Risk & Reward

Our opening day, 15/12/2020. Photo: Taylor Kirk

Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, we didn’t exclaim our plant based prerogative until people came in to ask for a coffee and found out we had no cows milk. Would you like oat instead?

We were aware that people could have a negative reaction if we pushed the fact that we would be 100% plant-based. So we just didn’t tell anyone, and let our community find out how amazing non-dairy milk is for themselves.

So why did we choose to be completely plant based?

As founders, we all abide by a plant based lifestyle and have been for some time, for different reasons. As a collective, however, we all align with the fact that plant based living can contribute to increasing human and planetary health. All of us have seen benefits in our personal health since adopting this lifestyle, allowing us to understand at a deep level, how this type of consumption can create positive change in many aspects of our lives. We are still amazed at how it’s changed our lives and feel it’s one of the most impactful decisions we have made respectively. We have also put in the time to research and understand how this lifestyle can lessen the impact on our planet. 

When we first decided to create a business together, one of the biggest questions we had to answer was whether we would stick to our personal values, providing exclusively plant-based products or adhere to the mainstream demand and use animal products in our food and beverage.

As we were creating our plan of attack, we asked members of our community and other local business owners their opinions on our predicament. Most of them expressed that it would be a huge risk not to sell animal products, especially cows milk in coffee, and that we would be better off to be inclusive of these products so we didn’t turn people off right as we started. Some proposed we should have it to start, then phase it out. Feasible yes, but did it align with our values?

We looked for inspiration from other places and businesses in NZ, but  we struggled to find many others that had 100% plant-exclusive offerings. There was no roadmap, or signs to guide us. We deliberated about what we wanted as a business. Was it just profits? Did we want to go against our values because of fear of failure? Or did we want to create positive change? Did we want to be motivated everyday because we thought we were contributing to a better future?

We decided to risk it all and be exclusively plant-based, following our hearts and maintaining our values.

After testing out some alternative milks to see what the main companion for our coffee would be, we were tipped off about an up and coming underdog, Oat Milk. We tried out a few different options, and decided on a Kiwi brand Otis Oat Milk, understanding the value of supporting local business, plus its tastes the best too. As a way to make the transition smooth for the community, we chose to keep our coffee prices on par with other cafe’s around the region, not adding extra cost  for our plant milks, so it was more approachable for people. This translates to us taking a loss when it comes to potential profits, as plant milks cost significantly more.

Photo: Ellen Taylor

Decision made and wow what a ride! 

People were a little apprehensive to start, and we fully understood where they were coming from. We all grew up drinking cows milk and understand how changing such an ingrained behaviour can be hard, and even shocking to be confronted about. That's why we decided not to advertise or promote the fact that we only had plant based products, we didn’t want to scare people away before they even got the chance to try something different.

And when people tried it, they liked it.

Customers started telling their friends about this new oat milk coffee from Zephyr, and started buying oat milk cartons to take home, and before we knew it, people were coming in exclaiming they had transitioned completely to only drinking oat milk. People's perspectives were changing. What they thought about plant based options was changing.

We also noticed that some people were supporting us because we were sticking to our values, creating a new normal when it came to plant based offerings. We were starting to get the support from our community, and it felt good!

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though, there were some who did not believe we were doing the right thing. We had people come up and exclaim that we need to be selling cows milk otherwise we would not survive, and now 6 months down the track they are regulars who come along to Zephyr with their family and friends, and we appreciate how they kept it real with us at the start, and through mutual respect we have been able to create wonderful relationships and move past the initial apprehension.

We can’t explain how grateful for all those who support us, we cherish the smiles, the laughs, the connections and the community that add vibrancy and positivity to Zephyr. We appreciate all those who have contributed their time and energy to helping us create this space, and continue to contribute as Zephyr grows and gathers momentum.

Arohanui ki te whānau

Opening day photos by Taylor Kirk