Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Local Focus: Accidental vegan delivery business a winner for Tauranga Woman

Shilo Kino
Shilo Kino
Video Journalist, Bay of Plenty, NZH Local Focus·NZ Herald·
26 Feb, 2019 12:24 AM2 mins to read
‌

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Is Mila Arena the first to launch a vegan meal delivery service in New Zealand? Photo / Shilo Kino

Is Mila Arena the first to launch a vegan meal delivery service in New Zealand? Photo / Shilo Kino

A lot has changed in two years for business owner Mila Arena.

Her vegan delivery service V On Wheels went from a hobby delivering pre-cooked meals to friends on her bicycle, to an award winning business.

More recently, she has begun hiring staff to meet demand.

Business really picked after after last October when the 36-year-old won the Innovator of the Year award at the 2018 Young Read Woudberg LinkT Awards.

Two years ago, veganism wasn't as popular as it is now. In fact, Mila claims to be the first vegan-only meal service in the country.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"When I first started, not many people knew what veganism was," she said. "I'd hear a lot of people ask 'what is vegan?' and 'are you really going to deliver it to my house?'"

A graphic designer by trade, Mila had no intention of starting a business, but making meals for her friends to generate extra cash soon took off.

"My friends were recommending meals to their friends and then to their neighbours and then it started getting bigger.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I was selling 10 meals per week and I had one freezer, delivering myself, delivering one meal a day by bicycle. I would take one meal one day all the way to Papamoa East and then coming back home. The next to day all the way to Te Puna."

Now she sells hundreds of meals a week, and she's outgrown her home kitchen. She moved to a commercial space, hired a chef to help her cook and a courier to deliver the meals.

Still she gets a thrill from every order.

'Somebody likes what I'm making and they don't know me. It was an amazing feeling even though it was a lot of work."

Discover more

Lifestyle

Joe and Elvor start a rising tsunami of support

17 Feb 10:00 PM

Green space a 'slap in the face' for retailers

21 Feb 10:00 PM

Originally from Argentina, Mila has lived in New Zealand for seven years. And while she's not a qualified chef, she loves everything about cooking.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In Argentina or South America, we love food. Everything is really tasty and homemade and we dedicate time to make the meals. Normally it's a social thing and you share."

As for her next step, the sky's the limit, with plans to take her plant-based meal deliveries nationwide.

Made with funding from

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Incredibly unlikely': Mayor downplays Bay of Plenty super-council fears

18 May 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

‘Shonky methodology’: Mayor hits back at Whakatāne rates league ranking

18 May 03:00 AM
Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

Dog attacks: 881 reported in city, 8 prosecuted

17 May 09:00 PM

Sponsored

From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music

17 May 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Incredibly unlikely': Mayor downplays Bay of Plenty super-council fears
Bay of Plenty Times

'Incredibly unlikely': Mayor downplays Bay of Plenty super-council fears

Rural leaders warn against lumping metropolitan and provincial areas together.

18 May 06:00 PM
‘Shonky methodology’: Mayor hits back at Whakatāne rates league ranking
Bay of Plenty Times

‘Shonky methodology’: Mayor hits back at Whakatāne rates league ranking

18 May 03:00 AM
Premium
Premium
Dog attacks: 881 reported in city, 8 prosecuted
Bay of Plenty Times

Dog attacks: 881 reported in city, 8 prosecuted

17 May 09:00 PM


From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music
Sponsored

From boring to banger: Rapper turns Kiwis’ mortgage misery into music

17 May 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP