeah,
like enjoying other parts of my life outside of work,
which is yeah, family, babies and those sorts of things.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Yeah, And it's actually just so important to have those
recharging moments, isn't it in to think about what you're
doing it for. You know, there's actually no point and
working really hard if you don't have a reason. So Clear,
I just want to sort of wrap up today by
really honoring you for who you are. You're one powerful
(25:11):
Wahina and ever since I first met you, I've just
been so enthralled by your journey and how strong you
are and standing in your values and what matters to you,
and also growing a really beautiful, successful business that's grounded
in something that's also really special to me, food production,
and connecting sustainable food production with consumers. And yeah, you've
(25:34):
just shared some really beautiful golden nuggets with us today.
So we really really appreciate your time and what you
bring to the world.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Oh, thanks so much, ladies. It's been a pleasure to
share and it always is. And yeah, love what you
love your money as well, It's awesome.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Thank you so much. Clear, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Clear
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