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'Healthy snacks foster social environment'

The recipe for making traditional Indian Bhuja Mix has remained a closely guarded secret of the family of Pradip and Harshila Mistry for almost a Century. Mastering the art of making authentic Indian snacks and sweets in his native Kadod on the banks of River Tapi in Gujarat, Pradip’s grandfather left India initially for South Africa and landed in Fiji in the 1920s.

He established ‘Bhika Bhai & Company’ (BBC) in Ba. The Company grew with the popularity of its products and established in 1985 a manufacturing plant under the name, Swits N Snax (Fiji) Ltd. With modern machinery and a complement of 60 staff, the Company is a major supplier of Indian snacks and food items to resorts, hotels and retail outlets in Fiji, countries of the South Pacific and the US. The store, still at its original location, is a sprawling supermarket today. Pradip was born in Leicester, where
his father Magan (after leaving Kadod) lived and worked as a supervisor at a shoe factory. His family moved to Fiji in 1968 and Pradip arrived in New Zealand in 1984 to pursue his education. Following
his graduation from AUT, he worked in the Paper and Chemical Industry.

Harshila is a graduate of the University of Auckland and has been employed in the food, horticulture, chemical and biotech industries. Pradip and Harshila moved to Tauranga 16 years ago.
They decided it was time to bring the family secret to New Zealand. After spending a year researching the local consumer market, they formed Magan Foods and launched in February 2011 the Original Bhuja Mix under the brand ‘Kadods - Authentic Food Company.’ Presented in modern, light green metalised polyester packaging, the bhuja mix has no preservatives, additives, gluten or colour.

Magan Foods is the first company in New Zealand to supply the bhuja mix in a multi-pack containing 10 snack packs, each weighing 25 grams. “We want the small pack to become a regular item in the lunch box for school children and everyone on the run,” Pradip said. The Company has plans to introduce three more product variants. “The bhuja mix was sitting in front of us. We never gave it a second look until
we understood its true goodness. “Kiwis love to try different types of food so we decided to take our authentic food product to a wider Kiwi audience,” Pradip said and added, “We believe it is a healthier alternative to potato chips and other snacks.” ‘The Company has plans to introduce three more product variants and these will be available through route/corner shops too.’