Secret Kiwi Kitchen plans to bring its baking mixes to about 25 Gelson’s Markets in Southern California this November, according to BevNet. BevNet describes the rollout as the New Zealand brand’s U.S. retail launch. The release says four mixes are planned, while the Santa Monica Daily Press names five—blondie, scone, chocolate cake, gingerbread cake and cookie. The available reporting does not resolve that difference.
Distribution and product details
The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that the company opened a California warehouse in July and ships U.S. online orders. BevNet says the warehouse serves U.S. retail partners and online customers. Its Gelson’s expansion follows its selection for KeHE’s TrendFinder Golden Ticket program, which BevNet describes as a platform highlighting emerging brands to retailers across North America.
BevNet reports that Secret Kiwi Kitchen’s mixes use New Zealand grass-fed dairy, free-range eggs and real vanilla bean, and contain no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. The company also makes dried edible flowers for baking, cocktails and entertaining. The Santa Monica Daily Press describes other products in the broader range, including triple fudge brownie, buttermilk pancake and ginger crunch mixes.
The company’s reach and beginnings
Secret Kiwi Kitchen is stocked in roughly 700 stores across New Zealand, the Pacific, the United States and Canada, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. BevNet reports that the brand is also distributed nationally in New Zealand through New World and Fresh Choice supermarkets and the Woolworths NZ network.
Founder Lauren Lulu Taylor started the company in Auckland in 2020, during a pandemic lockdown, with about $1,000, according to BevNet. The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that she kept the business self-funded and took on four additional jobs to support it. The paper also describes Taylor as American-born, with Japanese-European roots, and says she has lived in New Zealand for about a decade.
A Los Angeles connection
Taylor previously lived in Pacific Palisades and approached Gelson’s as the brand’s first U.S. retailer, the Santa Monica Daily Press reports. The paper says she had shopped at the chain’s Sunset Boulevard store before moving to New Zealand; that location was later destroyed in the Palisades fire. It also reports that her children attended Canyon Charter Elementary.
The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that Taylor views local businesses as potential sources of connection as neighborhoods rebuild. Secret Kiwi Kitchen’s mixes are also available through the company’s website, according to the paper.
