Home Maid Pickles

About

HomeMaid™ Pickles
is a family owned business established in 1986, manufacturing and supplying quality home made pickles,chutneys,spices & sauces worlwide

Story

From humble beginnings in Varadoli, Ba Home-Maid Pickles is now exporting its products to New Zealand, Australia, USA and Canada. What started as a chance order from an Indian Spice trader in Auckland, NZ has now grown into a thriving cottage industry employing more than 20 staff, most of whom are females. The story of the company is quite fascinating and worth sharing. It is a story of hard work being recognised not only by an upward sales graph but in this case, with the commodity being food. the added gratification of the appreciation for the taste of the product.
The Home-Maid Company started in 1985 from a flat in Varadoli, Ba. Having just sold their shop in Vatulaulau, Ba Musa Daud and Khatija Daud both in their early forties decided that they had had enough of the daily routine of opening and closing a shop. The search was for a business that could give them the freedom but devoid of any risks – a scenario that most entrepreneurs would have told them was very wishful. An attempt into wholesaling potatoes and onions to local shops and market vendors was not such a good idea as the combination of inferior quality produce from suppliers and retailers that were not forthcoming in their payments meant that the business was not going anywhere. Effort versus gain was best considered neutral. Out of adversity and with your back against the wall, the mind often thinks most succinctly. This is exactly what happened, out of sheer desperation the couple went back to basics and again invigorated a simple plan of a low risk business plan.
Khatija’s mother Kulsum Ismail was well known in Ba as the ‘Pickle lady’. Most families in Ba town would call Kulsum to make pickles for them when the mango season came. It was a full time occupation for her as she was widowed at a very early age and had to work to bring food to the table for her seven daughters and six sons. Hardship fell on the family and hard decisions needed to be made. The elder brothers and sisters had to sacrifice their education to ensure that the younger siblings were educated. The elder sisters would naturally accompany the mother to the homes in Ba to concoct the famous recipe. This recipe is believed to have been passed onto Kulsum Ismail from her parents in Surat, India.
As the business opportunities dwindled and debt began to rise the only thing of value remaining was the family’s pickle recipe. Help comes to those that most need it and it just so happened that a local wholesaler of fresh produce to New Zealand had some space in his container and asked Mr Daud if he could persuade his wife into making some of the old pickles that the family used to make to send to New Zealand. No wasn’t an option so the couple began manufacturing their first bulk order of 12 x 20kg of pickles. “It seemed like an extraordinary achievement” says Musa Daud. Little did the couple know what was to follow. As soon as the pickles hit the shelves in New Zealand the consumers went berserk. The next order was for 50 drums and hence an industry was established.
The coup of 1987 put a dent to the progress of the company as the couple, like so many other Fijians decided to migrate to New Zealand in quest of peace and harmony. However, what they did not anticipate is that the consumers in New Zealand had acquired the taste of the pickles and while in New Zealand the shopkeeper asked if the pickles could still be supplied. In those days Musa and Khatija Daud would travel back to Fiji during the mango season to fulfull the demands of the New Zealand pickle market. When Musa Daud arrived back in Ba, the locals would jokingly say “must be mango season”. Now Mr and Mrs Daud are mostly resident back in Ba Fiji going occasionally to visit family in New Zealand.
Home-Maid pickles attempt to trigger all five senses. The optical sense sees a house maid (picture on label) involved in pickle manufacturing. The auditory sense (sound) tells us that it is home made. Of course the three other senses of taste, touch and smell will no doubt be triggered once you get the opportunity to taste the product for yourself.
The Home-Maid pickles are in high demand as the company struggles to keep up with the demands in the overseas market.
The company is ready for its next phase of expansion. However it is constrained by the availability of raw materials in Fiji. Mr Daud said that we are limited by the supply of raw materials and urged people that wanted to get into business to go into small farming projects to supply the company with raw materials.