Welcome everyone to Koru Enterprises! We are an online boutique Aotearoa, New Zealand tour and artisan gift company. Our whānau (family) love living in the beautiful Heretaunga (Hawke’s Bay) region of New Zealand. We will take you on special journeys, inside local tāngata whenua (indigenous people of this land) marae (meeting houses), to discover the hidden taonga (treasures) of their stories, waiata (songs), kai (food), kapahaka (traditional dance), and manākitanga (hospitality). We look forward to meeting our manuhiri (visitors) and sharing our aroha (love) with you! Koru Enterprises also has an amazing range of artisan gifts and products, which we love to send far and wide to your loved ones wherever they may live in the world. Follow us on your favourite social media channel, and join our mailing list to get updates and news on all our new tours, and products!
Ngā mihi,

Louise Cuthbert – Founder

Tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa. Ko Louise Cuthbert tāku ingoa. Ko Ahuriri tāku kainga. Ko whaea ki a Dannevirke. Ko mahi Koru Enterprises. Tēna koutou, tēna koutou, tēna koutou katoa.

Welcome everyone, my name is Louise Cuthbert, my home is Ahuriri (Napier), my mother comes from Dannevirke, and my business is Koru Enterprises. We are creating special “Te Ao Māori ” (the world of the Māori) tours, taking our manuhiri (visitors) throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand, on special guided indigenous tour experiences, to experience a holistic cultural travel package. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Mau tere haumaru (safe travels),

Ngā mihi,

Louise

Louise Cuthbert – Founder of Koru Enterprises

In the summer of 2015, after living in Brisbane for four years, my two youngest children and I flew back home to Aotearoa, New Zealand for a holiday. As we landed in Auckland airport, I saw everyone sitting around on their devices, mesmerised by this new technology, and a spark of intense energy was ignited! I had always wanted to have an online business, and the idea of a “pop up mobile boutique shop” was planted in my psyche. When I returned back to Australia, heavily laden with all my various Kiwiana gifts and clothing, so many people stopped me in the street, on public transport, and cafes, asking me where I got these items. Simultaneously, Facebook had just launched its new business page app, and I created a “Koru Enterprises” page. I literally had an epiphany, with this new name for my business. The meaning behind the New Zealand “koru” speaks of regeneration, new life, and spiritual awakening, as well it symbolises peace and strength, adding “Enterprises” was to make this company a legacy for my three children. After getting quotes from website developers that an online e-commerce website would cost over $20K, I wrote a post into New Zealand’s Facebook networking page, asking for some help to create my dream…..a few days later, I got a response from Matt Douche from https://nzwebsite.co.nz, saying “I can help you build a wordpress site”. Matt literally was an angel Gabriel in disguise! Over the past three years, Matt has created an amazing opportunity for me to help many small Kiwi tour and artisan businesses grow through our drop-shipping e-commerce website. Matt taught me how to use the back-end of Koru Enterprises, to load shops, and add tour packages, so that I could also create a strong digital marketing presence throughout the major social media platforms.

A huge reason behind creating an online Aotearoa, New Zealand boutique travel and gift company, was my underlying homesickness for my eldest son Joseph, who stayed living in Auckland with my family. Joseph has extensive Māori heritage, with his whakapapa from Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pikiao, and Ngāi Tahu tribes. By living across the Tasman, I noticed how strongly the movement towards social enterprises, Māori and Pākehā entrepreneurship, and many other innovative business ideas were shaping inside our New Zealand economy. This has led me to develop a strategic alliance between Air NZ, Koru Lounge and Koru Enterprises.

Easter last year, my sister and I attended our late mother’s birth family reunion in Dannevirke. It was so emotional connecting with our beautiful relatives, filling in the gaps from having a mum adopted. The next day we drove to Napier to stay with my sister’s best friend Barbara Sumner. As we all walked to breakfast at F.G.Smith, Barbara suggested that I bring the children back home to the Hawke’s Bay, as our aunty Marlene was brought up here too. The seed was firmly planted and in January 2018, my family and I settled in the beautiful sea-side village of Ahuriri. My focus is now working alongside whānau, hapū, and iwi groups, developing special, authentic Māori tour experiences, inside the greater Ngāti Kahungunu rohe (region), and creating ecological tour packages around the whole country too. Plus, building close relationships with local artists and artisan producers, so that they can add their “shop” into Koru Enterprises website. It is an exciting time to be back home in the Bay, connecting with many like-minded people as I forge my own family business.

“Koru Enterprises whānau (family)”

Matt, based in Te Awamutu, NZ, creator of Koru Enterprises website, for amazing websites and exceptional customer service, contact us to get in touch with Matt.

Matt Douch NZWebsite

HUTIA TE RITO O TE HARAKEKE,
KEI WHEA TE KŌMAKO E KŌ?
KĪ MAI KI AHAU;
HE AHA TE MEA NUI O TE AO?
MĀKU E KĪ ATU,
HE TĀNGATA, HE TĀNGATA, HE TĀNGATA!

IF THE HEART OF HARAKEKE WAS REMOVED, WHERE WILL THE BELLBIRD SING?
IF I WAS ASKED, WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD;
I WOULD BE COMPELLED TO REPLY, IT IS PEOPLE, IT IS PEOPLE, IT IS PEOPLE!

“CARPE DIEM” SEIZE THE DAY

We welcome you to our family business and look forward to creating a New Zealand Trip-of-a-Life-Time and connecting you with premium, high-quality gifts, shipped around the World!

Arohanui Everyone-Louise Cuthbert, Founder