Adam (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa), here. I’m the co-founder of Solid, alongside my wife, Laura.
This year for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we’ve done something I’m really proud of. We’ve released our Fresh Mint and Strawberry toothpastes with te reo Māori labels.
Why is this meaningful to me? I’m Māori, but I grew up in Timaru and South Christchurch without much exposure to Māori culture. Like many, I’ve wanted to learn more about my whakapapa as I’ve got older and had kids. I’ve been especially keen that they grow up comfortable and knowledgeable about te reo and te ao Māori. We are not perfect – we will generally say ‘go brush your niho’ or ‘time for moenga’ rather than the full sentences, but te reo Māori has become a normal part of our daily life.
This is what inspires me about Te Wiki o te Reo Māori: making the language normal for everyday Kiwi. We all need to brush our teeth, and the bathroom is a great place to start!
Beyond the Label: Supporting Wairoa
But this kaupapa goes further than language. My iwi is up the Wairoa river at the base of Te Reinga falls, where the legendary Hinekōrako lives.
When I found out that Wairoa currently doesn’t have a resident dentist, I was honestly shocked. Oral health is at the heart of what we do at Solid so it felt right to give back to my iwi, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, in a way that makes a small but important difference.
So here’s what we’re doing: 50 cents from every te reo Māori jar sold will go towards funding a new two-chair mobile dental unit for Wairoa. This project is being led by Kahungunu Executive ki te Wairoa, alongside the local Health NZ team.
Sarah Paku, their General Manager, summed it up beautifully:
“Ka mau te wehi Solid for leading the way and embracing Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with your new pēniho rebrand. Wairoa is about to get better access to low-cost oral health care with the two-chair mobile unit coming shortly. Your generous donations from the Solid sales are much appreciated for our Wairoa whānau.”
Why It Matters
Every year, 1.5 billion toothpaste tubes end up in landfill world. At Solid, we’ve always been about innovation – from doing a choc-mint toothpaste to inventing the world’s first instore toothpaste machine – and together we’ve saved over 150,000 tubes from landfill.
My hope is that our te reo Māori labels encourages people to bring te reo Māori into their everyday routines and not just for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Using “pēniho” instead of “toothpaste” is a small thing, but our actions do matter and together we can achieve real change.
A Final Word
I’m really proud of what we’re building at Solid. Proud of the products, sure — but even more proud of the chance to give back to the places and people that shaped me.
So if you grab one of our special-edition jars this month, thank you. You’re not only ditching the tube, you’re also helping bring dental care back to Wairoa.
This September, Toothpaste becomes Pēniho
Adam (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa), here. I’m the co-founder of Solid, alongside my wife, Laura.
This year for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we’ve done something I’m really proud of. We’ve released our Fresh Mint and Strawberry toothpastes with te reo Māori labels.
Why is this meaningful to me? I’m Māori, but I grew up in Timaru and South Christchurch without much exposure to Māori culture. Like many, I’ve wanted to learn more about my whakapapa as I’ve got older and had kids. I’ve been especially keen that they grow up comfortable and knowledgeable about te reo and te ao Māori. We are not perfect – we will generally say ‘go brush your niho’ or ‘time for moenga’ rather than the full sentences, but te reo Māori has become a normal part of our daily life.
This is what inspires me about Te Wiki o te Reo Māori: making the language normal for everyday Kiwi. We all need to brush our teeth, and the bathroom is a great place to start!
Beyond the Label: Supporting Wairoa
But this kaupapa goes further than language. My iwi is up the Wairoa river at the base of Te Reinga falls, where the legendary Hinekōrako lives.
When I found out that Wairoa currently doesn’t have a resident dentist, I was honestly shocked. Oral health is at the heart of what we do at Solid so it felt right to give back to my iwi, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, in a way that makes a small but important difference.
So here’s what we’re doing: 50 cents from every te reo Māori jar sold will go towards funding a new two-chair mobile dental unit for Wairoa. This project is being led by Kahungunu Executive ki te Wairoa, alongside the local Health NZ team.
Sarah Paku, their General Manager, summed it up beautifully:
“Ka mau te wehi Solid for leading the way and embracing Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with your new pēniho rebrand. Wairoa is about to get better access to low-cost oral health care with the two-chair mobile unit coming shortly. Your generous donations from the Solid sales are much appreciated for our Wairoa whānau.”
Why It Matters
Every year, 1.5 billion toothpaste tubes end up in landfill world. At Solid, we’ve always been about innovation – from doing a choc-mint toothpaste to inventing the world’s first instore toothpaste machine – and together we’ve saved over 150,000 tubes from landfill.
My hope is that our te reo Māori labels encourages people to bring te reo Māori into their everyday routines and not just for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Using “pēniho” instead of “toothpaste” is a small thing, but our actions do matter and together we can achieve real change.
A Final Word
I’m really proud of what we’re building at Solid. Proud of the products, sure — but even more proud of the chance to give back to the places and people that shaped me.
So if you grab one of our special-edition jars this month, thank you. You’re not only ditching the tube, you’re also helping bring dental care back to Wairoa.
Ngā mihi
Adam