Nā te tokorua Peretānia a David Knibbs rāua ko Lydia Smith i whakatū te Tofoo Co, ā, kua hurihia te ingoa o te tofu i te UK, ka hurihia tēnei kai tuku iho o Āhia hei hua rongonui, rongonui hoki, me te 62% o te hea mākete i te tau 2024. Ko te mea whakamiharo ake ko tā rātou auahatanga maia—te whakarewatanga o te tofu rahi-XXL (750g) rite ki ngā rahi kākahu, he nekehanga kua hopu i te aro o ngā kaihoko.
I te tau 2016, i riro i te tokorua tētahi awheawhe toi iti mō te tofu, ā, ko te moni whiwhi ā-tau he £600,000 noa iho. Nō te tau 2025, kua tipu ake rāua ki te pakihi £32 miriona, ā, he rerekē te hekenga 7% o te wāhanga kore-mīti o te UK me te pikinga moni whiwhi 19%. Ko tā rāua angitu i ahu mai i te whakaoti i ngā raruraru matua o ngā kaihoko o Peretānia: te "wehi ki te tofu"—nā te tofu wai rawa i hiahiatia ai te 30 meneti o te pēhi i mua i te tunu, me te ahua waitohu ngoikore, kāore e taea te whakatata atu. E 8% noa iho o ngā whare o te UK i kai tofu i te tau 2023, heoi i kite a David i te pūmanawa nui mā te whakarite ki te mākete tofu o US he £175 miriona, me te whakatau tata i te uara o te UK kāore anō kia whakamahia ki te £40 miriona (ki te £7 miriona tuturu i taua wā).
Mā te whakamahi i ō rātou wheako tekau tau i roto i te FMCG—ko David i roto i ngā hokohoko i Mars me Lydia i roto i te hokohoko i Arla—i whakahoutia tuatahitia e rātou te hua. Mā te whakamahi i te nigari whakapūkara tuku iho a Hapanihi hei utu mō te konupūmā whanariki, i hangaia e rātou te tofu tino pakari me te makuku kua pēhia i mua, kia "tuwhera-ā-whakamahi". Kei roto i te takai me te paetukutuku mana ngā aratohu ngāwari, taahiraa-i-te-taahiraa: tātarihia, tapatapahia, tunua, kai, me ngā tikanga whakarite e ono (poraka, pakaru, haehae, me ētahi atu) me ngā tohutao ā-uru pērā i te tofu piza me te kari, e whakauru ana i te tofu ki roto i ngā tikanga kai o Peretānia.
He koi anō hoki tā rātou rautaki hokohoko. Nā ngā hononga hokohoko a Lydia i uru atu ai rātou ki te 2,000 toa Tesco i te tau 2016. I whakatenatenahia e rātou ngā kaihoko mā te whakamahi i ngā raraunga Kantar me te moemoeā ki te whakatipu i te kāwai, kaua ki te whakataetae noa. Ko te utu mō te kete 280g—waenga i roto i te kāwai kore-mīti—ko tā rātou Naked Tofoo te SKU tino hokohoko i te mākete tofu i te tau 2023, ā, i horapa atu ki ngā hūpāmakete nui katoa o te UK, ā, i kite i te tipu 100% i roto i te hongere ratonga kai i te tau 2025.
I arotahi te hokohoko ki ngā whakamātautau i roto i te toa, me te pikinga 89% i roto i ngā whakapaunga o te tau 2024—i whakapono rātou "he ngau kotahi te mea e pai ake ana i te mano pānuitanga". He rerekē ki ētahi atu waitohu tipu i whai i te mīti, i whakanohohia e The Tofoo Co te tofu hei kai motuhake me te reo waitohu ngahau, ngāwari: kāore he karere taiao kauwhau, he tuhinga whakakatakata, he tuhinga e pā ana ki te tangata pērā i te "He hapa tēnei tuhi. Waihoki tēnei rerenga kōrero. Engari kāore a Tofoo."
Ko te auahatanga o ngā hua te tohu matua. E tuku ana rātou i ngā tofu i roto i ngā rahi rite ki te kākahu (280g, 450g, 750g XXL) ā, i whakarewahia te tofu tio tuatahi o te UK, me ngā momo "tofu mangere" kua whakamarinohia, kua tapahia - he tofu paowa, he tofu sriracha, tae atu ki te tofu parai e rite ana te reka ki te hua manu. Ko te takai māia, poraka me ngā tae kanapa me te waitohu nui e tū ana i runga i ngā whata, me ngā tohutohu whakamahinga mārama kua tāia tika ki runga.
Nā te haumitanga mai i te pūtea Tiamana Comitis Capital i te tau 2024, i whānui haere a The Tofoo Co ki ngā hūpāmakete matua o Parani i te tau 2025, ā, i riro mai i a rātou a Topas, he kaihanga tipu Tiamana, i te tau 2026, ā, i uru atu rātou ki tana whatunga tohatoha Pākehā mō te whakarewatanga Tiamana. Nā tēnei ka whakatakoto i te ara mō te pakanga tofu Pākehā, me te waitohu Kōrea a Pulmuone e titiro ana ki te mākete—engari kei te ngaro tonu a Haina, te wāhi whānau o te tofu.
He akoranga matua tā te haerenga a te Tofoo Co mō ngā waitohu kai tuku iho Hainamana: ko te ao whānui kei roto i te whakangawari i te whakamahinga, te whakawhaiaro i ngā tohutao, me te hanga i tētahi waitohu taitamariki, ngāwari hoki te whakatata atu. Pērā i te whakamāramatanga hou a Lipton i te tī Hainamana, kua whakaarohia anōtia e te Tofoo Co te tofu—e whakaatu ana ka taea e ngā kai tawhito te toa i ngā ngākau o te ao mā te auahatanga atamai. Ko te kaha o Haina ki te hanga reka, me te waitohu hou, ka taea ai e ia te waiho hei kaiārahi tofu o te ao. Ā, ko te urunga atu o Tofoo Co ki Haina he "ika ngeru" pea hei whakaoho i tētahi ngaru hou o te auahatanga i roto i te umanga tofu o Haina.
Wā tuku: Maehe-20-2026