Ārepa founder Angus Brown began exploring the relationship between nature, neuroscience and nutrition. He was fueled by a desire to better understand the brain and the conditions for optimum cognitive performance and to provide a solution that was better for you vs a typical energy drink. With that ambition and desire, the Ārepa journey began.
Working with internationally recognised neuroscientists and food-technologists, Angus developed a patented formula containing unique New Zealand plant extracts that support Mental Clarity during moments of pressure and stress. With co-founder, mate and design guru Zac, he and a team around them spent the next five years optimising and clinically testing the formula and manufacturing process.
Ārepa is a company born in Aotearoa New Zealand. From our inception, we have always wanted to showcase the best of New Zealand to the rest world. From our unique ingredients, our research, science, design and most importantly, our unique culture.
Ārepa is a Te Reo Māori transliteration of the word alpha. Alpha means many things, but to us, Ārepa is the unique frequency of alpha waves found in the brain. When people are in this state, they have 'effortless alertness' performing their task, or the state psychologists call 'flow'. It is this frequency that inspired us to create Ārepa, a product that could help enable great achievements through Mental Clarity.
At the heart of it, the reason for using the name 'Ārepa' was to link our scientific grounding, which is the foundation of anything that we create, to our unique New Zealand cultural identity and honour tangata whenuatanga - indigeneity.
The founders are proud New Zealanders, Zac has links back to NZ's early history, one side of his whakapapa descends from the Northland Ngapuhi iwi and the Ngāti Hao hapu. Angus's ancestors were some of the first arrivals from Britain.
Prior to Ārepa, Angus spent six years working for the New Zealand Government in Food-Technology at the world-renowned modular incubator-factory The FoodBowl, honing his skills in all things food-tech globally. He helped advise and support a wide range of companies locally and internationally on developing and commercialising new food, beverage and nutraceutical products. Angus believes in the relationship between food and health. He is passionate about promoting the best of New Zealand to the world developing high-end, sustainable, plant-based products the provide a meaningful benefit to consumers with a focus on the brain.
After finishing his industrial design degree with first-class honours, Zac as you can expect is ‘the design guy’. In parallel to crafting the brand, packaging, website and overall aesthetic of Ārepa, Zac has spent over 12 years developing solutions for multinational clients in the fields of transport, consumer electronics, healthcare and aeronautics working at some of the world’s top design firms. Zac is an avid surfer, part-time funny-man and seriously good at handstands. Zac’s goal is to fuse the disciplines of design, food-technology and neuroscience and become the thought leader in this space globally.
Professor Andrew Scholey Professor of Human Psychopharmacology. He has researched a number of areas of psychopharmacology, including the brain and behavioural effects of 'nutra' interventions (nutrition, nutrients, nutraceuticals). He is a leading authority on the neurocognitive effects of nutrition, natural products, supplements and food components. Andrew has been working with the founders since the beginning. Creating our 1st formulation, which has since gone on to be Patented twice and multiple successful clinical trials. He is the brain behind our 100% natural brainfood.
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