Everybody in the Far North knows our mussels are the best – and so it has proven for Houhora company The Kutai Guy, striking gold in the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards for the second year in a row.
The Kutai Guy founder Zarn Reichardt says
Far North’s Kutai Guy has country’s best smoked mussels
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The Kutai Guy’s award-winning Sweet Chilli Smoked Mussels.
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The Kutai Guy’s journey began with Reichardt Marine, founded in 2013 by Zarn and his father, Sean. The business earned a reputation for delivering premium mussel spat from Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhe / Ninety Mile Beach to growers across New Zealand. In 2022, Zarn expanded beyond spat supply to launch The Kutai Guy an end-to-end operation bringing high-quality mussels directly to consumers.
The Kutai Guy has quickly built a loyal following across New Zealand by delivering premium mussels both online and in retail stores, while connecting with customers in a way few brands do.
“We’re not just selling mussels – we’re sharing our story, our culture and our love of great kai,” he said.
“Winning gold again at the Outstanding Food Producer Awards for our Sweet Chilli Smoked Mussels is an incredible honour, and seeing our Garlic Butter and Natural flavours take silver makes it even more special. These medals are a reward for the countless hours, the early mornings and the passion we pour into every batch – but the truth is, we wouldn’t be here without our incredible team and our loyal customers."
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Reichardt said the mussels come from spat collected on Ninety Mile Beach – where most of the country’s mussel stock come from – and he said the company is a bit different from many mussel suppliers.
“One point of difference is that we only use fresh mussels, and we shell them ourselves. I know many others just use frozen mussels, but using fresh ones like that gives us more control over the quality of the product. It’s a lot more work doing them fresh and shelling them, but it’s worth it. Fresh is best.”
The couple only decided to get into cooked mussel production two years ago – the mussel spat collection is still the major part of the business for them – after deciding the products on the market at that time weren’t up to their standards.
“We tasted many mussels out there and were always disappointed that they did not taste as good as we thought they should.”
So, after plenty of trial and error (“we did a lot of that”) they are now double gold winners at the awards.
He said the company also doesn’t use any seed oil in its products – only olive oil – and has a natural smoked mussel that just has olive oil and salt and no preservatives.
But that’s just the start as Zarn says there’s still a lot of work to be done to get their mussels perfect.
“We got silver for our Garlic Butter and Natural flavours and we want to get gold with them next year too.
“Every person who has supported us, shared a tray with whānau, or believed in what we do, you’re a part of this journey. From the farms to the smokehouse, to your tables – this is for all of us. Thank you for being part of The Kutai Guy story. We’re just getting started.”
The accolades come as The Kutai Guy continues to ride a wave of momentum online, clocking over four million video views in just 90 days and growing a passionate community of more than 28,000 fans on Facebook.
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Zarn’s unfiltered, real storytelling and recipes, filmed by himself from the Far North have resonated with audiences nationwide and beyond, offering an authentic look at the highs and lows of running a whānau-led seafood business.
