This article is part of our Supplier Stories series, where we share the people and stories behind the products in our gift boxes.
When we first came across Yum Granola online, the thing that caught our attention was the story. A chef and a marine biologist, making granola in a community hall kitchen on the shores of Lake Hāwea, delivering that first batch by mountain bike. You can’t make that up.
A Chef Who Couldn’t Find What She Wanted
Sarah Hedger was working as sous chef at Whare Kea Lodge in Wānaka, producing five-course degustation menus nightly. Between shifts, the kitchen team needed a quality breakfast option, and nothing on the shelf delivered what Sarah was after: no grains, no refined sugar, no preservatives, no plastic packaging.
So she built one herself.
In an interview with NZ Entrepreneur, Sarah put it simply:
I love Yum and the good that it does and the way that it makes people feel so I quit my normal job and as soon as I could put all my attention to it, it really took off.
That was 2015. Sarah and her husband Mike Cowlin, a marine biologist from Wellington, registered the company in 2014 and started selling at the Wānaka Farmers & Gardeners Market. The very first delivery of Yum went from Lake Hāwea to Wānaka on Sarah’s Yeti SB95 mountain bike. It’s the kind of origin story that tells you everything about how these two operate.
Nelson Sunshine and Small-Batch Production
Around 2016 the couple relocated to Nelson. The reason? Mountain biking, sunshine, and coastal access. As Mike told Top Tastes:
Mountain biking is a key reason we chose to relocate to Nelson. We can make granola anywhere, but we figured it may as well be in one of the world’s best places for enjoying the outdoors.
Production has grown from a shipping container in their backyard to The Food Factory in Nelson, a not-for-profit food incubator built by Pic Picot of Pic’s Peanut Butter fame. By 2024 they’d outgrown that space too, and moved into their own premises in Nelson, which now also houses their Honesty Box. Everything is still handmade in small batches from 100% organic ingredients. Wherever possible, they source from New Zealand growers: hazelnuts from Nelson, oats from Otago, buckwheat and sunflower oil from Canterbury, walnuts from a Christchurch cooperative, and Marlborough sea salt.
Their retail packaging uses home-compostable Econic bags manufactured here in New Zealand. Sarah has been upfront about what that costs the business. In an interview with Electrolux NZ, she explained that using earth-friendly packaging means making less margin, but they could not do business any other way.
Doing Good Along the Way
Yum holds Ekos Climate Positive certification, measuring and offsetting 120% of their carbon footprint through two projects just over Takaka Hill from Nelson. During Covid, Mike heard a story on RNZ about food insecurity and convinced Sarah to launch a food bank programme, donating 400 grams for every kilogram bag sold. That generated over 1,200 meals in the first fortnight.
They pay all staff a living wage, and have intentionally created employment pathways, including hiring Alex, a refugee from Colombia, through the NZ Red Cross Pathways to Employment programme. Sarah was recognised as one of Aotearoa’s Top 50 Most Influential F&B Women in 2024, and Yum has collected multiple Earth Medal wins at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards. In 2025 they took home Gold at the NZ Artisan Awards, their most recent accolade in a long list.
A Perfect Fit For Nelson Tasman & More
Yum sits firmly in the Nelson Tasman story we love to tell, the one shaped by sunshine, coastal air, and a tight-knit community of makers. You’ll find them in our Nourishing Nelson Tasman Gift Box, alongside other regional producers doing things properly.
And because Yum already support Bellyful in Nelson through their own food bank programme, there’s a nice symmetry in the fact that every We Love Local gift box includes a 1% donation through the One Percent Collective, which supports Bellyful among other charities across Aotearoa.
You’ll also find Yum’s Pancake & Waffle Mix in our Gluten-Free Gift Box, Breakfast Bliss Gift Box, and our Healthy Habits Gift Box. If you’re after a gift that fuels good mornings and supports a business doing things the right way, Yum is exactly the kind of producer we love working with.
