small conversations with Replenish, Papamoa.

Situated in beautiful Papamoa, Replenish is a zero-waste store you must visit if you get a chance. 

Here at with small, we are always so grateful to be stocked in places with like-minded values to our own. It was great to have the opportunity to chat with Ash about all things Replenish, an interesting fact about lettuce, their local community and more! We hope you enjoy our interview and learn more about zero waste too.

Hey Ash, thanks chatting with us. We are very grateful to be stocked at Replenish Papamoa. Can you please tell us about Replenish and how it all started?

Replenish is a zero waste refill store based in sunny Papamoa! We stock household staples such as rices, pulses, nuts, seeds and flours. We also stock eco friendly and sustainable cleaning products, gift items and of course, with small toilet paper, which is always a great conversation starter! 

Replenish was born 2 years ago right before Covid hit our shores – so we have had to change tact quite a few times since then. I was really into the refill scene in Auckland and Mum was looking to make a career change so after throwing around some ideas with Mum Replenish came to fruition. If we rewind right back to when we were kids, Mum has always been big into the reusing, repurposing, bulk bin life. To be honest, I just helped her to reignite the flame.

Since opening Replenish, what have you been your highlights so far? 

Getting to know more of our local community and meeting likeminded people. Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t come in offering bits of advice or suggesting new products to us but ultimately, being a part of something that has a really positive impact on our world is just the best feeling.

Can you talk to us about being Zero Waste, and why this is important to you?

Being Zero Waste, I guess in its literal form means to make no waste but in todays modern and fast-paced world being zero waste is next to impossible. Being Zero Waste TO US is really just a commitment to Mother Earth to do better every day with our choices – from the things we buy and the way we shop and the products we source but also in a personal sense. It is also the way we eat and how we dispose of things! Did you know that a head of lettuce can take up to 25 years to breakdown in the landfill yet disposed of correctly in a compost bin, it will be gone in a matter or days! A landfill is simply not designed to biodegrade even the most biodegradable items so learning how to recycle properly and reuse things, repurpose, saying no to plastic bags, shopping small and local as much as you can, taking your own containers and coffee cups places, buying in bulk and shopping at refill shops like Replenish – these things all add up very quickly and make a significant impact on how little waste you create. 

Being Zero Waste is important to us because our planet simply cannot sustain this level of pollution that humans create, at times completely unnecessarily. Nearly all our fit out is reused, repurposed or recycled and we work very hard to source products that do not come in any plastic. We figure there is no point selling things to people without packaging if we are buying it in plastic to decant them into our bulk bins, it felt extremely dishonest to us but because of this we have had to sacrifice quite a lot of products that we would like to stock. However, this is our commitment to our planet and at the end of the day it is the core of our business so that is a sacrifice we make happily. 

For someone looking to start their zero waste journey, what are some useless tips and tricks you would recommend?

YES! Start small… Pick one part of your life or household you want to focus on and start there. If it is the bathroom, slowly start replacing your products with eco friendly items – such as changing your toilet paper over to with small, then work your way up from there. Or you could make a pledge for a month and commit to Plastic Free July. Plastic Free July is a great way to get started, and hold yourself accountable. When I decided to go plastic free for Plastic Free July, I decided to go plant based at the same time and it was SO overwhelming – not just because it was an audacious mammoth task but it really opened my eyes up to just how much waste / packaging there is available everywhere and how many people just turn a blind eye to it. The first time I went back to a regular supermarket I burst into tears and had to leave because I was so mad at the mindlessness of it all. All this overly packaged stuff in stores is not a new thing, but once you make the commitment to reduce your waste, it is hard to unsee just how bad things are, which I guess is a good thing!

Thank you for stocking with small! We may be fishing for compliments here ha ha… What made you decide to stock our sustainable products?

It was when I did Plastic Free July funnily enough, which led me to start shopping at a local refill shop and they stocked your funky toilet paper. It was honestly the first product that made me really excited about reducing the waste in my household. I remember thinking “if toilet paper can be this exciting imagine how many other cool products I can find”. It was so refreshing to see that choosing sustainability and being eco friendly doesn’t have to be this boring thing! When we decided to bring Replenish to Papamoa with small was the FIRST product I knew we HAD to stock, it was a non-negotiable for me, and it is the first thing you see when you walk into our store. I wanted it to be front and centre so that it would spark those same feelings of excitement for our customers as it did for me, especially if they are new to the “zero waste” scene. 

What makes your local community in Papamoa so special to you? 

Papamoa has a very special vibe that I have not found elsewhere. Everyone is genuinely stoked to be here and you can really feel that. Although it is part of a big city, Papamoa still has the small town beachy atmosphere that we love. Life is lived at a slower place yet there are always lots of fun things to get amongst! 

Which leads me to my next question. What are your top three things you would recommend to someone visiting Papamoa?

Well besides visiting our beautiful beach our top picks would be: 

1. A walk up Pap Hills followed by a coffee and smoothie bowl at Sandbank which is right on the beach. Sandbank has a special place in our heart because not only do they make THEE best coffee and smoothie bowls but, they use only eco-friendly products and have the same ethos and commitment to our planet as we do! Pro tip: take your own bowl and coffee cup.

2. In the summer, dinner in the Domain is an absolute must at least once. Food trucks, music, sunshine – it is a fun thing to do especially, with the kids.

3. And because it is always fun to have a cocktail in a sweet location – Beach Bar is our new local and it is such a cool spot. Overlooking the beach you can watch the surf (or surfers!), have a drink, listen to some live music and you don’t even need shoes. Walk straight in from the beach... magic! 

Lastly, can you please let our customers know how they can support you 

Our physical store is Unit 12, 60 Parton Road, Papamoa OR you can check out our website at www.replenishpapamoa.co.nz which has all the same goodies available that we stock in store.

Our Instagram is @replenish_papamoa