Niki Chawla’s journey into the food industry began through her father, Manjeet Singh Chawla, who founded Harman Impex more than two decades ago.
In 2011, it became one of the first Indian wholesale distributors in New Zealand to run its own warehouse in Avondale. In the early days, Manjeet Chawla did everything himself: selling door to door, going into stores, packing orders and making every delivery.
Meanwhile, his wife, Harneet Chawla, worked full-time and looked after the family. Niki Chawla pitched in on weekends, sampling food at Indian retail stores. Today she is the company’s Director and explained what it meant to celebrate Diwali in New Zealand.
When her family migrated to New Zealand in 2001, finding the familiar tastes of home was almost impossible. There were hardly any Indian grocery stores, and being so far from where we grew up, we missed food the most.
"In our culture, food isn’t just fuel: it is how we connect, comfort each other, and celebrate. Seeing that gap, my father decided to bridge it. In 2003, he slowly started bringing in cartons of Aakash namkeen, the crunchy savoury snacks every Indian household keeps on hand and a brand we still proudly carry today," said Chawla.
"He stored the boxes in our home and sold them door to door. In 2005, Harman Impex officially opened its doors. The name blends the first part of my mother’s name, Harneet, with the first part of my father’s, Manjeet. “Har” runs deep in our family: my father’s grandmother and his siblings carry it, and so does my sister."
Chawla highlighted that when you grow up in an immigrant family business, it becomes part of your DNA. From about age eight, she and her sister spent weekends running store samplings at ethnic grocers, offering shoppers tastes of dal makhani and curries.
Over the years, boxes turned into mixed containers, rental sheds grew into our headquarters in Kelston, and Chawla worked her way from office administrator to Director. Today, Harman Impex supplies around 90 percent of Indian grocery stores across New Zealand.
Alongside its own Harman label, it also brings in some of India’s best-loved brands, including MDH, Everest, Vadilal, Gits and Lal Qilla.
But of all the seasons in the calendar, Chawla said none held the meaning of Diwali. Looking back on the Diwalis Chawla grew up with, she realised what the festival was actually teaching her.
"It was teaching me that true celebration creates a kind of gravity. It doesn’t exclude; it radiates. It doesn’t demand you join in; instead, it welcomes you with open arms, if you choose to," said Chawla.
"Our celebrations have always been full of vibrant traditions. We transform our home and office with colourful decorations, rangoli, fresh flowers and flickering clay diyas. We dress in new clothes, share boxes of sweets and dry fruits, visit friends, light fireworks and feast. While my sister is overseas this year, celebrating here alongside my parents keeps me grounded."
What made this Diwali unforgettable was seeing how widely New Zealand has embraced it. Community festivals are lighting up Auckland, from the city centre to Manukau and the North Shore. Diwali is also being celebrated in corporate offices, where colleagues from every background queue up to share Indian food.
Perhaps the most emotional milestone for the Chawla family this year is seeing this culture woven into everyday Kiwi life. This year, for the first time, 20 of its products landed on Woolworths shelves, and they will soon be available in Woolworths stores across the country.
For decades, immigrant families had to do two separate grocery runs just to cook dinner: one at the supermarket and another at a speciality ethnic grocer. Now, being able to walk down a regular aisle and pick up pantry staples with the weekly family shop is a quiet revolution.
Indian cuisine in New Zealand has grown far beyond a weekend butter chicken and naan; people are cooking authentic regional dishes from scratch.
"Walking into a Woolworths and seeing our products there gave me immense joy, but the spark of pride in my parents’ eyes after 23 years of hard work was priceless. Their names, and their legacy, are right there on the shelf," added Chawla.
"It warms our heart to hear that our products were at the centre of Diwali celebrations at the Woolworths head office last week. Bringing people together for food, music, dance, and connection is what Diwali is all about. With so much turmoil around the world, Diwali’s message of shared light and renewal is something we all need right now."
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