COOK ISLANDS Coffee made with love
Nathan Ivaiti owns the Love Café in Tupapa, Rarotonga. Named in honour of his late father, the Love Café opened its doors eight years ago. The café occupies a small building tacked onto the front of the family home, conveniently located on the main road. Nathan went into the café business following experience managing and working in a café in Aitutaki where he realised he had a gift for hospitality. He loves to chat with the many local regulars at Love Café, and passing tourists alike.
In those eight years a lot has changed. Self-taught, and largely working by trial and error, Nathan started with a home kitchen where his mum, Dorothy Ivaiti, helped with the baking, a small coffee machine and a little faith. As the café’s customer base grew, Nathan purchased a better coffee machine, then an even better, bigger coffee machine a few years later, he made the space bigger with a larger outdoor area and a roof to protect customers from the weather. Progressive upgrades meant a larger fridge, and now – together with his partner Sieni Tiraa – a separate commercial kitchen workspace, just down the road from the café.
And that is where Business Link Pacific was able to help. Nathan found out about BLP through Facebook advertisements, but also from friends encouraging him to check it out – he had never applied for any financial assistance before, relying on cash flow to fund business growth. Supported through the process of getting financial records in order by BLP advisor and accountant Iokopeta Williams, and further assisted by Sieni to complete the grant application, Nathan and the Love Café were successful in their application.
The grant funds have been applied to purchase new equipment for the commercial kitchen space. A hood extractor was a necessity, as was a commercial cooktop. The new space was acquired just last year and Nathan has renovated it to achieve standards needed for a commercial kitchen, also funding this work from cashflow.
The natural growth and success of Love Café is soon to open new business opportunities. “We are often asked by other cafes if we would supply baked goods, and I always say ‘no’ because we can barely keep up with our own customer orders. The plates of baking are empty almost as soon as they hit the countertop!” With the new commercial kitchen, this can change. The bakery will expand production capabilities, creating a new income stream from manufacturing food products for commercial supply.
Business owners like Nathan must work around the many challenges experienced across the Cook Islands, and elsewhere in the Pacific. “Nothing is manufactured in the Cook Islands, so everything must be imported, from kitchen equipment to food supplies.” Nathan services his coffee machine because there’s just no one else to do it. Following Covid, there continues to be a shortage of qualified tradesmen, many having left for greener pastures and not returned.
Working within these constraints no doubt builds resilience, adaptability and a DIY attitude, and that is what has maintained the Love Café and its humble owner for eight years.
BLP facilitates access to business advisory services and financial support. To start your journey with BLP, you can self-assess your needs by using the free online tools available to help small- and medium-sized businesses diagnose areas in their businesses that an advisor could improve.
The first step can be the online Business Health Check. You can also check your business’s resilience to respond to crises or climate change challenges on the Business Continuity Planner and the Climate Action Sensor. If you prefer to meet a local BLP representative in person to discuss your business, get in touch with our local partners to arrange a face-to-face Diagnostic.