Boys of Bonza

The coffee capital of New Zealand has found yet another way to profit from its caffeine habit. Rebecca Blithe follows the plot.
Standing a vegetable garden at Westlake Boys High School, Year 12 student Sam Viskovich looks slightly overwhelmed.
For him and a group of Westlake Boys High School students, finding a part-time job this summer may not be necessary. In fact, they have already hired other students to work for them.
"I wouldn't have thought a year ago..." he trails off, shaking his head and grinning at the black bags of slug and snail repellent and fertiliser, made from coffee grounds.
Now known by their classmates as "the boys of Bonza", late nights and lunchtime meetings have paid off for Sam and his team.
Under the Young Enterprise Scheme, the fivesome formed a company, called it Bonza, and invented a coffee-based slug and snail repellent and fertiliser. It has been endorsed by Massey University and is now on sale.
"For a bunch of boys, I know, you wouldn't expect them to come up with a gardening product," says Sam, Bonza's managing director.
The idea stemmed from a suggestion made by company member Josh Suyker's father, who lived on an orchard and used coffee grounds around his plants.
"The key thing is it's not limited to coffee. We've done a lot with it. We've combined pumice for the gritty texture and magnesium," says Sam, who has been reading up on organic gardening. "We saw a gap in the market for organic repellent and fertiliser that isn't harmful to pets or people."
The boys invested $125 each to kick-start the company, deciding it was better to invest their own money because they would take it more seriously. They decided on the name Bonza because it sounded fun and includes the patriotic NZ letters.
"I'm pretty sure it's Aussie slang," says Sam. "It's used in cricket, like: 'Oh what a bonza' ... And it's catchy. A lot of people are saying, 'Oh you're the boys of Bonza'."
While some schools incorporate the Young Enterprise Scheme in their business studies, at Westlake Boys it must be taken on as an extra-curricular activity. When asked how much time the boys spent on the project, Matthew Fouhy, [who designed the packaging] and Sam exchange a glance, raising their eyebrows at each other.
"I wouldn't like to put a figure on it. We were up til three one morning. We would have spent 50-plus hours on the annual report," says Sam.
In the programme, the group was mentored by the director of Smales Farm, Bill Smales.
"One thing Bill taught us is to go from the top down," says Sam of the company's success with Kings Plant Barn. The company has given the boys clearance to stock the product in its stores.
"Now we just need to approach the individual stores. We've hired four students as sales reps to do that," says Sam.
Mr Smales was highly impressed by the boys' business nous. "They're definitely kids that will be future business people. They are really bright, really bright, and always gave 110 per cent."
Matthew and Sam say, after finishing high school, most of the group will take commerce at university.
Slug it out
Bonza slug and snail repellent and fertiliser is  at Tully and Gardener in Richmond Rd, Ponsonby or www.bonzastore.co.nz.