- Fiji Kava has teamed up with a leading New Zealand pharmacy, Green Cross Health to market and sell its products
- Kava is a plant-based product which is believed to help with anxiety and depression
- The initial launch into New Zealand, include kava capsules and kava powder mixes
- Fiji Kava is down 3.12 per cent and is selling shares for 9.3¢ a share
Fiji Kava has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Green Cross Health to market and sell its products across New Zealand.
Green Cross Health is a leading professional health care provider, with more than 350 pharmacies across its Unichem and Life Pharmacy network in New Zealand.
Fiji Kava is a medical kava company based in Australia and the first foreign company with approval from the Fijian Government to operate in the kava industry.
The initial launch into New Zealand, include kava capsules and kava powder mixes.
Kava is made from the ground roots of the plant Piper methysticum, a member of the pepper family that also includes black pepper. It is native to the South Pacific and is believed to help with anxiety and depression.
Under the agreement, Fiji Kava’s capsules and instant kava powder mixes will be available in up to 200 Green Cross Health pharmacies from October.
Fiji Kava Managing Director Zane Yoshinda says there is a major demand for kava and believes New Zealand is a great fit for its products due to its strong Pacific Island population.
“Kava is a product designed to target areas such as stress and anxiety relief, so pharmacies represent the perfect placement channel for Fiji Kava’s products,” Zane said.
“We are extremely excited to finalise this strategic agreement with New Zealand’s leading national pharmacy group, which significantly enhances our reach in New Zealand and continues our growth across global markets,” he added.
Green Cross Health General Manager Jason Reeves says in New Zealand stress and anxiety is a growing concern.
“Kava is becoming far more prevalent as a ‘plant-based’ natural alternative to addressing these issues, especially in New Zealand where there is a significant Pacific Island community,” he said.
“We’re very excited to work with Fiji Kava in fulfilling this demand, to provide our customers and consumers with high-quality, natural and sustainable kava products,” he added.
The company says that demand for Fijian kava in New Zealand has increased in recent years, with New Zealand and the U.S. combined accounted for 75 per cent of the value of all exported Fijian kava over the past five years.
Globally, exported Fijian kava has experienced average annual growth of 32 per cent during the same five-year period.
Fiji Kava is down 3.12 per cent on the Australian Securities Exchange and is selling shares for 9.3¢ a share at 2:25 AEDT.