The Pork Shop has opened its new outlet ‘The Whistling Pig’s' to sell pork in central Nausori while a major investment has been made in Vuda to focus on the local market.
The new shop is located in Nausori’s premier Tavern, The Whistling Duck.
Vuda Piggery’s Simon Cole and South Pacific Butchery’s Aaron Spencer have formed the joint venture to operate The Pork Shop chain.
The joint venture has built a new pork processing facility in Vuda through a $1.5 million investment, with support from local banks. Cole says they are grateful that their efforts and the considerable risks they have taken have been successful, and are hopefully an inspiration to others.
He says they aim to keep Fiji dollars in Fiji, promote Fiji produce, give opportunities to people who have lost livelihoods to the pandemic and provide some of the best value meat in the country to customers.
Cole says the pig sector in Fiji lost 60% of its market with the arrival of COVID-19 that effectively shut down the tourism industry.
He says many companies have struggled to adjust to the problems caused by the pandemic.
Cole says The Pork Shop has faced the challenges and the pork business has survived.
He says with only a few domestic outlets to distribute pork, the business set about creating their own.
Cole says first was The Pork Shop located in small business premises outside Vuda on the Kings Road. He says effectively not much more than a roadside stand, the low overheads, top-quality product, and easy access meant that it was instantly successful.
Adhering to the successful model, the business then opened a second Pork Shop, this time in Suva at the Lees Trading complex near RB’s Centre Point.
He says they employed Apakuki Nalawa and members of the band Inside Out, also directly impacted by the virus lockdowns, to add more colour to the shopping experience and again have discovered a new market.
Cole says the new shop is part of The Pork Shop chain promoting locally grown pork of the best quality and at the best possible prices.
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