Unlocking Global Pathways for Māori and Pacific Creators: The Vision Behind Oyster & Moon - A Regenerative Economy in Action

When we created Oyster & Moon, it wasn’t just about building an e-commerce platform. It was about answering a challenge: how do we create a pathway to internationalisation and increased revenue for Māori and Pacific creators that highlights their work in an elevated and culturally aligned format AND enables them to achieve the true value of what they create? How do we ensure that these creators, whose products are rooted in culture, innovation, and traditional wisdom, are able to access wider audiences and markets without bearing the often-prohibitive costs of going it alone??

The answer lay in a collective approach.?

Oyster & Moon: A Regenerative Platform, Not Just E-Commerce?

Oyster & Moon is not about generating profit for its shareholders; it’s about creating profit to be reinvested in collective prosperity. The platform is designed to be a regenerative economy in action - to create a cycle of reinvestment, ensuring the long-term growth of Māori and Pacific enterprises. It works like this, any long-term surplus generated by Oyster & Moon is committed to being reinvested 100% back into our communities. The goal is simple: to create a self-sustaining cycle of support for the businesses we work with and to provide a proven commercial pathway for more of our people to travel along towards economic self-determination and intergenerational transformation. Through profits achieved on the platform, we aren’t just determined to see our communities achieve their commercial goals, we also hope to offer microfinancing, impact investment, and advisory and mentoring services, and other opportunities tailored to what these businesses need to grow.?

But here’s the barrier we keep running into: people often see Oyster & Moon as just another e-commerce venture. It’s not. It’s a collective investment in distribution, discoverability, and economic self-determination for Māori and Pacific creators that’s intentionally designed to continually reinvest in the growth and expansion of the collective it serves.??

Collective Marketing as a Pathway to Access?

Another hurdle is the hesitation around investing?in the marketing element. Without marketing, there’s no access to new markets. Oyster & Moon isn’t just a marketplace; it’s a showcase of the best of Māori and Pacific creativity, curated for a global audience. Marketing is how we tell that story, connect with conscious consumers, and build a distribution network that benefits everyone involved.?

This is about lifting the cost barrier to new markets through a collectivised approach. By pooling resources, we’re not only giving businesses a platform; we’re giving them visibility and a chance to grow without the risk and financial burden of going alone. But there’s more to it than that – by adopting a collectivised approach we’re addressing equity, because we know that not everyone in our community starts from the same place and this model makes room for everyone because it’s at a foundational level it recognises that equity rather than equality is the objective.??

The Road Ahead: Collective Investment for Collective Impact?

To take the next steps, we need to grow. We’re seeking investment partnerships to scale, onboard more businesses, and continue showcasing the incredible talent of Māori and Pacific creators. This is not a commercial endeavour—it’s a movement to create long-term, sustainable outcomes for our communities.?

Oyster & Moon is a shared vision for a shared future. It’s about more than products; it’s about pride, connection, opportunity and self-determination. Together, we can open doors to new markets, champion indigenous creators, and show the world what true collective success looks like.?

Are you ready to join us on this journey??