About Aureate Artisan Foods
Aureate Artisan Foods is a Māori-owned, Christchurch-based artisan food producer. Founded by Fern King (Ngāi Tahu), our growing range of packaged artisan goods is available in stores across New Zealand, with more to come.
Email - hi@aureate.nz
Aureate is Latin for golden or elaborate, and our brand is about quality. Our mission is to provide a sweetfix for everyone, with a range of non-vegan, vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free options. Constant innovation and unique products are at the heart of what we do; we love creating things you simply can't find anywhere else on the market.
Sweet treats were where it all began. The recipes developed over years of baking, filling, and decorating cakes and cupcakes are now being transformed into shelf-stable packaged products. From curds and dulces to syrups and popcorn, available in vegan and non-vegan versions, there's plenty more in the pipeline.
The values of the business are:
- To provide a sweetfix for everyone;
- To invent unique products and constantly innovate on current ones;
- To be quality-driven in everything we make;
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To use natural (and cruelty free - our eggs come from rescued chickens that are kept in a large space so they can live a happy and full life) ingredients wherever possible;
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Premium and rare flavours; and
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To use sustainable (compostable or recyclable) packaging where possible.
Our Story
Aureate began with a vision, a passion, and a notebook brimming with sketches and ideas. I always dreamed of owning my own business, and as a Ngāi Tahu woman, building something that reflects both my family's traditions and my iwi's values of innovation and kaitiakitanga felt like a natural path.
My baking legacy traces back through my family. My Nana worked at Caversham Bakery in Dunedin over 60 years ago, and my mother's cake tins were never empty. Baking has always been part of who I am. But the way I approach it? That's something a little different.
The Spark of Creation
My journey began baking for friends and family: birthday and wedding cakes, and experimenting with unique dietary requirements. The pivotal moment came in August 2012 when I baked an array of cupcakes for an SPCA fundraiser, and something clicked. That event marked the real beginning of my entrepreneurial adventure.
By 2013, I had my first market stall at the Haitaitai Community Market in Wellington.
The Birth of Aureate
The name came from a childhood dictionary discovery. "Aureate" means golden or elaborate, and it felt like exactly the right word for what I wanted to build: quality food that's made for everyone.
The journey wasn't without its challenges. A bricks-and-mortar shop on Cuba Street in Wellington opened and closed in 2018, but the unwavering support of customers and the vegan community kept the dream alive. I relocated to Christchurch at the end of 2019 and have been growing here ever since.
A New Chapter: Aureate Artisan Foods
We're now entering an exciting new phase. While cakes and cupcakes will always have a place in our hearts, we're channelling our energy into our packaged artisan range: products crafted with the same care and creativity that has always defined Aureate, now available in stores whenever you need them.
Our current range includes Mulled Wine Syrup (naturally vegan), Lemon Curd (vegan and non-vegan), Dulce de Leche (vegan and non-vegan), and Salted Caramel Popcorn (vegan and non-vegan with real butter), with much more to come. You'll find us at local Christchurch markets, at Riverside Pantry, and in stockists around the region and across the motu.
Innovation and Creativity
The Press once described my approach to baking as that of a mad scientist, and honestly, I'll take it. My kitchen has always been a creative laboratory, but it's not just about unusual flavour combinations. The innovation runs deeper than that.
Take our Mulled Wine Syrup. When I developed it, I couldn't find a single product anywhere in the world quite like it; a mulled wine syrup with the fruit and spices already in the jar, ready to go. Clarified syrups exist, but nothing with that texture and depth. It was a genuine gap in the market, and filling it meant working out a process completely from scratch.
The same thinking goes into to our Vegan Dulce de Leche and Vegan Lemon Curd. Most vegan dulces lean on a single plant milk, which limits depth of flavour. Our own combination of vegan milks gets much closer to the rich, complex taste of the traditional version. The Vegan Lemon Curd was a different kind of challenge: replicating not just the flavour of two of lemon curd's four key non-vegan ingredients (butter and eggs), but their richness, thickness, and texture too. After years of experimenting, I finally created a curd with the right viscosity whether you're spooning it straight from a fresh jar or reaching for it cold from the fridge. It's the kind of detail most people never notice, which means I got it right.
Flavour innovation matters too, from Mont Blanc to Matcha and Red Bean to Sake and Rewarewa Honey, but what really drives me is the question: why doesn't this exist yet, and how do I make it?
Looking Ahead
We're committed to scaling the business sustainably, growing the packaged product range, and sharing these golden, gilded creations with a broader audience.
The name may be evolving, but the heart of Aureate remains exactly the same; a little bit golden, a little bit mad, and always made with love.
