As consumer demand shifts toward ethically produced food, New Zealand snack brand Nibblish is setting a new operational benchmark by turning discarded fruit skins into power for its factory.
Founded in 2018 by Chief Executive Matthew Bennett, the company produces a line of preservative-free, gently baked fruit snacks distributed across Woolworths and Coles supermarkets in Australia.
The brand sources its raw produce from a network of approximately 1000 regional growers in West Africa, focusing on native mango and pineapple crops to reduce the need for synthetic pesticides and intensive agricultural inputs.
Operating in a facility in Ghana, the company uses a specialised methane-captured system that processes discarded mango and pineapple skins to generate electricity for factory operations.
The company repurposes remaining fruit solids as organic fertiliser for subsequent crops, while processing facilities run on solar power and use recycled water systems.
Addressing the brand’s operational structure, Bennett said that establishing direct oversight of environmental and labour practices was a core priority at launch.
He emphasises that the approach responds to expanding consumer demand for health-focused snacks produced through verified ethical supply chains
Beyond factory-level processing, the brand’s supply chain framework includes long-term vendor agreements that provide local processing staff with fair wages, daily meals, and on-site childcare.
Through a partnership with the environmental organisation Ecologi, the brand has funded the planting of more than 7000 trees across Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, and Ethiopia since 2018, offsetting an estimated 501 tonnes of carbon emissions.
“It was important to me as a founder that we built this business the right way, with the right ethics and morals; that meant looking after our workers and the environment in a way we are really proud of. Consumers increasingly want snacks that are not only healthier, but also produced responsibly,” said Bennett.
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