NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / Business

How a former refugee went from $900,000 debt to multimillion-dollar business in five years

news.com.au
10 Dec, 2017 06:41 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Aussie entrepreneur Diem Fuggersberger. Photo / Supplied

Aussie entrepreneur Diem Fuggersberger. Photo / Supplied

She lost everything as a child and again after the GFC — but it took just five years for this young Aussie to become a massive success.

Aussie entrepreneur Diem Fuggersberger has overcome setbacks that most of us couldn't even begin to comprehend.

Her family fled troubled Vietnam when she was just seven years old after they lost their home to the communists in 1979, making the perilous journey to Indonesia in a cramped boat, said news.com.au.

"There was no such thing as your own cabin or toilet so we had to share with 504 people," she said. "There was only crackers and snacks and water on the boat, not real meals, because the boat was too small.

"We had to make sure we made it to shore before we starved or ran out of water.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Our boat was intercepted by pirates who took our belongings. I remember they wanted to throw one passenger overboard because he had gold teeth, so they wanted to take them.

"They nearly raped my cousins and a few hours later the boat nearly capsized during a very big storm."

Thankfully, the boat made it to an Indonesian island, where the family remained in a refugee camp for 15 long months.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We were sharing a house with five other families, with just a curtain between us and another family. I witnessed a person commit suicide in the refugee camp, and there was a malaria outbreak so people were dying every single day," Mrs Fuggersberger said.

"But I also found a lot of joy on the island — I was very happy even though we had nothing. "It was a time where I'd play with sticks and stones and be happy."

She migrated to Australia at age eight — with no English, no money and only the clothes on her back.

After relying on the Salvation Army as a child and facing racism and insecurity over her heritage as a teenager, Mrs Fuggersberger left school after Year 10.

Discover more

Business

New mindset needed to lift NZ living standards

08 Dec 03:45 AM
Business

Builder owes $4.35m, 30 homes unfinished

08 Dec 06:00 PM
Entertainment

Meet Afghanistan's 'Sultan of Cinema'

08 Dec 04:00 PM
Shares

Kiwi follows Australian dollar down

08 Dec 07:18 AM

She went on to marry successful businessman Werner Fuggersberger and have two children — but in 2009, disaster struck again.

The couple lost their $27 million business and family home as a result of the global financial crisis, poor management and several clients who wouldn't pay back their debts.

"The first thing that hit me was that I came to Australia to find a better life and I thought, 'oh my God, at 37 years old I have to start from scratch, I'm back to square one'," Mrs Fuggersberger said.

"In a way it was kind of worse [than being a refugee] because I had two kids to look after, I had 20 family members out of work who used to work for our previous business, and I was $900,000 in debt.

"It was a necessity for me to be strong and to overcome it. I prayed a lot and it took five years to get back to normal.

"To be honest, on some days my stomach turned upside down because everything was unknown and I didn't know what was going to happen."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But thanks to the resilience instilled in her in childhood, Mrs Fuggersberger began the process of launching seasoning and food flavouring business Berger Ingredients within weeks of losing everything.

She also founded Coco & Lucas' Kitchen, which creates pre-packaged, healthy food for kids and is sold at Woolworths, and today, the companies are worth millions.

After facing so many challenges in life, Mrs Fuggersberger said she had learnt the importance of kindness and being authentic and honest as well as the value of hard work, determination and joining formal support networks such as Business Chicks.

"Going through that at seven shaped me as a person. At the back of my mind I always wanted to make a difference," she said. "It doesn't matter how successful or old I am, I am always eager to learn and listen."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Media Insider

'A couple of detractors': Revealed - the early battle to get The Casketeers to air on TVNZ

03 Jul 07:08 AM
Premium
Shares

Market close: NZ sharemarket down while Kiwi Property Group secures key renewal

03 Jul 06:11 AM
Premium
Business

Eric Watson vows to fight SEC to the end

03 Jul 04:55 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

'A couple of detractors': Revealed - the early battle to get The Casketeers to air on TVNZ

'A couple of detractors': Revealed - the early battle to get The Casketeers to air on TVNZ

03 Jul 07:08 AM

The founder and owneer of Great Southern Television on the future of the screen industry.

Premium
Market close: NZ sharemarket down while Kiwi Property Group secures key renewal

Market close: NZ sharemarket down while Kiwi Property Group secures key renewal

03 Jul 06:11 AM
Premium
Eric Watson vows to fight SEC to the end

Eric Watson vows to fight SEC to the end

03 Jul 04:55 AM
Premium
American Airlines brings fancy option to Auckland-Texas route

American Airlines brings fancy option to Auckland-Texas route

03 Jul 04:25 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP