We make Sylk and Sensation from kiwifruit vine extract from kiwifruit orchards in New Zealand located in the Pukekohe area south of Auckland. We bring the kiwi gum extract to the United States and manufacture and bottle the products in the US to reduce the costs and keep our products affordable.
The kiwi gum extract facility is also located in the Pukekohe area and it is used exclusively for extracting the kiwi gum to avoid any potential risk of cross contamination. This facility is unique and we believe it to be the only kiwi gum extraction plant in the world. The plant was built to high international standards and has been approved by the appropriate New Zealand safety standards authority.
Environmentally friendly production
The vines we obtain are a byproduct of the Kiwifruit harvesting operation. Normally the vines are left to decompose on the ground and have no other viable use other than normal nutritional benefits from plant waste. We are able to extract the kiwi gum and utilize this natural ingredient that would otherwise be wasted. Once processed, we compost the composted the vines are recycle them back to the orchard in concentrated form.
Economic benefits in New Zealand
The seasonal aspect relating to the availability of kiwifruit vines that would otherwise go to waste means that most of our vine processing staff are seasonal rural workers. We work very closely with the New Zealand Work and Incomes Department to source people who are, at that point in time, unemployed and looking for rural type work. We have a policy of paying these workers significantly above the going rates for rural work because we recognize that at times the work is hard and the window of opportunity to gather the vines is limited. Reliability is essential to ensure vine processing is completed within the limited time available.