Māori tech start-up Carloads is working to transform the way seasonal work is done so it’s “win win”
Sometimes the best business ideas are borne out of solving sticky problems. That’s certainly been the case for Candice Pardy a Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Ngāti Porou wahine toa. She left a corporate career in retail and bought a run-down five-hectare persimmon orchard in Gisborne, but quickly discovered that running it was no easy feat.
Candice says: “The orchard is beautiful and lush now, but it was in a sorry state of neglect when we started. I had a new baby and needed to find workers to help me with the harvest, but I struggled. Finding workers was tricky, and then many didn’t show up. It was costing me time and money to find, re-hire, onboard, and train new workers.”
Discussions with other growers revealed that she was not alone in feeling frustrated at trying to find a reliable labour supply. Delving deeper into the issue showed that orchard workers were also feeling frustrated. A lack of access to transport made it difficult for many to get to work; there were also challenges with poor pay and working conditions. Recognising the problems from both sides provided the eureka moment Candice needed for establishing Carloads, a labour on-demand solution that is driving transformative change for both growers and kaimahi/workers.
Candice saw an opportunity to overcome these horticulture industry issues and, in April 2019, won the local Techstars Start-up Weekend pitch with her idea. Carloads provides a productive and reliable workforce to growers, while offering transparency and fairness to workers, as well as a means of transport via ride-sharing so that workers can get to their assigned job.
The idea was borne out of her experiences as a persimmon grower, working in large retail marketplaces, but also her own humble upbringing, which put her in a unique position to understand both sides’ needs. Candice, like many young Māori, had struggled at school despite being smart because she lacked inspiring role models and encouragement to study. She failed her final school year badly. However, for Candice this provided the wake-up call she needed, driving her to complete a bridging programme and then enrol at the University of Waikato, where she completed a Master’s Degree in Management Studies with first class honours. This was an especially impressive achievement for Candice as the first member of her whānau to go into higher education.
After leaving university, she moved into a successful retail career which included a 7-year tenure with one of Australia’s largest Blue Chip companies driving strategy, marketing and profitable sales growth for consumer electronics and fresh food products with annual turnover of $400M+.
Candice says: “I really enjoyed my career in retail, but after I had children, it was time to reassess. It was difficult to balance family life with work commitments and a two-hour commute.”
She decided to swap her career in Auckland for a return to what she thought would be a slower pace of life in Gisborne and in (2017) her family bought the persimmon orchard. By mid-2019 Carloads was up and running in the Gisborne region, quickly gaining interest from growers and workers alike.
Candice says: “Growers like Carloads because the service saves them time, money and hassle, and offers an easy-to-use solution to finding workers when and where they are needed. All workers are fully verified, so growers know that they are getting the right people for the job at hand.
“For workers, Carloads offers fair pay, work conditions, and ride-share arrangements. This makes it easy for workers to find jobs and get to their designated workplace. Ride-shares are incentivised so that drivers are reimbursed for taking others to work, which enables all passengers to ride for free.”
The future plan is the development of a mobile app to make connecting workers and growers even easier, as well as for Carloads to roll-out nationally to drive seasonal workforces around the country.
Candice says: “Carloads is about far more than a business; it’s about creating optimum conditions for growers and workers to easily connect, thrive and mahi together. Some of our aims are to improve work planning, career progression, as well as work life balance for seasonal workers.”
As part of a holistic approach to improving lives, Candice is particularly focused on building a Carloads culture that encourages workers to nurture, grow, and challenge themselves to reach their full potential. Every aspect of the Carloads business will be entwined around this ethos, providing long-term benefits for growers and workers alike, as perfectly encapsulated by the Maori proverb: Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai / Nurture the seed and it will blossom.
To find out more about Carloads visit www.carloads.co.nz.
