Robert Glowatzki, a German national, and his Italian wife Lucilla Chiericati, founders of Yanuyanu Pte Ltd on Taveuni.

Inside a small factory on Fiji’s garden island – Taveuni, a wide range of fresh and value-added food products are lined up in rows.

From ice cream products made from local organic fruits to tonics, sugarcane juices, tree to bar chocolate, dried fruits and even skin care products. This is the home of Yanuyanu Pte Ltd, an award-winning organic farm and food company.

Founded in 2015 by Robert Glowatzki, a German national, and his Italian wife Lucilla Chiericati, Yanuyanu has been a champion of organic farming and value adding Taveuni’s rich agricultural products.

The idea for Yanuyanu came from a desire of making healthy food choices available and attractive with the broader aim of helping diversify Taveuni’s agricultural production beyond dalo and kava. With a small team of eight local employees, the company produces a range of fresh and value-added organic food products sourced from its own farm and neighbouring villages.

“We are innovative in the sense that make high quality food choices accessible and affordable for a wide clientele on Taveuni. Our approach is to have YANUYANU PTE LTD stand on a strong foundation of love, respect, sustainability and profitability. The love can be tasted in every scoop Lucilla creates and every product that is manufactured by the company,” Robert said.“We strongly believe that the way forward for Taveuni and Fiji in general is the diversification of cash crops; a future where farmers grow not only dalo and kava but engage in the cultivation of ginger, avocados, turmeric, fruits, spices and other high value commodities.”

The uniqueness of Yanuyanu’s products has captured locals and tourists alike in Taveuni, with a growing interest in Viti Levu and beyond Fiji.

“We are very happy that our business is well received in the local community and that we have a positive impact on the health of many people,” Robert said. 

The company won the Agribusiness Innovation Challenge Award at this year’s Prime Minister’s International Business Awards for its excellence and leadership across the food and agriculture sector in Fiji and its resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From left: Investment Fiji Chairperson Jenny Seeto, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, Yanuyanu PTE Ltd’s Robert Glowatzki, winner of the PHAMA Plus Agribusiness Innovation Challenge Award and Australian High Commissioner to Fiji Ewen McDonald at the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards held at Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort on Denarau, Nadi.

“Crucial for the company’s success is, beside our passion for quality, the respect for all the women and men that have worked with us over the years. Without their dedication, muscle, knowledge, sweat and tears, this farm would still be the wild cassava patch it used to be before. Respect also their ancestors that have farmed this land for thousands of years without damaging it and leaving us with fertile soils and beautiful nature to use,” he said.

The Agribusiness Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Australia and New Zealand supported Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus Program (PHAMA Plus), recognises individuals, companies, groups and institutions that demonstrate a future-oriented vision for the agri-food sector and its supporting services in Fiji.

In congratulating Yanuyanu, Australian High Commissioner to Fiji and Special Envoy for the Pacific and Regional Affairs Ewen McDonalds said: “Congratulations to this year’s award winners at the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards including to Yanuyanu Limited, winner of the inaugural PHAMA Plus Agribusiness Innovation Award. The ingenuity of businesses operating in Fiji is fantastic and Australia is pleased to continue supporting sustainable income-generating opportunities and innovation in Fiji’s agriculture sector through PHAMA Plus.”

PHAMA Plus works with businesses and the public sector in Fiji and across the Pacific to maintain and improve trade of agricultural products by assisting them to meet export market requirements.

As winner of the award, PHAMA Plus is working with Yanuyanu in a mentorship program to provide branding assistance and capacity development to take their products and services to new markets.

“Every time a customer chooses our organic products over artificially processed foods, we have a reason to celebrate. We dream that one day there will be a market for all these crops on Taveuni and we hope that we can play our role in helping achieve that,” Robert added.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka with Yanuyanu PTE Ltd’s Robert Glowatzki, winner of the PHAMA Plus Agribusiness Innovation Challenge Award at the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards held at Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort on Denarau, Nadi.

For more information, please contact PHAMA Plus Country Manager – Fiji, Mr. Navitalai Tuivuniwai at n.tuivuniwai@phamaplus.com.au