Our Story
Hi, I’m Matt. Along with my daughters, Gwenevere and Sapphira, we’re proud to own Apothecaire, bringing you low-waste, natural products to help and care for families with sensitive skin and allergies, primarily eczema.
Our Mission
The Apothecaire mission is to make natural and effective products available to everyone, everywhere. Our skin care range is inspired by Rongoā Māori, formulated to relieve the ever-increasingly common discomfort caused by sensitive skin and eczema, and to provide healthy and natural alternatives to mainstream, mass-produced products.
In New Zealand, we are blessed with many native plants with medicinal healing qualities. Every Apothecaire product is infused with healing native plants wildcrafted by hand using traditional techniques, and simple tools. This, along with zero unnecessary fillers like water, alcohols, nasty preservatives or chemicals, is the reason why so many whānau enjoy, and recommend, our products.
Our Passion
My interest in natural products and herbalism is shared by my eldest daughter Gwenevere, who plans to study Herbal Medicine formally. My interest in herbalism began as a teenager, but my journey into natural medicine really began whilst looking for relief for severe eczema that started when I was in my thirties.
With my daughters being part Māori (Te Whanau a Apanui), it was important to me that Apothecaire drew upon principles of Rongoā Māori (Māori herbal medicine), so that not only could they learn their heritage and traditions, but also to help share the beauty of traditional healing with more people.
Our Beginnings
Apothecaire was created shortly after my family and I moved to the beautiful township of Te Kaha, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. We wanted to move away from the pollution, stress and traffic of big cities, and really lean into self-sufficiency, with the constant rise of prices and scarcity of food and resources.
Our new home was not in the best state when we arrived, however slowly but surely we began to clean up, and clear away years of overgrowth and neglect. During this process, we discovered massive groves of kawakawa, native beehives, and many other wonderful native species. Recipes were tested, and improved, and Apothecaire grew organically from there, with friends and family requesting our kawakawa salve and other natural products (coming to the store soon), and before long, word of mouth had led to many more inquiries asking when we were going to be selling our products.
Our Future
Our wish is to share, inspire and educate anyone who is interested in finding better ways to look after themselves, and their families.
We are already testing new products, and new methods, and hope to bring a larger range of skincare and edible products in the near future. If you'd like to be kept informed, please join our mailing list at the very bottom of every page.
