The Sauce market gets spicier with Fiji Fire

New Zealand’s sauce market will get spicier with the entry of Fiji Fire, a popular brand produced in Fiji.

While the product has been delighting diners at homes and restaurants in many overseas markets, its availability in New Zealand follows a distribution deal signed with Brooke Fine Foods, a 40-year-old Auckland-based company. 

Sydney-based Consulate General and Trade Commissioner of Fiji Daniel Stow described the move as a ‘demonstration of Fiji’s ability to produce niche and premium products suitable for export.

Pristine Environment helps

“The high quality of Fiji Fire also reflects the pristine natural environment from which it is made, leveraging environmental and social sustainability as cornerstones of the brand and process. The manufacturing is manual without any industrial machinery and sources all its ingredients from local farmers and women’s groups,” he said.

Mr Stow said that the Fiji Trade Commission is pleased to work with exporters such as Fiji Fire in helping them find new markets for their products and help support jobs and local communities in Fiji.

Brooke Fine Foods has started distributing Fiji Fire Bongo Chilli hot sauce.

The hot sauce has been the talk of the town on Radio Hit, the sister company of NZME, (owners of the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB) after the station announcers used Fiji Fire hot sauce as a giveaway prize for their listeners.

Sam Campbell and Gauthier Mescam, owners of Down to Earth (Fiji) Pte Ltd, which makes the sauce in Fiji are proud of the production process. Their dedicated staff craft the sauce by hand, using locally sourced ingredients fresh from the farm.

Serving local communities

Since the beginning, the Fiji Fire team has firmly believed in giving back to the local community and helping them in any way they can.

They provide farmers, community groups and local families with bongo chilli seedlings for free, and then purchase their crop.

Mr Campbell outlined the benefits of living in Fiji, saying that it is a ‘dream in Paradise.’

“There are many factors that can make running an agriculture processing business difficult – climate change affecting the seasonal vegetable cycles, longer wet seasons affecting yields, increased shipping costs for export to name a few,” he said.

Mr Campbell said that the company that Fiji Fire symbolises the company’s benefit to serve and give back to the community.

Social Responsibility Programme

“Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Seedling Programme has been the most rewarding part of running the business. We give free Bongo chilli seedlings to local families, community groups, village groups or small-holding farmers. We buy the chillies all year round and set a fair price. When we started, we had a handful of farmers. Today we have 30 different groups that fulfil our chilli needs,” he said.

Mr Mescam said that his Company is grateful to the Fiji Trade Commission New Zealand for assisting him in amplifying the awareness and branding of the Fiji Fire Bongo chilli hot sauce. He said that the team sought opportunities to market the hot sauce in New Zealand through news media articles and radio show giveaways that opened bigger opportunities for the company.

“With our radio giveaway, Brooke Fine Foods coming onboard as our distributor, our attendance at the Auckland Food Show 2024 and being available in Bin Inn from July of this year, we feel that now Fiji Fire will establish itself as a household staple in New Zealand. Fiji Fire is looking forward to breaking into the New Zealand market. We have had a lot of interest from people who have tried or bought Fiji Fire whilst on holiday in Fiji and have been looking to buy our product here,” he said.

Fiji Fire hot sauce is available in Fiji, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom,  the United States of America, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Jessica Gounder is the Trade and Marketing Officer at the office of the Fiji Trade Commission of Australia and New Zealand based in Auckland.