Pacific beauty store expands to West Auckland

There's the familiar bold and bright yellow sign that beckons people to even brighter colours inside.

Pacific beauty and fashion brand, Panikeke, branches out once again to its latest permanent spot in New Lynn, West Auckland.

Founder and CEO Kiteli Toma is excited to set up a location that reaches another hub of Pacific people living in Tāmaki Makaurau.

“It’s nice to bring some of the South Auckland Pacific flavour here to West, and even before opening the shop we’ve had a lot of people interested in seeing the best of the Pacific.”

Panikeke grew from the humble beginnings of selling one soap, one lotion and a small range of earrings at the Ōtara Flea Markets in 2016.

Almost a decade later, the brand has rapidly grown to produce its own range of skin, hair, and beauty products, bags, jewellery and accessories, and men and women’s fashion, all sold online or in their Papatoetoe and Porirua stores.

Toma spoke to Ma'a Brian Sagala on Pacific Days about the journey and growth of Panikeke, and gave an exclusive sneak-peek tour of the New Lynn store.

“We’ve always had a lot of customers drive all the way from West, even as far as Westgate, to see us in South Auckland.

“So I’ve chosen New Lynn because it’s right in the middle of Western Central and very convenient for our Panikeke customers."

Over the years, Panikeke’s brand and stores have become the recognisable one-stop shop reflective of all the beautiful Pacific cultures and communities.

While a massive range of products are available online, Toma says there's nothing quite like the face-to-face “brick and mortar” experience shoppers get from going in-store.

“It really gives the customers a taste of the whole product range, we have a bit more variety of clothing and definitely more products and accessories. It gives our customers the full Panikeke overview.

Panikeke, New Lynn is holding an intimate launch today and doors open to the public at 10am on Saturday, 4th of May.

Shop 3/1 Rata Street, New Lynn

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday - 10:00am to 5:00pm.

Saturday - 10:00am - 4:00pm.

Sunday - Closed.

Watch the full interview and get a preview tour of the shop with Kiteli Toma below.