Tora Collective
Tora Collective’s Sea-to-Door Revolution
When it comes to protecting our oceans, Wairarapa-based Tora Collective doesn’t just participate in the conversation - they lead it from the sea floor up. Fresh off winning two Gold Medals at the 2026 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards for their exceptional Live Blackfoot Pāua and Live Crayfish, this hands-on team of three is proving that world-class kaimoana and environmental integrity go hand in hand.
At the heart of Tora Collective’s ethos is a deliberately low-impact, catch-to-order model that completely bypasses the traditional seafood supply chain. Instead of fishing speculatively or holding stock in land-based tanks, they harvest only when an order is secured. This highly selective approach guarantees zero food waste, drastically limits pressure on fisheries, and ensures customers receive pristine kaimoana within 24 hours of harvest.
To give native species the best possible chance to replenish, seasonal boundaries are strictly respected. Harvesting pauses entirely during breeding and spawning periods, all female crayfish are voluntarily returned to the ocean, and pāua are hand-gathered only when they exceed the legal minimum size to support long-term stock health. Quality and sustainability are deliberately prioritised over sheer volume.
This uncompromising approach extends from the water directly into their packaging. After refusing to rely on standard polystyrene or synthetic ice packs, the team dedicated 18 months to developing a completely natural, home-compostable alternative. Today, every single element inside a Tora Collective box is designed to return safely to the earth. They hand-harvest and dry local seaweed for insulation, line boxes with hand-cut 100% New Zealand wool, and manufacture their own ice packs using seawater and home-compostable materials. Over the past year alone, this innovation has successfully kept more than 1,000 polystyrene bins and plastic ice packs out of circulation.
Operating out of a small shed right beside the beach, the team packs everything by hand before it is couriered directly from the coast to customers nationwide. By eliminating processing plants and holding facilities, they keep their carbon and environmental footprints exceptionally small.
Beyond their commercial operation, the collective is deeply rooted in community and environmental stewardship. They established the Awhea Coastal Trust to enhance and protect the ecological health of Tora’s precious waterways, coastlines, and marine environments. Their initial landmark project focuses on the planting and long-term rehabilitation of Sandy Bay, with upcoming efforts dedicated to fencing, native planting, and pest control along the Awhea River and its surrounding sand dunes.
Through education, transparency, and a commitment to feeding New Zealanders first, Tora Collective is redefining what it means to be a modern food producer. Their double gold success at this year's awards is a testament to the fact that when you care for the environment and the community that supports you, the results are truly outstanding.
More to Explore…Tora Collective
Meet Your Maker - Tora Collective, Water Champions in 2021, established by Troy and Claire of Tora Bay in spring of 2019. Their entry of pāua captivated the judges, eliciting this response: “there was nowhere judges could take marks off.”