Whangārei business owners Nigel and Debbie Stowe from Olive and Ash with their plant-based meat alternative Vince at the FoodStarter awards. Photo / Supplied

Reporter for the Northern Advocate

A Whangārei food business is on the fast track onto supermarket shelves nationwide after taking out the top prize in the New World Small Supplier Category at the FoodStarter 2022 awards.

Debbie and Nigel Stowe of Olive & Ash have been selling their plant-based vegetable mince Vince out of their New World stores in Onerahi and Regent for the past couple of years.

While their recent award is only one of many, including at last year's NZ Food Awards, the FoodStarter win comes with the opportunity to sell Vince at New World stores nationwide plus business advice from industry mentors.

"Winning this means that we can move to the next step up with the business," Debbie Stowe said. "The support is priceless."

The couple were among 10 finalists pitching their product to a judging panel of industry leaders.

Nelson-based business QB's Snacks took out the Start-up Category with its QB's Crunchy Cheese.

Debbie and Nigel created the plant-based mince after their youngest daughter developed severe eczema at a young age. No cream or medication they tried would stop the skin from itching leading to many sleepless nights.

Nigel said it became too hard to watch their girl scratch herself bloody and they changed their diet overnight – no gluten and no dairy. Then they cut out the meat. Within three days eczema improved visibly.

"The reason we developed Vince was that I couldn't find a beef alternative that is healthy and tastes good," Debbie said.

Their vegetable mince is sourced and made in Northland with more than 500g of real vegetables, mostly cauliflower, carrot, onion and tomato.

Nigel explained that unlike most other meat alternatives their product isn't chilled or frozen but dehydrated, which makes it more carbon-friendly and produced less waste.

The couple said they weren't promoting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle as such but rather eating more vegetables.

"More vegetables, less meat – that's what we're aiming for," Debbie said.

The chef of 20-plus years recommends mixing Vince with beef mince to create a healthy, vegetable-loaded bolognese for example.

"Vince is seasoned. You just need to take it out of the pack, hydrate it and add it to your meal. There is definitely a convenience factor and it's great when cooking with kids," Nigel said.

Their product comes with a range of recipe ideas on the Vince website.

The couple is hoping to expand Olive & Ash, which would include building facilities to dehydrate food on a larger scale. As part of the Northland business community, they are keen to keep producing locally.