For Lar, Caring & Co's success - including selling enough Unique Drizzle to fund a whole local primary school through the trust - is based on the team spirit of equality. "I made it clear from the start that if we want the company to move forward, we must all feel equal on the team, so we can share our ideas, views and make the decisions needed to progress."
And he's not afraid to stand up when tough decisions are needed. "It's challenging having to be the bad guy sometimes but, at the end of the day, there are deadlines to meet. Because we are all equals, everyone is accepting of my criticisms."
Lar plans to pursue a career in business starting with tertiary study next year. Meanwhile, he will continue as managing director of Caring & Co, which has more than tripled its stocks of olive oil to help hundreds more South Auckland children.
Also part of the Caring & Co team are Kugna Flynn, marketing director; Ryan King, production/communications director; Kayla Picknell, marketing director; Guang Liu Chu, financial director.