A MAKER IN THE MAKING
Mama Loko didn't begin with a business plan. It began in Ali's kitchen, as a mum experimented with a few thoughtful tweaks to a family favourite.
After researching gut-supportive ingredients following her son’s health battles and back- to-back rounds of antibiotics, Ali landed on the humble marshmallow. The ingredients are honest and simple: gelatine, honey, vanilla bean, collagen and prebiotic fibre. No refined cane sugar; just soft, moreish marshmallows, batch-made in her kitchen and delicious melted into a warm cup of cacao.
What started as nutritional problem-solving for her family has become a passion project of its own.
Mama Loko is still in its “maker in the kitchen” phase. Ali is refining batches, navigating food regulations, finessing packaging and pricing, and learning how to move from making treats for loved ones to taking a product to market.
“It’s exciting and slightly terrifying,” she laughs. “There’s something quite vulnerable about taking what you’ve created and putting it out into the world. You’re sharing a piece of yourself.”
Thankfully, she hasn’t been going it alone. Neighbours and friends have rigorously taste-tested, local makers have offered advice, and her sister at JF Design Studio has worked alongside her to develop Mama Loko’s brand identity, drawing on their family’s Pacific heritage while keeping the brand modern, playful and grounded.
The sense of food, connection and community feels familiar. Ali grew up watching her Samoan mum make what she could with what she had, dropping meals and baking to whoever needed them. Nothing was overly polished, just simple, nourishing food made with heart.
It's also part of what Ali loves about living on the Matakana Coast – “that sense of village: looking out for neighbours, sharing recipes and seasonal fruit and vege” – a place known for its makers, where locals can meet the person behind the product and take home something connected to the region and the hands that made it.
This spring, Ali hopes to add Mama Loko to that offering, taking her first batches to the Matakana Markets.
Where to from here? "I'm still figuring that out," she says with a grin. One thing's for certain – Ali and her sweet offerings are only getting started, but for now, it's one batch at a time, made to order, direct from her kitchen table to the community she cherishes.