Meet The Team Behind The Vision
Brendon Mcintosh
As well as sparking and establishing our Kōaka vision, Brendon is also vital in our day to day operations; taking pride in picking and packing your orders, ensuring they arrive safely and in a timely manner.
After working as a Community Pharmacist for 6 years Brendon noticed the downfalls of our system and became frustrated at a framework that he believes doesn’t meet the needs of our Māori community.
Brendon has a personal moonshot and strong desire for wanting to improve Māori health outcomes and so together with other Kōaka team members is developing a retreat program specifically catered for those struggling with chronic health disease and addictions. Kōaka collects 10% of all profits to invest into this retreat program which is currently in the development phase.
"I firmly believe that as Māori, we should know ourselves, and be able to heal ourselves without the need to rely on a system that hasn’t been designed with our needs as a priority. I want us all to be a rangatira, not only in the community, but of ourselves."
Aleshia Johnson
Aleshia has a wide background and extensive knowledge in pharmacy and nutrition. She is a qualified Pharmacist and has a Postgraduate Certificate n Nutrition.
Aleshia’s role is to research and innovate within the natural and alternative skincare space. To develop evidenced based products that are true to our values and support our mission.
Aleshia’s personal mission is to create a happy and healthy world.
"To me, healthcare must be approached holistically. Hauora is the Māori philosophy of health and well being that encompasses the physical, mental , social , and spiritual dimensions of health. The health of our skin is no exception. Our skin is the largest organ within our body, we must practice self care and self love in order to feel well. It is so important to nourish, hydrate and support healthy skin in order to look after our overall health.”
Brad Lake
Brads mission is to highlight and provide the benefits of hemp based skincare. With his background in the rural sector, growing a range which supports his dream of a flourishing organic hemp industry and healthy soils are at the core of his vision for Kōaka.
“We just need better choices that we can trust. Why can’t the everyday products we use actually enhance our environment and our health. Kōaka is our foundation to provide a range which we trust, to heal ourselves and leave a planet fit for our future whakapapa.”