New Zealand collaborators reveal innovative gut health product
A Dunedin company, Zestt Wellness, have launched a new gut health product to help counter the damage caused to our digestive system from processed foods and additives. One of the co-founders of Zestt, Dr Anna Campbell, says that damage to our gut health can be associated with the onset of chronic disease.
Campbell, along with fellow founder, Darcy Schack, were driven to create a science-based gut health product that used New Zealand grown ingredients and innovation.
These ingredients include yacon, which according to Campbell is “a superfood due to its amazing prebiotic properties. Yacon provides a form of sugar that our body can’t digest but our gut bacteria can, this helps the growth of good bacteria and inhibits the growth of bad. Clinical trials have shown that yacon can also reduce appetite and help with weight management”. The Zestt team have partnered with Kerikeri organic yacon producer, Marcus van Boxel, and are excited about the availability and quality of yacon in New Zealand.
Knowing the benefits of yacon and finding a local producer were only part of the equation. Through a collaboration with Blenheim based company, Taylor Pass Honey and a Nelson based food scientist, Grant MacDonald, the team have found a way to turn the yacon syrup into a dried product – something that others have not been able to do. A clever bit of local innovation has meant that they have been able to create the new ‘Thrive’ lozenge that has the correct pH and consistency and that also includes other New Zealand ingredients that are good for gut health, such as gold kiwifruit and probiotics from another Dunedin based company, BLIS Technologies.
Creating a quality product from quality ingredients has its challenges. According to Schack “the trick is to combine these ingredients, without losing bioactivity, so a lot of attention to detail and testing needs to happen along the way to insure none of the goodness is lost”.
The inspiration for Zestt Wellness’ products arises from Schack’s personal health battles with Sarcoidosis, a little-known autoimmune disease, which affected his lung, heart and brain functions. Zestt Wellness was established in 2019 and they released their first product EXhale, a lung health and immunity formulation, that year.
Campbell is excited about the new product “launching a product that is based on quality ingredients, quality collaborations, innovation and a bit of Kiwi magic is something that we are proud of; best of all, we know this will make a difference to the health and well-being of some New Zealanders.”
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About Zestt Wellness
in 2022, Zestt launched their product range in the USA and were named finalists in the Asia Pacific Nutra Ingredients Start Up Company award and winners of the New Zealand China Business Club Innovator award. As a company, they tap into the rich New Zealand science and innovation ecosystem and partner with premium growers throughout the country to develop products with strong science behind them.
To contact Zestt Wellness:
Anna Campbell 027 4861418; anna@zesttwellness.com
Darcy Schack 027 599 2255; darcy@zesttwellness.com
App to help consumers before they get to the Supermarket
As the cost of living crisis bites, a New Zealand company, Sumfood, has launched an app designed to help New Zealander’s save money at the supermarket. The free app lets consumers know which supermarket has the cheapest price, per person, for groceries.
Launched on 1 December, it is hoped that it will provide consumers with a little comfort at the checkout as the holiday season approaches.
Dr Helen Darling of Sumfood believes that the kiwi’s want to help kiwi’s find the best place to shop and, at the same time, drive supermarkets towards fairer and more transparent pricing. To do this, she said, will require innovative people to start using the app, as the amount of data builds, supermarkets will no longer be able to hide behind price differences.
“Anecdotally, we know that where you live has an impact on what you pay at the supermarket – it’s time for some transparency”. Price information is crowd-sourced from motivated consumers.
The app was designed in response to increasing concerns of food price inconsistencies reported through the company’s food reporting tool.
For the last two years the company has collected reports on food issues, with these ranging from concerns about food preparation or hygiene through to contaminants or foreign objects. The company provides a service to consumers that gives them advice on what to do and who to contact.
The new app, FoodSpies.com, uses crowd-sourced data to calculate the average price for a supermarket shop. Shoppers can log on and find the average price, per person, for supermarkets in their region. Data are sourced from shoppers who provide the cost of their shop and the pricing is continuously recalculated so that the most up-to-date information is available.
Darling said that it’s an exciting time to be launching another tool to help consumers, adding that the idea came from her young, motivated team who are committed to making food systems safer and fairer.
Christmas crunch: 60% of Kiwis stressed about the cost of Christmas
30 November 2022, New Zealand
Highlights
- Kiwis to spend an average of $623 on gifts this year.
- Women much more stressed about Christmas costs than men.
- Almost two-thirds would pay more for a sustainable gift.
The majority of Kiwis feel stressed about the cost of this year’s Christmas, reveals the latest research from personal finance information website Banked.
A survey of 1,020 New Zealanders found that 60% of Kiwis describe themselves as either a ‘little stressed’ (46%) or ‘very stressed’ (14%) about the expenditure involved with this year’s festivities.
Women are feeling under more pressure than men, with 70% reporting some level of stress, compared with 49% of men.
Banked’s Christmas spending report found that Kiwis will spend an average of $623 on gifts this year. Women said they expect to spend $566 on average, while for men that figure climbs to $712.
“With rocketing inflation and a cost of living crisis to contend with, lots of New Zealanders are really feeling the pinch this Christmas,” says Kevin McHugh, Head of Publishing at Banked.
“Many will be worrying about their personal finances when they should be able to wind down and appreciate some well-earned time off with friends and loved ones.”
Banked’s research also found that sustainability is an important consideration for Kiwis when buying gifts. Almost two-thirds (65%) say they would be willing to pay more for a gift if it was sustainable, such as one that involved zero waste or was made from recyclable materials.
Younger people are even more interested in sustainable gift-giving, with 76% of those aged 18-24 (falling into the Gen Z age group) stating that they would be willing to pay more for a sustainable gift.
Conversely, under half (49%) of those aged 55 and older say they would be willing to pay extra for a gift if it was sustainable.
“Sustainability is a vital issue and it’s pleasing that so many Kiwis are willing to support it, even if it costs them a little extra at the checkout,” says McHugh.
See Banked’s NZ Christmas Spending Report 2022.
Top ways to save this Christmas
Don’t feel obligated to spend beyond your means – “Christmas is an expensive time and many feel pressure to spend money that they don’t have,” says McHugh.
“Don’t feel an obligation to buy gifts you’ll struggle to afford or take part in every costly social event. Put your wallet and your wellbeing first.”
Secret Santa or group gifting – “Arranging a Secret Santa is a great way to cut costs. It can also be lots of fun and lets you focus on getting a great gift for one person.
“Chipping in with others for a group gift is another excellent way to save, plus it makes it possible to purchase an otherwise unaffordable present,” says McHugh.
Set a budget (and stick to it) – “It can be easy to overspend at Christmas. But by setting a budget and keeping track of your spending, you’ll make managing your finances over the festive period much easier,” advises McHugh.
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About Banked
Banked is a financial information and deals website that has the goal of helping New Zealanders make the best decisions on the products they need.
Media Giants Call on Biden to Drop Charges Against Assange
Five of the world’s leading news outlets have sent an open letter to US President Joe Biden asking him to drop the charges against Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The letter states the charges against him set a ‘dangerous precedent’, relating to receiving and publishing classified material that revealed war crimes, torture, and environmental crimes. Assange is currently in a maximum security prison in London, and hundreds of doctors warn he could ‘die in jail in the coming months’.
The New York Times used a photo of the Human Chain around British Parliament on October 8th, that New Zealander Matt Ó Branáin inspired. Ó Branáin welcomed the statement from the top Media brass saying ‘Joe Biden cannot run from this any longer. It would be a huge mistake to allow this disastrous prosecution to fall under his legacy. Free Speech is integral to the US identity and international respect.’
Ó Branáin renewed calls for Jacinda Ardern to intervene diplomatically with Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak, saying ‘the case imperils not only Global Press Freedom, but New Zealand journalists working or travelling abroad, the integrity and safety of our troops, and the broader New Zealand public’s right to know. Staying silent on this is complicity, and will not age well, especially if he dies in prison. The public awareness of the significance of this case is growing every day.’
The letter signed by five major media outlets states:
‘This indictment sets a dangerous precedent . . . Holding governments accountable is part of the core mission of a free press in a democracy. Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary in the public interest is a core part of the daily work of journalists. If that work is criminalised, our public discourse and our democracies are made significantly weaker. . . It is time for the U.S. government to end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets.’
Publishing is not a crime.
The editors and publishers of:
The New York Times
The Guardian
Le Monde
DER SPIEGEL
El Pais’
Octana.io Raises $1.5M Pre-Seed Round to Accelerate the Adoption of Headless Content Management Systems Around the World
Auckland, New Zealand, November 10th 2022, Octana.io today announced their NZD $1.5m Pre-Seed capital raise led by local innovator, Hillfarrance Venture Capital.
Octana, which was spawned in mid 2022 from award winning digital agency Apolinar, helps organisations adopt headless Content Management Systems, such as Contentful, by giving them a simple, quick and easy way to build, manage and maintain complex websites on top of any headless content management system.
Headless platforms, like Contentful, are becoming increasingly popular as organisations are impacted by the maintenance, scalability and security issues associated with legacy monolithic platforms such as WordPress. However, without an app like Octana in their technology stack, they can easily run into complexity and content management issues that can prove very costly to solve, in part due to the constantly changing nature of website projects.
Anna Dao, Octana’s Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer said: “This is obviously an important milestone for us and we are delighted to be partnering with Hillfarrance who share our vision and passion for the way websites are built and maintained. This funding will allow us to accelerate our growth and scale our team, creating more technology jobs within the Queenstown Lakes region.”
Anna continued: “We have proven across Australasia that Octana can create huge value for organisations such as UP Education and Dubber, whose marketing teams now have the tools they need to manage their own headless websites without the help of developers. It’s now time to take Octana into marketplaces such as the Contentful App Marketplace in order to drive mass adoption of headless technologies across the world.”
Rob Vickery, Founder and Managing Partner at Hillfarance said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the team at Octana as they set out to transform the way organisations use headless platforms. We have huge conviction in founders that come from the creative industries and the way in which they build businesses, grow teams and use innovative ways to change their customers’ lives for the better.”
He continued: “I believe Octana is the right product at the right time supported by a team with a proven track record of delivery which is why we decided to fund the round in its entirety. We are deeply excited about the innovation coming out from the Queenstown Lakes region and we intend to build a base there in the first quarter of 2023.”
Octana is offered as a stand-alone software app that can be hosted anywhere. It talks directly to the headless platform via APIs and gives organisations the ability to build and maintain beautiful websites quickly and easily using modern design systems. With Octana, marketing teams can create pages, change content, run campaigns and operate at scale without having to engage developers or agencies to support them, which is transforming the way they interact with the web and radically changing the economics of website management.
About Octana
Octana is a software app that gives organisations that have adopted headless content management systems the ability to build and maintain beautiful websites quickly and easily using modern design systems. With Octana, marketing teams can create pages, change content, run campaigns and operate at scale without having to engage developers or agencies to support them, which is transforming the way they interact with the web and radically changing the economics of website management.
About Hillfarrance
Hillfarrance Venture Capital is one of the leading early stage venture funds in New Zealand. Based in Auckland, Hillfarrance invests in audacious entrepreneurs who are solving the biggest challenges that matter in the worlds of artificial intelligence, gaming and content and climate change. The companies they invest in are predominantly focused on international expansion, especially into the US, and pushing the technological frontiers of what is possible in their sectors.
Lemon.io revealed the list of digital nomads’ safest and healthiest destinations: Australia, Germany, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, and Portugal take
Lemon.io, a talent marketplace connecting venture-backed startups with vetted software developers, rolled out the list of the safest and healthiest countries for digital nomads.
Lemon.io analyzed data from two leading indices for health and safety — the Global Health Security (GHS) Index and Global Peace Index (GPI) — to determine the healthiest and safest countries with visa opportunities for digital nomads. Among the leading countries in the GHS Index, which measures every country’s preparedness to deal with public health emergencies like epidemics, are Australia, Germany, New Zealand, France, Spain, and others. As for the most peaceful countries in the world, the countries that topped the list include Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, Czechia, and Hungary.
Combining the two statistics, Lemon.io discovered the six countries that should be on any digital nomad’s definitive work destination list, both in terms of health and safety. These are:
- Australia
- Germany
- Hungary
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Portugal
There are also visa-pending states that are likely to be added to the main list as soon as the digital nomad visa issuing starts. These are Italy, Latvia, and Indonesia.
“Currently, there are nearly 40 countries that issue special visas for digital nomads. While many still measure their appeal based on traditional criteria such as cost of living, visa requirements, or infrastructure development, the past years have shown what truly matters: health and security. Having helped 800 remote developers around the world find employment, we at Lemon.io know firsthand how important it is to be comfortable working in different countries and under new circumstances,” — said Aleksandr Volodarsky, CEO of Lemon.io.
To help all the wanderlusts decide on their next destination, Lemon.io has prepared an informational starter pack for each destination option, which includes information on average monthly rent, estimated cost of living, eligibility, visa duration, visa cost, and the required monthly income to live comfortably in their desired location.
See Lemon.io’s full analysis of the top countries in terms of safety and health here.
ABOUT LEMON.IO
Lemon.io is a talent marketplace of vetted software developers created with the big goal of connecting global venture-backed startups with world-class talent from emerging countries. The company is now on the way to providing jobs to a thousand engineers by the end of 2022.
Kiwi Inspires Global Free Assange Human Chain Events
Auckland activist Matt Ó Branáin has inspired a worldwide movement of Human Chains on October 8th to free jailed Australian journalist Julian Assange.
Ó Branáin proposed the idea of a Human Chain to #HugBelmarsh prison, which gained international support, and was retweeted by Julian’s wife Stella Assange. Due to some difficulties surrounding the prison, it has turned into a #FreeAssangeHumanChain of 5,000 surrounding British Parliament.
Now 16 cities around the world will hold Free Assange Human Chains, including Washington DC, Ottowa, Wellington and Paris all on October 8th.
Ó Branáin says ‘I feel simultaneously humbled and in awe of what a difference any of us can make, when we inspire others to unite. There’s nothing we can’t do when we stand together.’
Julian Assange is currently in solitary confinement in a UK Supermax Prison, despite not serving a sentence. Top forensic psychologists, a UN expert, and hundreds of doctors say Julian Assange is being ‘tortured’ and is likely to die in the next few months if he is not freed.
‘This is the most crucial Human Rights battle of this Century, because the Right to Know is the master key to protecting all our rights. Every credible authority from the UN to Amnesty International is saying Julian’s imprisonment, and the US charges against him undermine Global Press Freedom. If it’s a crime to tell the truth we can’t solve anything. ‘
Ó Branáin has launched a campaign asking kiwis to help him go and represent Aotearoa at the Chain in London. He will write the names of all who support him on raranga flax ribbons he will take to the event.
‘I know from talking to kiwis everywhere, nobody wants an Aussie journalist to die in prison for telling the truth. We gotta get him out. I’m asking kiwis to get behind me so I can represent them.’
Matt is a teacher, media-designer and musician, who became intensely engaged on the Assange case when he read the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer. For two years Matt has devoted the majority of his time to campaigning on this. He formed Aotearoa 4 Assange, and he recently committed to wearing what he calls ‘Gitmo Chic’ every day till Julian is free. An orange Guantanamo Bay style prisoner suit, and sign. ‘It’s been starting conversations everywhere I go. Kiwis are not at all happy when they hear an Aussie journalist is being tortured to death for telling the truth.’
‘Our Government, and Jacinda Ardern, need to urgently engage in diplomatic representations with our allies the UK and US, to ensure Julian’s release. All our rights are imperilled by his imprisonment, and by the US charges against him. There isn’t a bigger threat to the Western Democratic system than this case.’
‘Jacinda Ardern, has criticised misinformation at the UN, but where does she stand on truthful reporting?’
- #FreeAssangeHumanChain around UK
Parliament, London, 1pm October 8th, 1pm - #FreeAssangeHumanChain at the Beehive, Wellington, 12pm October 8th.