our story
“we believe you can thrive if you take moments to put yourself first - moments to recharge, reconnect and refocus”
it was the mid 1980s…
…and our founder, Gary Furniss, was a man on a mission – to bring nature into what we ate and drank. at a time when beverages like squeezed juice, energy drinks, plant milk and kombucha were futuristic ideas, he had a vision of a sparkling beverage with natural ingredients that could be a healthier alternative to the heavily sugared and artificially coloured and flavoured soft drinks.
his work led to him to a sparkling drink based on an ancient Chinese medicinal blend. he developed and launched the original sparkling herbal blend first to New Zealand in 1987 and then to Australia in 1988. CH’I drinks have built from this revolution over 30 years ago.
our mission
making herbal sparkling drinks to celebrate the moments you put yourself first with the people, places, and things that make you better at being you…
the values guiding us…
being real & positive
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belief in our partners
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belief in our innovation
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uplifting our team
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being real & positive 〰️ belief in our partners 〰️ belief in our innovation 〰️ uplifting our team 〰️
our promises to you
for the moments you put yourself first
In those rare moments you've put yourself first - connecting with the people, things and places that make you a better you - our drinks offer a small celebration of natural herbal goodness.
handcrafting natural herbal ingredients
we have renewed our commitment to the use of pure water and natural ingredients in all of our products – we leave out the nasties and focus on the "nicies".
packaging to serve you and the environment
our packaging now offers "just right" sizes with single portion recyclable cans joining the CH'I family in 2022.
a flow of exciting new drinks ideas
future new herbal drinks ideas will capture and build on the concept of CH’I – the essential breath of life -because it's an idea as relevant today as it was centuries ago.
meet our team
Ray - Our Leader
Ray has been helping guide the development and supply of great food and drink ideas to reality since 1987.
he has lived and brought great brands to market in New Zealand, Australia, across the Middle East, and the UK.
he has a grounded practical approach having started out as truck driver and professional sheep shearer. his food and beverage career took off when he was selected for a graduate development program in the Wattie’s business.
his favourite CH’I drink is the Jeera Masala - he says “it’s like nothing you've ever tasted before”
Darren - Technical & Production
Darren joined the team at CH’I after a decade in the wine industry across New Zealand and California.
a proper foodie, he loves reading about, discovering and tasting new flavours, and experimenting with new products in the test kitchen.
responsible for production and product development, he makes sure there are new and exciting flavours, as well as your favourites ready for despatch.
his favourite CH’I drink is Goji Herb. light and refreshing, with a beautiful fruity styling – Darren does love Goji Herb.
Suze - Finance
Suze geeks out on reconciliations and all things money.
You may also find her in a DOC hut after marvelling at our beautiful back country and enjoying a ‘refreshing’ waterfall shower.
Flavour most likely to disappear from the fridge when she’s in the office - Spiced Ginger!
the newest addition to our CH’I team, Lucy is a lover of all things pink, cats and social media! a skilled communicator, Lucy handles our marketing, communications, and runs our Riverhead warehouse.
whilst she was studying for a software engineering degree Lucy discovered a passion for gaming and creative content, and delved deep into the world of content creation and social marketing.
Lucy loves our Original Herb Blend, and thinks
“you really can’t go wrong with the OG!”