Meet the Makers: Leisha of Good Mornings by Bowl and Arrow
Getting to know Leisha White
Read the full article to get a special offer from Good Mornings
From humble beginnings opening your first Bowl and Arrow cafe at Ōrākei Bay Village, you’ve now launched a retail product. Congratulations on your new baby, Good Mornings, that must be an unreal feeling! What made you decide to create a ready to blend smoothie and overnight oat mix range?
“Thanks so much. It has been a very long time coming for us so it’s an incredible feeling for the products to be ready, and out in the world! Since the very beginning of Bowl and Arrow (8 years ago!) customers have asked us how we make our smoothies and breakfast recipes. My business partner Hannah and I really wanted to bring Bowl and Arrow to more people, and our Good Mornings range does exactly that. We can now provide healthy breakfasts for people at home, that’s super easy to make but also incredibly nutritious.
Through Covid we realised how fickle the hospitality industry can be. With a retail product, you’re able to have a far bigger reach and presence while growing your audience because you’re not limited to your physical stores. It’s a no brainer for us. With Good Mornings, we’re able to achieve more awareness for our B&A stores as well as get the product in the hands of people who might not have access to our two locations.
After running our cafes for almost 8 years, we’ve found a fair few of our OG customers have moved outside of Auckland and don’t have easy access to our stores anymore. We get so many questions from these customers on Instagram asking how to make the bowls and our breakfast products while trying to convince us to start an at home range of our Bowl and Arrow items. Well, it worked!
Good Mornings has been in the pipeline for a super long time, although we didn’t have the name locked in, we had the vision and concept all thought out. It’s been a dream of ours for ages but it’s been a slow and super natural process as this business has come to life through our customers.”
“We’ve taken all our research from Bowl and Arrow on top selling products from previous menus and let that dictate the offering for Good Mornings. It’s a true customer-driven business, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
There are a few different flavours and bundle options to choose from. Tell us more about the range.
“The Ready To Blend Smoothie Packs are our top-selling product. They’re packed as individual single-serve pouches, ready to add to your favourite milk and blend into a delicious smoothie or bowl. It’s that easy! They are filled with absolutely everything you need to start your day, including Two Islands Pea Protein, good fats, freshly frozen fruit, and superfoods, such as cacao and turmeric for the added benefits. Our pouches are nothing like what’s in the market right now, our competitors’ products are usually just filled with fruit and fruit juice syrups.
We understand everyone has different milk preferences these days, so we’ve left this as a separate thing. When it comes to toppings, people have their own pantry stables they like to top smoothie bowls with and love to see people sharing their creations with us.
Our Overnight Oat Mixes really fit the same brief. They have everything you need for a nourishing and nutritious breakfast, and can be made hot or cold. All you need to do is add your favourite milk, and soak overnight. There’s 5 servings in the pouch so it will last you the whole working week too!
We’ve recently launched Bundles online which have been hugely popular. They help to take the stress out of the morning rush and meal planning so are perfect for New Mums, busy professionals (see the Oat Lover Bundle) or Fitness Fanatics. The Family Bundle speaks for itself, providing a variety of options to allow the whole crew to try everything from the range! We also offer the option to subscribe and save 10%.”
You only launched your retail products a couple of months ago. What’s the feedback been so far?
“Since our launch we’ve been getting such amazing feedback, it’s made the hustle all worth it! Our favourite product love has come from the people who were asking for the range for the longest time.
The feedback has been particularly great from new mums who are very time-poor and never usually have a chance to look after themselves, and their young kids are loving them too! They’re finding it so easy to have a meal that’s nourishing and satisfying… rather than chucking a piece of toast in the toaster and calling it lunch. It’s so rewarding getting messages and emails from people who have tried them and love the flavours as well as the whole concept and ease of them.
The most surprising (and satisfying) feedback has actually been from the customers who we didn’t expect to try or enjoy the products - especially dads and husbands who have discovered them in the freezer and eaten through the family supplies! Or people who wouldn’t normally make smoothies as they don’t want the fuss of getting out 5+ separate ingredients or are not sure what flavour combos to put together. Good Mornings is definitely a saviour for that!
The nurses at Middlemore Hospital are absolutely loving having access to our range at Columbus Cafe. We have to keep restocking them as they’re regularly selling out!
Through some of our wholesale clients the feedback has been really positive as well. The overwhelming feedback has been how easy they are to make. No waste, no counting or weighing, it’s all done for you.”
Why does Good Mornings exist? What is your main goal with this new venture?
Our main ethos is “healthy isn’t hard”.
We want to prove that breakfast doesn’t have to take forever and it doesn’t need to be super tricky to make something healthy. We exist to make healthy breakfasts accessible to all of New Zealand!”
Tell us a bit about your stockists and how people can get their hands on these products?
“Our retail range for home is available for delivery to most Auckland suburbs through the Good Mornings website, from our Bowl and Arrow stores, as well as at all Farro supermarkets, and via the Teddy delivery app.
Watch this space for Four Square stocking our ready to blend pouches and overnight oat mix soon!”
We see there’s also a wholesale option. Which of our favourite cafes are currently using your products?
“Our wholesale product allows cafes to sell our smoothies, ready to drink. You can find our range on the menu at Together in Takapuna, Columbus Cafe in Middlemore Hospital, Four Square St Heliers and Four Square Remuera, with a load more to follow, so watch this space!”
You use only the best ingredients. What other local businesses do you team up with to bring us Good Mornings?
“We’ve partnered with our favourite pea protein company, Two Islands, to include protein or collagen in all of our products. We also use Pure Coco’s cacao and collagen products which are organic and delicious.
We love partnering with local small businesses, and suppliers we have used in Bowl and Arrow for many years and our customers really appreciate the quality. Supporting local is important for them too!”
Any chance we can bring a special Good Mornings offer to Ōrākei Bay Village visitors if they show this article?
“Yes! Show this article to our team at Bowl and Arrow Ōrākei and get 20% off any Good Mornings products! Offer available in-store only for the whole month of August. Ends 31 August 2023.”
