#awinewith Josie Robinson: pickles, heart and scaling up on your own terms
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She has hand-peeled five tonnes of pickling onions, befriended New Zealand's most celebrated chefs, and turned her grandparents' recipes into an award-winning business. Josie Robinson is the founder of Robbies by Mrs Pickles, made fresh beneath the Hokonui Hills in Gore, at the bottom of New Zealand's South Island. In this episode she shares ten-plus years of heart-led business: the family heritage in every jar, what award recognition really costs, and the machinery-powered leap that's letting her scale, strictly on her own terms.
How does a family recipe become a business?
Robbies is a double tribute: Josie's nana made the preserves, her granddad grew the produce ("that set the bar really young about flavour and taste"), and the name honours her husband's grandfather, an RAF pilot in World War II whose callsign was Robbie, alongside her own Anzac granddads. She made pickles for home and for presents for years, until people insisted on paying, and a gut feeling kept repeating: you need to do this for a job. So the big girl pants went on, the safe job went, and the first jars were about something simple: helping her kids eat better on a tight budget. "It has always been about tenacity, resilience, and backing my heart."
Can you run a business on heart?
Josie's answer: yes, if the head shows up too. "The head and the heart need to work together, but you need to show your heart, so people get why you do it." Her core values have never moved: she swapped the treacle in her nana's Worchester sauce for organic blackstrap molasses, goes to great lengths for great ingredients, and refuses to outsource production because the flavour is the business. That heart has built extraordinary relationships: chef Peter Gordon is a friend, Nadia Lim's team stocks her products, and her collaborations run deep, including a coming pickled onion containing saffron from Te Anau, native honey from near Bluff, Southland gin, and her own craft: four Southland producers in one yellow jar.
What does "success" actually cost?
A mention on Country Calendar "caused a bit of chaos". National awards, a NZ Food Awards finalist spot for her gin-and-sloe-gin pickled onion, a silver medal at the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, brought credibility and pressure in equal measure: "You'd better make sure your ducks are in a row, because you're going to be under the most pressure you've ever been under. Everyone wants some of it." Her honest take on the tall poppy problem: nobody talks about success, but if you don't convert recognition into sales, "you've just wasted everyone's time." Meanwhile the maker's reality behind 53 products: crooked hands from five tonnes of hand-peeled onions, and a pickle lab in the garage where mushrooms and kumikumi get experimented on.
How do you scale without selling your soul?
Josie hit the wall every artisan producer hits: more demand than she could physically make, and a hamster wheel she kept falling off. Her answer wasn't outsourcing ("I will lose the flavour and taste") or dropping customers. When a couple selling their pickle business offered their machinery, the bank said yes: an onion-peeling machine, a 70-litre auto-stirring pot as tall as she is, a full commercial kitchen fit-out. She's now establishing a dedicated production site, part self-funded, part crowdfunded, in an old plant research facility whose windows look directly at the Hokonui Hills printed on her label. "I can scale, on my terms." And this decade, the business pays her properly too.
Josie's one piece of advice for women in business
"Establish your core values that you will not compromise. Don't be afraid to ask for help. And back yourself, because others will back you if you do."
Meet Josie Robinson, Founder of Robbies by Mrs Pickles
Josie Robinson is the founder of Robbies by Mrs Pickles, an award-winning artisan pickles and preserves business made fresh beneath the Hokonui Hills in Gore, New Zealand. A NZ Food Awards finalist and Outstanding Food Producer Awards medallist with more than 50 products, she sells through her website, wholesale stockists across New Zealand, and the occasional suitcase to the rest of the world.
You can find her here:
Full transcript
Danielle: So good! Josie, we made it! Welcome to Spark TV!
Josie: Hello! Yeah, great to be here.
Danielle: It's not great to be here, you don't want to be here, do you?!
Josie: Sometimes it's nice to take a little break and work on the business instead of in it, and at this time of year, there isn't time for anything. And I've been hiding from this since April, so I thought I should get the big girl pants on and do it!
Danielle: I love it. And now you can end the year ticking that box. Let's start out by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Josie: So, my name is Josie, our last name is Robinson, and Robbies by Mrs Pickles, that's me. That's what people call me. I get called the Pickled Onion Woman, or the Pickles Lady, or "you smell great", but it's because I smell of pickles, not perfume! It's named Robbies as a tribute to our grandparents. My nana used to make all of this, and my granddad grew it, and I'm both of them in one, I love to do both. Probably growing would be my main thing, because I grew up with incredible produce, and that set the bar really young about flavour and taste. My grandparents are honoured in the methods in everything I do, and the recipes I create, original ones, which I find quite easy, but apparently it isn't! And my husband's grandfather was a pilot in the RAF in World War II, where my granddads were Anzacs, and his callsign was Robbie, so he's got the namesake. And I'm the creative part.
I've been making pickles for probably nearly 20 years. I just made them for home, then I made them for presents, and then about 11 and a bit years ago, a few people said to me, this is really good, we have to pay you. And I'm like, no! Anyway, that continued, and the gut feeling kept coming up: you need to do this for a job. I didn't even know all the stuff I had in me, so it's been an incredible journey. But the big girl pants went on, and I quit my job, which was safety, and started this.
Danielle: And you've been broke and stressed ever since!
Josie: Just kidding! Initially, it was only from what I grew, and it was for my kids to eat better. A late baby threw a spanner in the works for money, we'd given away all the baby stuff, so we had no money, and we were eating very poor ingredients, so anything to make them taste better. That was the start of Robbies, which is humbling. It has always been about tenacity, resilience, and backing my heart, because my heart is intertwined all through this, and my heritage. That would have been… what are we now, 2025? So 2015, 10 years ago. Actually, I saw a memory come up and I was at a market before that, so I think it's a wee bit longer, but we're going with 10 because it's easy!
Danielle: Perfect, I believe you! So that's interesting, you mentioned markets in the early days. Was that the first venture into getting it into other people's hands?
Josie: I would say it was an induction by fire. It was horrific, learning the market world and all that encompasses. But yes, because effectively all we were doing was spending money and not recovering any. And I had a big sales, admin and financial background in my paid work, in my old life. I knew inventory management, I knew sales, I knew ordering, there's a heap of stuff I loved doing and was able to do, that I already had. But the problem has always been that my heart is huge, and that doesn't always make you the right amount of money. In my old job, it was brain and relationships, easy, really, because you just had to follow up and do what you said you were going to do, and I was top in sales where I worked, I've always been that.
Danielle: But it's so different when it's the thing you love. You don't want to be like, hey, buy my pickles! Because you're like, I love my pickles, and I just want you to love them too.
Josie: And I want people to eat better, too. There have been core values right from the start. I changed my nana's Worchester sauce recipe, and I changed how you spell it, I put an H in it, which confuses everyone! I changed the treacle to organic blackstrap molasses, loads of minerals and vitamins. So I have a black sauce that has apple juice, and that's the only sweetened thing, and it's really, really good for you. There's some stuff I have never compromised. But what I was trying to say before is: the head and the heart need to work together. And you need to show your heart, so that people get why you do it, and how much you love it, and what it means to you that they're eating better because of what you've created.
Danielle: Yeah, I love that. And it's your point of difference, right? When there are heaps of businesses out there.
Josie: Immediately, yeah. I go to great lengths to have great ingredients, and I grow some if I can, I just physically don't have the time. I've hand-peeled 5 tonnes of pickled onions over I don't know how many years. My hands aren't straight anymore! But I really love it. I still get excited when I see beautiful produce, or a really nice pickling onion, I just want to peel it. I still have that excitement and passion I had right at the start, and that drives the crazy hours and the crazy things that I do. And at the same time, I still love it.
Danielle: Do you have a secret for holding onto that love, or is it just in you?
Josie: I think a good part of it is within me, instincts and things like that. But also, sometimes when you're really down and really tired, and something's gone wrong, and you're just like, bah humbug, there's this really cool thing that happens. This little thing comes through, a big order, or a thank you from someone, a beautiful little message, and it reaffirms that I am doing the right thing. And I make friends, I have good relationships with my customers and my suppliers and stockists. They know I'm straight up, they know I'm honest, they know I'm really hardworking, and they get it. They know my why and my how, because a lot of them have been there right since the beginning.
Danielle: It's so cool. And the heart does win, when you show people you're passionate about something and you stand for something, people really do appreciate it and buy into that.
Josie: Yeah. And I've ended up with, like, chefs, a lot of amazing chefs in New Zealand that I know, and we talk and we're friends. That blows my mind, that they want to be friends with me, because they're so important and amazing, and I don't see myself the same way.
Danielle: Well, you are!
Josie: Do you know of Peter Gordon? He is the most amazing, beautiful human you could ever meet. And Nadia Lim and her team, they have us on the shelf. There are lots of people in Southland doing incredible things, and the passion and the love for what I do, I see in those people, and that's the space we talk in. Amazing people doing amazing things, but we all have this shared love and passion, and in that place, we're all mutual, we're all the same. So I have this really eclectic group of all sorts of people who buy our products, and make recipes with them in restaurants, and people who have to have our stuff for Christmas. It's just a beautiful thing. I was mentioned on Country Calendar last year, and that caused a bit of chaos! I've been interviewed on radio, and I've won some really big national awards, which caused lots of changes and challenges. Once you nail some of those, you instantly have credibility. But the background is: you'd better make sure your ducks are in a row, because you're going to be under the most pressure you've ever been under, because everyone wants some of it.
Danielle: Yeah. It's interesting, people don't talk about the fact that success is actually hard. Everyone just goes, I want a billion dollar business! And it's like, well, can you actually facilitate that? Can you service those customers? Do you have enough product, enough inventory, enough bandwidth?
Josie: Exactly right. And people don't talk about success either. It's not a common thing, because of that tall poppy thing, and I don't really talk about it either. I'm proud of what I've won. But if you don't do the do and walk the walk, and actually convert that into sales, then you've wasted everyone's time, or you're setting yourself up to fail. That's something I have learned. But I love the space we're in, and I love the respect from my peers, and looking at it all holistically, which is probably my strongest thing. I really love what I do. I'm proud to put labels on my jars, and I will drive my babies all around to get them on the courier, whatever I have to do to get stuff to people that need it. That can-do attitude, get shit done, that's completely me, that's how my brain works. It's difficult, because your heart is vulnerable when it's on your sleeve.
Danielle: But it's also part of the authenticity. It's an interesting conversation, isn't it? Your success has come from being so passionate and committed. But that's also one of the hardest parts of business, because you're so invested, and it's so personal, that the highs are high and the lows are really low sometimes.
Josie: Yeah. And sometimes you're running on empty, and you can't remember what day it is or what time it is, because you're just in the zone for deadlines. But we do get there. I think it's important to be true to yourself and what you're trying to accomplish, be really clear about your goals, and have some plans. I started this with no plans at all. No directives. Then I got a mentor, and then some other people, and I've had incredible coaching from so many people. It is a village. So many people have helped me, over and over again, because they believe in me and what I do. I couldn't have done all I've done without all those people, and I'm pretty grateful for the opportunities I've had.
Danielle: Yeah, but you have to capitalise on those opportunities.
Josie: Absolutely, you do. And that's the problem with the heart and the brain: the heart has to be there, but the brain actually has to do the decision-making and choose stuff. I currently make about 53 products.
Danielle: Wow! Holy! No wonder you're stressed out!
Josie: Yeah! And those onions are part of that group, and I make moonshine ones for the local moonshine distillery here, and I do all these random things. And I've got some new things I'm going to release next year. I do need to have that, the creative part of me cannot be a machine, I've got to always play. I make things and put them in the garage to see what they'll do, like a pickle lab! I've pickled mushrooms, I've pickled kumikumi, all these random things, and most of them people love. But it's very expensive to release a new product, so you've got to be really sure about it. I just pickle stuff to see what it'll do. I love the creative freedom, because I have to have that, otherwise I lose interest.
Danielle: Well, that's where it comes back to the heart. You're not just doing this to grow a business and make some cash, it's your life's work. And of course that means continuously experimenting, learning new things about pickling, of all things!
Josie: And playing! And I've been really lucky that my instincts with recipes have been good, because everything's been successful. I made a pickled onion with gin: I infused cider vinegar with organic plums, then added sloe gin, and Southland runny honey, and whole allspice. I wanted it to be light and fresh and playful, and summer. My vision was: in winter, sitting by the fire, having a glass of wine or whatever you choose, curtains all shut so winter's out there, and in that moment, you're just having the best time, because nothing in the world is better than right now. And that onion became a finalist in the New Zealand Food Awards, which is probably the most technical awards we have, Massey University assess the labelling and all the technical stuff. I got to go to Auckland and meet Kelli Brett, the Cuisine editor, and I sat with the head judge, and it was like… blow my mind, how am I here? And then the next year, I got a silver medal at the Outstanding Food Producer Awards. I've had a few things like that happen. But it's the cool people. I had lunch with Peter Gordon when I was up there, caught up with him at Homeland, and I saw Connie, who worked with him, because they were the ones who gave me the big award. I had coffee with her, then I went to the awards, and I went home. I didn't win the category, but I didn't feel like I'd lost, because my heart was so full from those people. And that's crazy for a pickle lady from Gore! When you're true to your vision, you draw all those kinds of people who are the same, and they will help you in some way or another, or just give you a pat on the back, or a hug when you need it.
Danielle: And it's interesting, in your career before pickling, it was all about numbers and relationships and selling. It does translate into business, and I find the more you just talk to people, build great relationships, and explore, the more opportunities come your way.
Josie: Yeah. And the relationship is good enough that you're the one they choose, because there are lots of other options, lots of people who do different stuff, and everyone's is like a signature, a personal signature. If a random pickled onion turns up at one of your food awards competitions, 9 times out of 10 it's going to be mine! We all have our signatures, and sauces and pickled onions are probably my thing, what I play with the most. But everyone does things differently, and really, there's enough business for everybody. And if you help someone else out, or even just have a chat to make sure they're okay, because it's a lot of hours doing this stuff, looking after each other matters. You're all going to get there. There are two ways to do it: the nice, open way, or the nasty way, and why would you bother with that? It's all about genuineness and authenticity.
Danielle: I love that. There's enough for everyone, and helping somebody else doesn't detract from your business at all.
Josie: I love collaborating as well. I've collaborated with a few chefs now. I pickled some beetroot from a local grower, and took it to a lady who makes sourdough, Flour Brow in Invercargill, because we're almost at the bottom of the South Island, it's friggin' freezing here! Central's over that way, they get the cool summers and the snowy winters, we just get the weather from Bluff! And she made a feta and pickled beetroot sourdough. That's three people working together because of an idea. And next year I'm releasing a pickled onion that has saffron from Te Anau, honey from near Bluff, from land with lots of native trees, so it's like a native honey, gin from Southland, and then me. Four Southland producers in one onion when it's released. And it's yellow! A decent yellow. It's so cool.
Danielle: Oh, this is incredible. So, we talked about markets in the early days. How do you sell to people now?
Josie: This year I did some more fetes. Last year I pulled back from them, because it's so fiercely competitive, and I don't know if it's the right space for me anymore. When I was new and establishing, yes, but now, the business end of it, I have an expectation of what I should earn if I'm going out of town, and the expectations this year haven't been met. Whereas I've got a massive amount of wholesale, and I've got the website. My thinking is there are some things I need to do so the locals still know who I am and I'm still connected to them, because they want to meet the maker, or have a laugh with me. But the website is the best margin we make, and the wholesale is very, very strong, throughout New Zealand. I've even got people in Australia who would sell it over there if I could navigate getting it across, which I don't have the mind space for yet. And it has gone all around the world, in hand luggage!
Danielle: Smuggling pickled onions around the world!
Josie: I know! They've been taken to Hawaii! And what I've done now, because we've always had more demand than we could physically make, and that does my head in, and we've always been a really small team, mostly me and one of my kids, or some part-time people, and none of them have the passion or the drive that I do, which I'm okay with, but they also don't have that high-quality mentality…
Danielle: Attention to detail, yeah.
Josie: Yep. And I feel like I'm falling off the hamster wheel all the time, then climbing back on to fall off again. So last year, I was approached by people who did pickles and preserves and pickled onions, and they were wanting a lifestyle change, and they had all this machinery. I went up and saw it in January, and then the bank said yes! So I bought an onion peeling machine, and a 70-litre pot that's just about as high as me, auto-stirs, twin-walled, which basically means nothing in there will ever burn, not that I'd cook it that long anyway! And all the benches, the cooker, lots of stuff. Basically a fit-out of a commercial kitchen. I got it all shipped down here in June, and the place it was supposed to go fell through. Now I've found another place, and I'm about to self-fund and crowdfund a new site, off-site. Away from home, away from family, husband… I'll get my marriage back! That is the crazy thing I'm doing now. The cool thing is I'll be able to semi-replace people with the machinery, which will make my load a lot lighter, and I'll be able to make a lot more, but still hand-finish. Make more with less, with some part-time staff for the other parts. Which means I can get on the hamster wheel and go for a decent run without falling off. Hopefully!
Danielle: I love it. And it's wildly fascinating: we're talking year 10, year 11, and you've built such a good base, wholesalers, clients, relationships, awards, but there's still more to do. Now it's streamline, get your energy back, expand without it costing more. There is no overnight success. This is a lifetime pursuit.
Josie: Oh, absolutely. And I got to the point where I was like: I need to scale, or I need to drop some customers. And I'm not going to outsource, because I will lose the flavour and taste. Then that opportunity came up, and I'm like, oh, I can scale, on my terms. I like that. I found the place through a friend of a friend, it's an old plant research facility that used to have a lot of staff and now is pretty much empty. And on our label, there's a picture of some mountains, the Hokonui Hills, the range you see looking west from where we are. My label says "made fresh beneath the Hokonui Hills". That view is right outside the window of where I'm making the kitchen.
Danielle: Oh my god.
Josie: And I've got plenty of space, admin space, inwards and outwards goods all separate, space for pallets. Blows my mind. I'm very excited, because I needed a mental break from never being able to achieve what I was trying to, and that's really, really hard. This is what I came up with.
Danielle: I love it. And I love that you said "on my terms". It wasn't grow for growth's sake, it's: I want to grow, and these are my boundaries. Because you've got to do this for another 10 years! The passion and love that got you this far has to get you through the next decade too.
Josie: Yeah. And it has to contribute towards my lifestyle as well. I need to get paid! I don't get paid, I mean, my fuel and phone and a lot of things are paid for, but I need to earn what I deserve to earn. And I can't do that unless I do the other part, which is being smart about what my energy and time are spent on. So that's probably me, really!
Danielle: I think you're incredible, Josie. So, I always love to wrap up these podcasts with one last piece of advice. Reflecting on your time in business, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
Josie: Establish your core values that you will not compromise. Don't be afraid to ask for help. And back yourself, because others will back you if you do.
Danielle: I love it. I could not agree with you more. You are absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and wisdom with the Spark community. Thank you for being here.
Josie: Aw, thank you for having me.
