“Manurewa is the heart of it. Wherever we go in this world, Manurewa will always have a special place in our heart” – Tasha Langi, Fitt Prep Founder.
Tongan-Māori couple, Tasha and James Langi are fuelling their community with macro-friendly dessert tubs straight out of their home-based kitchen in Manurewa.
James Langi hails proudly from Tonga with roots in Kolomotu’a, Tongatapu and Ha’ato’u, Ha’apai. His wife, Tasha Langi, is of Māori descent from the Ngāpuhi iwi in the far north.
Together, the couple run Fitt Prep, a home-based business that started around four years ago as a creative solution to Tasha’s postpartum dessert cravings.
“I was postpartum with my second baby, I had the biggest sweet tooth ever. I would rather just have desserts than a meal,” Tasha says.
“I wanted something that catered to my sweet tooth but still had protein and fibre in it as well, so the best of both worlds.”
Fitt Prep means to fit into anyone’s lifestyle. With over 10 flavours available, there’s truly a tub to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.
The dessert tubs are packed with nutritious overnight weetbix and oats, layered with Fitt Prep’s signature protein mousse, topped with delicious sweet toppings of your choice, such as chocolate chip cookies, caramel with cookies and cream, chocolate dubai pistachio and so much more.
But before Fitt Prep became what it is now, it all started with a hand bowl, a mixer and $36 to their name.
“I think a lot of families can understand the struggles in this economy of just trying to make something out of nothing,” Tasha says.
“I think that’s the beautiful thing about our parents and our heritage. They’ve really taught us to use what we have and so, it’s kind of just taken its own form and its own beauty.”
In the early stages of their business, Tasha used to sell protein meals with beef, chicken and salmon, while James supported her business while balancing his own fulltime job.
But when he noticed her original business model wasn’t working, he recognised a need to shift and suggested pivoting exclusively to dessert tubs.
“We found that the protein desserts were selling more. I said, hey, there might be something here,” James says.
“Let’s take [the protein meals] away and we’ll learn to move [the dessert tubs] and then the numbers started going and going.”
Tasha says she originally started with five tubs and, “it took hours for people to order.”
Fast forward to now, Fitt Prep sells out almost every week. This prompted James to quit his fulltime job to take on Fitt Prep’s co-ownership.
“It’s been about a year and a half since I decided to jump into Fitt Prep [fulltime],” James says.
“It was scary because you’re risking it all in business, and with business, you just don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.
“But being a Pacific islander, you know, you look for job security. That’s what you chase and looking to provide for your family; shelter, food for the kids and yeah, it took a leap of faith for me to jump in.”
Since then, James says he hasn’t looked back and gives all glory to God for how far they have come.
With Fitt Prep operating entirely from their home, James and Tasha have learnt the most crucial part of running a business together is to always remember your ‘why’.
“There’s always gonna be times in the business where you’re not always gonna agree,” Tasha says.
“But you always gotta remember, at the end of the day, you guys have the same goals, you have the same family, you have the same love, and God is at the centre of it and he always just brings us back.”
And at the heart of Fitt Prep’s operation is one simple mission; to provide more time to spend with their two boys.
“We always let [our customers] know that we are parents first,” Tasha says.
“We never want to miss a moment for them, and the whole reason we created our own business was to be alongside our boys and never miss their moments.”
Fitt Prep currently only takes online orders made for a Wednesday pickup. Every Friday, customers eagerly wait for the website refresh to place their orders before they miss out on the weekly drop.
“We literally sell out 1,500 tubs within six minutes which is even crazy to say, thank you Lord,” Tasha says.
For some customers, it’s not just the product that keeps them coming back.
One customer says, “the energy is really good for us that it keeps us coming. I think that’s why we keep coming back. It’s not the food, it’s them.”
But with only a two-man crew, the pair are looking to scale the business with manufacturers to improve workflow and meet increasing demand.
For months, the pair have been working tirelessly with manufacturers and food technologists to ensure their products are meeting health requirements. Their hard work has paid off with Fitt Prep announcing the approval of their upcoming protein mousse.
The goal, to elevate Fitt Prep on a global scale and to ‘give people their life back’.
“Having something convenient, is ready to go because I don’t have enough time in the day to sit down and have a proper meal, have that protein intake,” James says.
“So, it’s just having that convenience, you know, I can grab and go and do whatever I need to do.”
As Tasha and James prepare to scale Fitt Prep with manufacturers, they aren’t just expanding their business – they’re scaling their mission of giving people their time back.
Yet, no matter how large the demand grows, Fitt Prep will always remain humbled in its foundation; rooted in faith and driven by family and their love for South Auckland.
“Manurewa is the heart of it. Wherever we go in this world, Manurewa will always have a special place in our heart,” Tasha says.
