World's first Pacific milk brand launches in NZ

From a viral milk meme to a globally-recognised drink brand, the new kid on the block Drink Da Milgy is 100 per cent Polynesian-Māori nestled in the heart of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Co-founder and director, Saion Angi, is one of three people behind the venture and he says their mission is to deliver a fusion of health and nutrition, seasoned with a touch of Pasifika innovation.

The Ōtara-born Niuean-Tongan university graduate told Pacific Days’ Ma’a Brian Sagala it was a surreal experience to see their product on the supermarket shelves.

Angi said his inspiration came from his family, realising why he was here and breaking that “generational curse” to achieve a better life.

“We launched into Woolworths [Thursday] and it was amazing. Just wanted to show family and friends a product on the shelf in a supermarket that we always shop at and inspire them hopefully, and show them that it's possible.

Watch Morgan (Ken) Christopher Tabo Saion Angi's interview below.

“Right now our initial rollout is 22 Woolworths stores to start with. If everything goes well, we will eventually expand across the North Island and then the South Island and eventually globally. Those are the goals.”

Angi said it wasn’t smooth sailing for the group. There were many discussions, even challenges which included finding a manufacturer they could trust to produce the milk.

“But if you're asking, how did the idea of starting a milk brand come about? I started the company with a couple of mates last year whilst I was still in university.

“It was supposed to be an ‘Otai [fruit drink]. But at the last minute, I changed it to milk and my other co-founder came up with the name.

“I decided to go with milk because last year, I happened to notice when I was walking the aisles of Countdown Woolworths, PAK’nSave, I noticed that there weren't any Pasifika or Māori products on the shelves.

“You had Asian cuisines like noodles, and you had European stuff, lasagna, spaghetti, et cetera, but there's nothing of our people. You had to find that at the morning markets or in Ōtara somewhere. It wasn't accessible.

“And I thought, let's change the ōtai company to milk. That's the hardest thing to do because if we can smash the milk market, then we can do any other product after that.”

Angi said they partnered with a farm because “we don’t have any cows".

“We're a couple of brothers from South Auckland, we don't have any cows, we don't have any land, don't have any crazy amounts of capital.

“We had to figure out a different way to outsource and create the milk. So I partnered with a manufacturing slash farm out in Pōkeno and they helped us with the development of the milk.

“The entire company was bootstrapped, meaning it was self-funded. And now we do need to raise capital perhaps. I had started several businesses before this, so I was fortunate enough to save a bit of money."

Angi said he invested just over $20,000 into the new venture but marketing Drink Da Milgy to the world and potential partners was a challenge.

How do you get over that hurdle of being a startup business that nobody is familiar with?

“I was fortunate enough to graduate with a bachelor in business with a marketing degree. So I have some experience in marketing and I was fortunate to have a lot of connections in Auckland with a lot of the content creators.

“I've noticed people are moving away from like influencer marketing. I'll be starting to do more founder-led marketing. So coming out on the forefront and putting myself out there trying behind the scenes. Examples would be Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook, and Elon Musk with Tesla, they market themselves and then you know the companies just happen to get a lot of exposure as well.

“But the point of founder-led marketing isn't for my face to be the whole purpose of the brand. I'm just supposed to be the spokesperson. And then eventually I want to grow it into community-led marketing where it's a whole movement that brings in the people.

“I do want to start doing workshops and events where I start to connect with other aspiring people who want to get into this business space.”

How did the whole opportunity with Woolworths come about?

Angi said he had started several businesses before and all the skills he learned were applied to Milgy, “which is why we were able to scale so fast.

“And how we connected with Woolworths was just an email. I reached out and they got back to me and they said, apply for this. One thing led to another. Sat down in Favona, that's where the Woolworths HQ is, in Māngere.

“Funny enough, we got denied at first. Though we had the quality assurance, we had the product, we had the hype and attention - that wasn't enough. So I had to change their heart.

“I did tell them like, I'm from Ōtara, I'm super ambitious. I'm trying to create something, et cetera, et cetera. That's what they loved to hear. They come across so many products but they want to know if the founders are ambitious to carry on and keep pushing forward.”

Drink Da Milgy begins its life at the Pōkeno farm and is then transported to the company factory in Ōtahuhu before ending up on the shelves at Woolworths Countdown.

Much of his team is made up of “external people” - accountants, advisers, warehouse, farm, Angi said.

While he is happy with Milgy’s progress, Angi said “Creating a really strong team from the very beginning, and ensuring that everyone has the same end goal and mind et cetera are key.

He has some parting words for young Māori and Pacific people.

“Anything is achievable. You need to remember your why. What's your reason? What's your reasoning for anything you do in life? And I was fortunate enough to have that realisation at 19.

“I had to backtrack and dissect my entire family about how I got to where I am. I realised my grandparents came here like other people's families and parents for a better life.

“Unfortunately, they weren't able to achieve that. They created a great family, a great household, and family values, which is amazing but still, there are financial constraints on them.

“I realised that at 19 and I was like, I need to change, I need to break that generational curse on my retired grandparents, parents. And I wanna make sure that we actually get that better life that everyone was always hoping for.

“Doesn't matter where you're from, you gotta remember your reasoning because then that will allow you to drive and stay resilient in whatever you're doing, pursuing.”

Drink Da Milgy can be found in 22 Woolworths Countdown stores in Tāmaki Makaurau. A 450ml bottle of "fresh organic milk" will cost you $5 while the 1 litre is $11.