Born and raised Auckland, Te Reina has a Kiwi/Maori heritage and has grown up cooking in the kitchen trying new recipes. Becoming a mother herself, Te Reina found her daughter suffering from multiple allergies and was determined to help her. Through studying Naturopathy, working at Ceres organics, and gaining a better understanding of how food can promote self-healing, Te Reina began creating healthy, tasty meals and treats that her daughter could enjoy. Following this, The Little Plant Pantry was born.

Te Reina focuses on making 100% plant-based slices and bliss balls, made from organic ingredients. She’s also started expanding into plant-based meals to go alongside her slices for a full, healthy, ready to eat meal. A customer favourite are her buddha bowl salads filled with fresh seasonal veggies.

Te Reina always had a dream to make and sell her slices and bliss balls, she joined The Kitchen Project to help her gain the confidence she needed to turn her hobby into a business. “I have learned so much already and everyone has made me feel so much more confident about my ideas and my food. Meeting people from other food businesses has been a great highlight. Knowing they also started small and learning how they grew their business over time and their advice has been really valuable.”

The vision for Te Reina’s Little Plant Pantry is to have her own meal delivery service, transporting her ready to eat meals to workplaces or gyms, giving people easy access to fresh, healthy, delicious food! You can order meals from Te Reina via her Instagram or Facebook, her products currently are made to order.