Cultural respect key to successful business

Any successful business venture starts with a love and respect for the product, says ‘Anau Mesui-Henry, co-founder and director of Four Shells Kava Lounge.

Speaking about her Tongan-rooted enterprise, Mesui-Henry says any successful business venture starts with a love and respect for the product.

“You have to respect the culture and the people and what we say about it,” Mesui-Henry said.

“If there’s not that respect for it, then what is the intention behind what you're doing? It's purely capitalism.

Kava is deeply rooted in the cultures of many Pacific Island nations. Photo /Canva.

“It's purely commercial. So once you extract the respect for us and what we do and how we hold space and how we say we want our culture.”

She added that centuries of cultural practices and knowledge are discarded if producers disregard respect and tradition, ultimately eroding the drink’s authentic value.

Kava has also become more popular among youth, which Mesui-Henry has seen from both social and business perspectives.

She loves that the youth are choosing kava over alcohol, a “pālagi-made drink that’s caused so much harm in our families and communities”.

“We want to connect how we used to connect back in the island. We want to learn about kava, but I think the only thing is that social responsibility of also just understanding the culture behind it.

“Because there's a lot of mana when you understand it's more than just a drink, but I think it's awesome.”

Watch ‘Anau Mesui-Henry’s 2023 full interview on Pacific Days below.

Sara-Jane Elika, one of the two directors at ECG, said that only two per cent of businesses in New Zealand are Pacific-owned.

ECG serves as a network provider in the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ business village framework, conducting business needs assessments and offering tailored work plans.

According to the Treasury, Pacific people contribute over $8 billion to New Zealand’s GDP annually, and the Pacific economy is uniquely influenced by cultural capital, spiritual well-being, and intergenerational factors.

ECG’s Elevate Business Sessions held space for Pacific entrepreneurs across different business sectors to connect. Photo /PMN News.

During the session, Nanci Ona-Murphy, Community Manager at Take Up Space, said the event allowed attendees to check in on community wellbeing and meet the ECG team.

She appreciated hearing about Mesui-Henry’s struggles and triumphs over the last five years and how she has navigated the challenges to achieve success.

“What she's had to go through with getting to where she is after five years, and just getting some ideas of how she will be able to reach accomplishments, surpass the struggle - the good stuff and the bad stuff.”

Ona-Murphy encouraged Pacific people interested in entrepreneurship to “love what you do” and to be passionate about their endeavours.

“Be passionate about no matter what type of business it is. Just make sure that you surround yourself around the people that are actually doing it.”