Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post 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
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

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

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

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 / Rotorua Daily Post

Unlikely vegan vendor pleasing crowds at Crankworx in Rotorua

Caroline Fleming
By Caroline Fleming
Multimedia Journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
22 Mar, 2019 07:00 PM3 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
Crankworx Rotorua is underway.

A local vegan "junk food" vendor has drawn huge lines and enormous demand at this year's annual Crankworx festival.

The event, in its fifth year, had more exhibitors and vendors this year than ever before, media director Paul Gunn said.

He said they had 40 per cent more expo holders than previous years and ticket sales were up close to 25 per cent.

An unlikely contender, Rotorua-raised Kaya Sparke's Vegan Eats van had been racking up "hour-long" lines, selling out by the end of every night.

The philosophy of the van: "Feed the people from the plants."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sparke said Crankworx was not initially interested in having her food truck at the event, however, once it was clear there was a hole in the market for vegan and vegetarian options - they were interested.

The truck creates vegan alternatives for the well-known Big Mac and fried "chicken" burgers, as well as vegan aioli and fries.

With homegrown vegetables, homemade sauces and crafted "mock" meats - everything in the burger, bar the bun, has been made from scratch.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She said sales had been incredible, with the family-run truck flat out and customers coming back three times a day.

Owner Kaya Sparke and her brother-in-law Blade Janaway are only a small part of the big family unit that help run the van. Photo / Stephen Parker
Owner Kaya Sparke and her brother-in-law Blade Janaway are only a small part of the big family unit that help run the van. Photo / Stephen Parker

The feedback was extremely positive, with big-name mountain biker Casey Brown singing her praises, she said.

A personal favourite moment for Sparke at the event was when a man stormed up to her truck after his burger and yelled "there was no meat in my burger and it was a delicious", before throwing down the empty box.

The truck had been in the works for three years, as Sparke and her mother saw a gap in the market for "vegan junk food".

Discover more

Rotorua's Keegan Wright takes first win at Crankworx

19 Mar 09:37 PM

Crankworx: Verbeeck goes two for two in Rotorua

20 Mar 05:59 PM

Rotorua residents relishing Crankworx

21 Mar 07:00 PM

Kiwi Billy Meaclem wins Speed and Style

21 Mar 11:31 PM

"Everyone told us not to do it in Rotorua as they thought we would fail, but I wanted to as it is my hometown."

Crankworx was the first big event the van had vendored for, with Sparke saying this was their first chance to "dip their toes in a big festival" on home soil.

The van planned to give the event another go next year and decided they will bring in a vegan breakfast burger to cover every meal.

But it is not just the food stalls benefiting from the big numbers.

Tahnee Seagrave riding the qualification round of the Pump Track Challenge. Photo / Stephen Parker
Tahnee Seagrave riding the qualification round of the Pump Track Challenge. Photo / Stephen Parker

Well-known mountain bike brand Evo Cycles has been a key retailer at the event, with owner Sam Fletcher saying customers were more engaged than ever.

After last year, the retailer decided to set up two sites for this year's event, however, Fletcher said after assessing the numbers, three was the goal for next year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The MTB Craft Bar had also been inundated with customers, almost selling out of local beer and refreshments, a worker said.

All the vendors the

Rotorua Daily Post

spoke too at the event expected big numbers for the weekend.

However, the event was not too big to do their bit for the week-anniversary of the Christchurch massacre.

The event shut down the gondola, paused riders and silenced exhibitors for the national two minutes of silence at 1:32pm yesterday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A remembrance wall had also been set up at the event, where festival-goers were expected to write notes and their condolences.

A donation bucket was also present.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'Heartening' rise in dog adoptions, but many still being put down

Rotorua Daily Post

How a cop beat a $70 parking ticket in court after app wouldn't let him pay

Rotorua Daily Post

Ōhope's most expensive home? Bach by NZ's best beach has expats excited


Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'Heartening' rise in dog adoptions, but many still being put down
Rotorua Daily Post

'Heartening' rise in dog adoptions, but many still being put down

Council highlights need for potential dog owners to make 'informed choices'.

06 Sep 06:00 PM
How a cop beat a $70 parking ticket in court after app wouldn't let him pay
Rotorua Daily Post

How a cop beat a $70 parking ticket in court after app wouldn't let him pay

05 Sep 07:00 PM
Ōhope's most expensive home? Bach by NZ's best beach has expats excited
Rotorua Daily Post

Ōhope's most expensive home? Bach by NZ's best beach has expats excited

05 Sep 06:00 PM


NZ’s convenience icon turns 35
Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

02 Sep 09:23 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
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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