Vegan Business Spotlight: Zenzo & Tonzu
Meet my favorite organic tofu & vegan aioli brand…
Tonzu & Zenzo!
What is Tonzu and Zenzo?
Tonzu and Zenzo are an incredible, vegan-friendly, and plant-based food brand established in New Zealand by the Chalmers Family.
They’re one of my favorite food brands of all time and our fridge never goes a day without one of their products in it. Never.
They operate under two labels: Tonzu and Zenzo.
To break it down, the Tonzu range “is a growing range of lovingly handcrafted certified organic wholefoods” and the Zenzo label “was created to supply delicious dairy-free treats like cheeses and yoghurts.”
How Did Tonzu and Zenzo Start?
The Chalmers Family developed their products out of a realization that our health is deeply tied to the food we eat, and that meat and dairy alternatives need to be available to the average household.
To give you a quick rundown of how Tonzu and Zenzo was born and raised, the Chalmers Family recognized that some of their son’s health conditions could be attributed to his consumption of dairy products. When they wanted to try to incorporate alternatives, they were met with a big challenge: finding what they needed. Recognizing the gap in the availability of healthy alternatives, they decided to create their own.
They started with tofu and tempeh after learning about the health benefits from a well-travelled family member, and before they knew it, they were feeding families all across New Zealand.
The brand has expanded into a wide variety of well-loved products with the promise of many more to come! (You heard it here first!)
What Products Do Tonzu and Zenzo Make?
Tonzu is the certified organic side of the equation, which includes:
Organic Tofu
Organic Tempeh
Black Rice Tempeh
Vegan Sausages
Vegan Nuggets
Marinated Tofu Cubes
Zenzo is the more audacious brand, which includes:
Dairy-Free Mozzarella
Dairy-Free Cheddar (“Regular” and Garlic & Herb Cheddar)
Dairy-Free Smokey Paprika Cheddar
Dairy-Free Cumin Seed Cheddar
Coconut Yoghurt (Coconut, Mixed Berry, Mango Passion, and Vanilla Bean)
Zenzo also includes the ALL-TIME BEST VEGAN CONDIMENTS:
Vegan, Egg-Free Aioli (my #1 true love of the condiment world)
Vegan, Egg-Free Mayo
Dairy-Free Sour Cream
>>CLICK HERE TO SHOP THEIR PRODUCTS <<
Who is Behind the Zenzo and Tonzu Brand?
The Chalmers Family are behind the whole operation!
Jesse, Lippy, Dan, and Stephen are board members and they are supported by their passionate team of 30+ amazing humans.
They are pioneers in the plant-based food space, specifically in New Zealand, and they’re one of my favorite brands of all time.
Oh wait, did I mention that already?
I’ll probably mention it again a few more times, so buckle in!
They’re not only passionate about filling the gap in plant-based and organic alternatives, but they also genuinely care about their impact, both in the community and on the environment.
They are constantly looking at their practices and ways they can improve, which is a dream for those of us who want to spend our dollars on environmentally-conscious brands.
All of their amazing products are enjoyed and loved by many vegans and plant-based people here in Aotearoa and I’m grateful they exist!
Let’s Interview One of the Founders, Shall We?!
I had the fortunate opportunity to virtually “sit down” and have a chat with Lippy Chalmers, a co-founder of the Tonzu & Zenzo family company.
She really took the time to provide thoughtful answers and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the heart and soul of the company from one of the people who brought the brand into existence.
Thank you, Lippy, for taking the time to do this interview with me!
I can’t wait until the day we meet in person and I can thank you for bringing such incredible vegan-friendly alternatives into the world.
You rock!
Question One
I love the story about how your family was introduced to mindful eating back in the 70s.
It started with learning how to heal your son's eczema and then it evolved into a mission of providing something you knew didn't exist in the market in New Zealand yet; something you knew other people needed.
How did you find the courage to bring something as unknown as tofu and tempeh to the New Zealand market when no one else was doing it?
Lippy:
When we cured Daniel of his eczema we were totally convinced that what we eat was of primary importance. In those days I literally had to make everything including bread because it was not just dairy but also sugar. Dairy products caused the eczema (and colds, he also got glue ear) but sugar made them much worse, so I had to completely re-think how we eat. In those days we were vegetarian but relied very heavily on dairy products.
Stephen’s brother Greg came back from his big OE and had worked in a macrobiotic restaurant in London and bough back foods with him we had never seen before (this was 1979) such as seaweed, miso, tamari and freeze dried tofu. They had actually made tofu in their restaurant and he knew how popular it was. Macrobiotics is actually the traditional Japanese diet.
He was keen to open a restaurant in Auckland on his return (with us as partners) but I knew I could not get the foods I needed so presumed that others could not either, so we shifted our thinking to a retail shop. We opened this shop (Harvest Wholefoods), in Richmond Road, Grey Lynn (not the Ponsonby end)which is those days was a very run down area and everyone thought we were a bit crazy.
We did struggle at first and I had to work weekends, (while Stephen looked after Daniel) Greg had to clean the local Fish and Chip shop at night and live over our shop!!
We decided that we needed to do something truly unique to attract folk to our shop so, at first we experimented with making Tofu at home. Once we had it worked out we did up a tiny room at the back of the shop into our first tofu room.
It took a while, but not long, and people were coming from everywhere to buy our tofu (not available anywhere else). We also had other health food shop owners coming to buy it to sell in their shops as well as vegetarian restaurants.
At this time I was pregnant with our 2nd child Jesse and we could not manage 2 businesses (which is what we had by now), so had to sell the shop which gave us the capitol to set up our first soy business where we also started making Tempeh.
Question Two
What made you split the brand into two labels: Zenzo and Tonzu? And, what do you think is the most unique thing about each one?
Lippy:
We created the 2nd brand Zenzo because (and most people have not noticed this), because we were very limited in what we could do under Tonzu as it is certified organic. For instance we could not make an analogue cheese because we could just no source all the ingredients organically and we could not increase our range. So Zenzo is not totally organic, although we try to make it so, and never ever use preservatives etc.
Question Three
As you set up your business, and the many iterations of businesses in the process, you must have experienced so many obstacles and challenges along the way. What is something you wish you could have said to yourself at the beginning based on what you know today?
Lippy:
I think we would never have sold Harvest Soyfoods – we sold it as Greg needed to move with his family out of Auckland, and we could just not see (because we had 2 young children), how we could manage without him.
Question Four
Because you have massive and valuable experience setting up a vegan business in a non-vegan world, if you had advice for someone looking to set up a new vegan business in today's non-vegan world, what would you tell them?
Lippy:
I have to confess that I do not see us as a vegan business, but an organic one first and foremost and plant based– organics is what drives us – the environmental importance of organic farming and food production is extremely important to us. I am not a fan of “fake” meats as some of them are so full of preservatives and additives, and also you need to think about how some ingredients are made – I cannot see how the human body recognises some of this as food.
Question Five
What has been your favorite part about building your business from the ground up and seeing it take off into the vegan phenomenon that it is?
Lippy:
I think to know that we have always been right about our principles for both the health of people and planet – intrinsically linked. It has taken a long time for the world to catch up and I think the medical profession still has a long way to go.
Question Six
Your company is extremely in tune with the environment and global warming. What measures are you taking to be as eco-friendly as you can be? What do you hope to improve? And, what do you think other businesses can do to run more eco-friendly businesses?
Lippy:
We look at all our processes and make sure that everything that goes into our food is actually food! We only use filtered water in all our products. Our waste product (Okara) goes to a biodynamic farm to breed dung beetles (on our web site) Eventually (funds permitting) We would like to collect our own rain water (and filter it), recycle all our water. A living wage is very important to us, our staff are very hard working and we want them to feel valued.
Question Seven
You've stuck true to your dedication of keeping your tofu and tempeh organic. What do you want people to know about your mission with organic products?
Lippy:
Nothing more important than organic food production. There is new legislation coming before parliament about the use of this term – basically if you are not certified you are not organic, because we are not just talking about ingredients but also processes e.g. not using aluminium cooking pots etc., which many so called food producers do. If you are certified you can be sure your food is truly organic. For the future of the planet this is so important – when you buy any food (even vegan) check the ingredients then see how those ingredients are made – sometimes very “scarey”.
Question Eight
What is it like running a family business? Do you think your morals and values help keep you all aligned with your mission?
Lippy:
Definitely, our children are very passionate about our values as that is what they have been bought up with and see how true they have become over time. However we are not perfect, we struggle sometimes as individuals – we all have very strong personalities (:
Question Nine
Do you have a message for the vegan community you would love to share?
Lippy:
Yes, please, please beware of what you are eating – check your labels and the processes for some of the ingredients – not all plant based foods are equal.
Question Ten
During your health and business journey, it sounds like you and your family have been incredibly passionate about helping people realize the power of one's diet. What would you say to someone who's been struggling to take control of their health in regards to what they're eating?
Lippy:
Start small – perhaps breakfast first – once you have a variety of options, move onto lunch or snacks. If you do too much at once you can set yourself up for failure.
Question Eleven
I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you what your absolute favorite dishes are using Zenzo and Tonzu products, so what are your top three favourites?
Lippy:
I just love either tofu or tempeh fried very simply in olive oil and tamari – served with brown rice and veges – simple and delicious, do not use soy source only Tamari or shoyu (Naturally made).
Also frozen tofu can make a delicious spag bog (always Jesse’s favourite)
Tempeh delicious with peanut sauce.
Question Twelve
Zenzo cheeses and spreads are wildly realistic and insanely delicious! How does it make you feel that your products are actually convincing non-vegans to go vegan because of how well you capture flavors while leaving the cruelty behind?
Lippy:
We do a lot of taste testing along the way – with family, staff and friends – all blind testing to get true answers. Often some of the staff are meat eaters so if it passes that test its good. A lot of our staff have incorporated our products into their diets.
Question Thirteen (This one is just for fun)
Why is the Zenzo vegan aioli so addictive!? It's my absolute favorite and I actually can't get enough of it!
Lippy:
Must be your taste buds!! We have a new range coming soon of condiments – eyes peeled!!
Question Fourteen (My boyfriend made me put this one in!)
Do you have any secrets to getting the mozzarella to melt perfectly on your pizzas?
Lippy:
No, its hard to get that s t r e t c h y n e s s in there without compromising the ingredients!
Last question…
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Lippy:
Just keep doing what you are and spread the organic nature (not just vegan) of all foods e.g. if a meat or dairy eater it is still best to eat organically. This has a much better impact on the environment and the animals have at least had a good life!! The value of non-organic chicken really disheartens me – the poor chicken how did it ever become so valueless!
Photo Credit: Zenzo & Tonzu website