The New Zealand Family At The Heart of Supplement Innovation

iSpyHorses Equine Business Focus: The New Zealand Family At The Heart of Supplement Innovation. 

We had the pleasure of speaking to Corrie Palamountain, Production & Operations Manager at his family's well known company palaMOUNTAINS. Corrie's laid back kiwi nature, and love of the industry just goes to show, that with a great idea, and a strong 'why', equestrians are behind some of the best solutions in our tack rooms. Naturally! 

1. Tell us about you...

Who am I? Pretty much I see my self as a kiwi bloke that can’t sit down for too long, and is not found inside very often if I can get away with it! I love the outdoors; fishing, hunting and family… Sorry, family, fishing and hunting! I was brought up on a Kiwi fruit orchard in Otaki with all sorts of animals to be raised and fed after school. We now live on a lifestyle block 25 minutes out of Wanganui, a place called Maxwell in South Taranaki with too many animals.

My sister and I came back from Australia in 2002 to help our parents John and Ruth start up Palamountains Animal Nutrition (Vita Power Ltd). This was only going to be for a year or two, but we’re both still are here now and all have different roles we fulfil within the company.

In a short story, John my Father had an idea in his head about combining water-soluble and oil soluble vitamins in a omega oil, based on this he sent  Ruth our mother off to Massey University to work with a human food scientist, Professor Brian Wilkinson’s. They researched a formulation process which would loop the formulation into suspension. and we were able to patent this in most parts of the world.

My main role is in the manufacturing side of the products. Pretty much souring the raw ingredient (NZ ingredients as much as possible) and   overseeing the production. I sort the logistic side of the business too, for example, figuring out whether we can send a pallet from our factory here in Wanganui and land it in Dubai 3 days later, or to out other distributors around the globe! These can include Hong Kong, India, USA, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Europe.   

2. What drew you to the equestrian industry?

Growing up in Otaki we had a pony called “Foley Foot”, which my mother walked my sister and I to pony club on most Sundays, next to the race course. This pony was no super star but we learnt the basics regarding “how to stay on!” Rodeo might have been a better fit for us and this pony!

I grew up with a mate who’s parents owned a stud up the road, and spent many days at their  property. We were probably more of a nuisance than help but it was great fun. He showed me the crush in action which was a bit of an eye opener back then!

My other role at Vita Power is managing the Palamountains Equine market, which over the years has introduced me to many dedicated people in the equestrian industry. I enjoy hearing the feedback on how our products have assisted their horses and in some case given them a new lease on life. We also export our Equine range as well to different parts of the world.

3. Do you have horses of your own?

I have a 6 year old son and my partner has a 6 year old daughter, so I would like them to have the opportunities we did when we were young. We’re just waiting for the right time.  

4. What allows you to believe in your product?

We are in a very competitive market. However, a lot of supplements out there come in from overseas. Being a New Zealand based, family owned company, we can put our name behind all our products and are very proud of this. Our patented formulation allows the animal to absorb 99.5% of the supplement. This gives our customers confidence that they are receiving value for money and see amazing  results from feeding our supplements, and this makes it easy to stand behind.       

5. What’s your best piece of equestrian advice?

Let us take care of your horse’s supplements; it's what we do best, and we love it.

Read more about the sensational products created by Palamountains

Pictured - Corrie's son Darcy when he was three and half, sitting on Intransigent (trained by Kirsty Lawrence) who won the Kiwifruit Cup twice at least and a few other good races. Photo is protected by copyright. Please share only.