LOCAL VALUE – Hungarian Businesses in Auckland: Hungarian Kitchen: Lilian Weisz-Köves and András Weisz-Köves

Weisz-Köves Lilian

What inspired you to start selling Hungarian products in Auckland?

It all started when my daughter was two years old, and I wanted to cook something for her. There was a shortage of Hungarian products, so I thought I’d begin by importing paprika. I had a friend in Hungary who recommended someone through the Kőrösi Program. I got in touch with them, and our first shipment was just 10 kilograms of paprika. Today, we import about a ton per year. This began around 1992–1994. Since then, the demand for paprika has continuously grown, and I thought it would be great to bring in other products too. Over time, I was able to start selling Univer products, and later we connected with Unicum as well.

The Unicum story began when my husband used to bring in spirits during the 70s and 80s. After the Iron Curtain came down, the Zwack family returned to Hungary and relaunched the brand under the Unicum name. We've been purchasing from them ever since. Now, besides the classic flavor, we also get variants like Next, plum, Barista, and Reserva. The product range has definitely expanded. The amount we order each year varies — my husband handles that. We try to manage all liquor orders carefully.

Your logo appears on the pasta packaging. Is that your own brand?

No, it’s not. It comes from the Alföld region, but I do the packaging here. It’s produced by Izsáki Házitészta Kft. — they make it, I package it here, and that’s how I sell it.

Besides Unicum, what other Hungarian beverages do you offer?

We offer wines like Frittmann, Dubicz, Tokaji Aszú, and Hárslevelű. From Matheus Pálinka, we have plum, apricot, spiced sour cherry, and regular cherry varieties. We also import their aged pálinka, which comes in barrels.

Do you have a regular customer base? How many of them are Hungarian?

It’s mixed. It started with Hungarians, and later we saw more Serbians, Croatians, and even a few Russians. But the majority are still Hungarian. Sometimes even Kiwis visit the shop because they want to surprise their Hungarian partners.

Do you have a website? How can customers reach you?

I don’t have a website at the moment, but everyone knows I stock Hungarian goods, so they reach out via email, messages, or even through social media. That said, creating a website is on the to-do list.

What other products can people buy from you?

We also sell jam, which we get through Univer, and we offer sausage too. The grill sausage is made based on our own recipe, and the rest come from Attila Kovács in Tauranga. I buy from him because his products are close to what I grew up with — traditional, spicy, paprika sausages. There's also a guy named Ricsi based in Christchurch on the South Island. He used to live in Auckland but moved down there. Sometimes I manage to get products from him, but he rarely comes up north.

Have you ever sold at markets?

When I was younger, yes — we used to go to markets. But as the kids got older, we had more family responsibilities, and the markets fell to the background. Over time, customers started coming directly to me, which was much easier. Markets were not profitable for me in the long term. They required a lot of preparation, and the income was unpredictable. However, this year’s Hungarian Festival was a big hit. So many Hungarians attended — some friends, some people I’d never met before. It was a huge success, and I definitely want to go again next year. Last year, I brought 25 kg of paprika "just for fun," thinking it wouldn’t sell, and 40 cabbages, horseradish mayo, all sorts of things — and everything sold out. Next year, I’ll bring even more stock.

Do you plan to expand?

I send products all over — to Queenstown, Wellington, up north — so thankfully, I have a customer base throughout New Zealand. I’d love to open more shops, maybe one on the South Island, but that would require finding a trustworthy person. I’m not sure if the demand is high enough to justify it. There’s a great community in Christchurch that goes back to my parents’ generation, but it’s an aging demographic. My generation hasn’t really embraced this — at least not yet. Maybe as time passes, people will return to their roots and crave Hungarian food more, but that’s not the case right now. Ricsi buys everything and sells it down there. Attila Kovács in Wellington also stocks a few of our products in his store. There's a Serbian guy named Vladimir who recently opened his own store, and I’d love for him to stock some of our goods too. And Szilvi has just opened her own shop as well.

How many people are behind Hungarian Kitchen?

Just András and me. András handles the orders and all the paperwork, and I do everything else — packaging, customer contact, etc.

Do you have long-term goals or new plans?

The problem is, I’ve looked into a lot of things I would’ve liked to bring in. For example, Vegeta is now produced in the Czech Republic, so I can’t sell it. Túró Rudi, spices — they’re mostly made in Austria now. Even though these were once genuine Hungarian products, they’re becoming harder to source. Shipping is also a big issue. It’s difficult to coordinate everything to arrive at the same time for a single container shipment. Everything needs to be ready at once, otherwise we can’t ship efficiently. Another issue is the quantity. One company once wanted me to import an entire container of mixed spice blends — I think I’d still be trying to sell those off. Túró Rudi is in the same category: it’s a chilled dairy product, which makes it complicated and expensive to bring in, so I had to drop that idea too. Since COVID, shipping costs have doubled or tripled. Whenever we bring something in, we try to ensure it’s the best quality we can get from home.