Pasifika entrepreneurs win top prize for men’s beauty product

Who says rugby and pretty fragrances don’t mix? Last night, six rugby playing boys from St Thomas of Canterbury College, who developed and marketed an organic soap for men, won both the Pacific Achievement Award and the overall Team of the Year Award at the Lion Foundation’s Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) National Awards in Wellington.

The team, whose company is called Oceanic Fusion, produced an organic luxury soap which includes ingredients sourced from Samoa. To develop and market it they formed a strategic business partnership with Blue Earth Store, Christchurch. The first chapter in their success story was winning the Canterbury regional award in the Excellence in Pasifika Business category, sponsored by the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.

Ministry Chief Executive Colin Tukuitonga says the boys’ success sends an inspirational message.

”We have been sponsoring this award category for three years now, in line with our work to foster Pacific business and entrepreneurs. The St Thomas boys’ success in the top national award is truly fantastic.”

“Not only have they won a significant national award for this product and the business plan around it, they are also providing some wonderful role modelling for other young Pacific people.”

Four of the boys are of Pacific descent – Tongan and Samoan – and some of the soap ingredients are sourced directly from the Pacific. Future plans include a men’s moisturizer.

Oceanic Fusions’ co-managing director Jordan Koloamatangi said the soap had a unique fragrance and was produced using all-natural, organic ingredients . ‘We have gone so far as to source our ingredients directly from Samoa giving us a plant-to-product supply chain. This ensures quality control and socially ethical business practices.’

‘When we decided to develop a ‘men’s beauty product’, we got a little stick from our mates,’ Jordan said, ‘but now that they can see what we’re doing and how successful we’ve been we’ve had great support.’

Oceanic Fusion will give all profits back to Pacific communities both in New Zealand and abroad.

YES is a one year experiential business programme targeting year 12 and 13 students and encourages students to work in teams to create and run a company during the school year. The students set up real companies, create products or services and write business plans. This year’s awards attracted entries from a large number of New Zealand’s secondary schools.

ends

© Scoop Media