Angus Brown

Arepa

I recently had a chat to Angus Brown, one of the co-founders of Arepa (Ah-re-pa), a brain drink from Aotearoa, New Zealand. This is the third in a series of special edition features showcasing New Zealand suppliers and producers to celebrate the launch of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise's 2022 Made with Care campaign in Australia. A global initiative designed to raise awareness of New Zealands superlative produce, Made with Care shines a light on thoughtfully created and ethically manufactured food and beverages the country is famous for. New Zealand is recognised all over the world for its commitment to creating environmentally conscious, sustainably minded food and wine. This is not a sponsored or remunerated piece, but when I was asked if I was interested in something a little adjacent to Conversation with a chef and I read about the campaign, I jumped at the chance.

Arepa is a company born in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and produces scientifically proven brain food made with unique New Zealand ingredients. Arepa's mission is to make brains work better and delay the onset of neurological decline. For every brain-year saved, the world stands to save half a trillion dollars' worth of economic burden. repa founders Angus and Zac have known each other since their university days. Throughout their 20s they saw friends and family members affected by cognitive health challenges while also experiencing levels of stress and anxiety themselves. Together they looked for something that could help, a product that was good for the brain, while also being natural and effective, but they couldnt find anything. So they decided to create one themselves.They worked with world-renowned neuroscientist, Professor Andrew Scholey (from Melbourne), to develop a range of 100% natural, clinically proven products which benefit the brain both in the short and the long term.You can find Arepa in your local Coles. I happily have already done so; it's delicious and perfect for knocking that mid-afternoon slump on the head.

Hi Angus, how are you?

I'm on a bike right now, but I can speak.

Right! I'm in Melbourne, where are you exactly, apart from on a bike?

We are in Auckland, New Zealand and we have just moved into what we call our galactic headquarters. But our blackcurrants come from the South Island and our bottling is done in Tauranga.

I've read a bit about how it all came about, but it would be nice to hear from the source how it all began.

My first job out of university was selling an energy drink. I absolutely hated it after a while because it felt as though I was just selling caffeine and sugar to young people, and I remember selling a whole lot to a supermarket once and seeing a little girl walk out with a whole can of the stuff, and I remember thinking, I am not doing any good here. At that time energy drinks were huge, and I remember thinking, why can't an energy drink be healthy and promote brain function and mental wellbeing. I started exploring some options and knew we needed something that was backed by science.

If we can inject a million and half brain days into Australia and New Zealand, which would alleviate considerable economic burden, that’s a big focus for us. Our mission is to retrieve brain cells.

How did you work out that those three ingredients (blackcurrents, L-Theanine, a rare amino acid found in green tea and caffeine free, Enzogenol, an ultra-pure extract from the bark of NZ grown pine trees) were such a potent trilogy?

We approached one of the world's top neuroscientists who was based in Melbourne and is affiliated to Swinburne and Monash. We wanted a product that would reduce stress and anxiety and promote mental clarity that was natural and caffeine free and made with at least one uniquely New Zealand ingredient. Six months later, he managed to do it and thats the formula we use today. We took a fairly bitter-tasting extract and put it into a tasty beverage that's also healthy. It also helps that one of our ingredients is blackcurrant juice, not only does it have a great flavour profile, it is also an efficacious ingredient.

I live opposite a Coles and was so happy when I saw Arepa on the shelves. It really is delicious but what is the optimum way to include it in my life? Is the effect immediate, as in a one-off benefit or does it need to be several times a week? How does it work?

Our next phase is to explore how it affects memory. The more anxious or stressed the consumer, the bigger the effects from it. It helps get oxygen to the brain and encourages the mechanisms that result in high brain function. We have discovered that one in six people have some form of cognitive impairment, which might be from concussion, anxiety, depression, ADHD, dementia and they all have one thing in common which is a highly stressed brain and Arepa can improve that and they really feel the effects any time of the day they drink it or when they have something on like a big event.

What has public reception been like?

We are trying to educate people about why they should buy a $7 juice when they can get a Kombucha for $4.50. But there are no brain-boosting polyphenols in kombucha. Once we explain to them all that goes into Arepa and all the research we have done, they think it should cost more. Once they get used to the concept of what a brain drink does, they tend to get on board and the reception has been great. We spend a lot of money on clinical research. It's very important.

I wanted to ask you about that. It is clearly very important for you to have the backing of science.

Yes. We are one of the only beverages on the planet that has a scientifically proven formula to promote brain health and which doesn't contain caffeine.

Obviously Arepa contains natural New Zealand ingredients. What other features of the sustainable and environmental aspect of the Made with Care campaign does Arepa share?

We have glass bottles and not plastic and we are seeking to offset our carbon emissions. Our mission is to delay the onset of neurological disease and the total amount of brain days saved times the cost and burden of neurological decline in the last year. We are showing that we can do that with strong empirical evidence is that the presence of polyphenols in our product brought about an immediate effect in reducing dementia and dementia related diseases. If we can inject a million and half brain days into Australia and New Zealand, which would alleviate considerable economic burden, that's a big focus for us. Our mission is to retrieve brain cells.

Tell me about the name, Arepa.

It's a Te Reo Maori transliteration of Alpha and also refers to the unique frequency of alpha waves found in the brain. We wanted to use a word that captured our identity which is our unique New Zealand culture. My co-founder, Zac (Robinson) is Ngapuhi and it was important for us to honour first generation New Zealanders. Also on the world stage, we want to represent our culture and we thought the name was a great way to represent our indigeneity.

That's so great. And finally, Angus, what does it mean for Arepa to be part of the Made with Care Campaign?

We are proud to be part of the basket of New Zealand products that genuinely made with care.

I love that. Thanks so much for your time and I hope you can continue your bike ride safely.

Arepa Aotearoa, New Zealand