Sigatoka · Fiji

Bula Coffee

Bula Coffee roasts in Sigatoka, Nadroga-Navosa Province.

Since 2011 · Luke Fryett

Overview

Bula Coffee was founded in 2011 by New Zealand-born Luke Fryett (now a dual NZ/Fiji citizen) after he found wild coffee cherries falling and rotting in the Sigatoka Valley highlands during horseback rides through Fiji's interior. From a 20-kilogram first harvest roasted on a microwave-sized roaster in a village, Bula now harvests wild and managed coffee from 38+ remote Fijian villages supporting roughly 1,500 to 5,000 pickers, and is the first and only Fiji producer to display both 'Fijian Grown' and 'Fijian Made' marks on its products.

Known for

Fiji's only 100% Fijian-grown and Fijian-made coffee operator
Wild-harvested coffee from forests of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu without land clearing
Cherry-to-Cup tour at the Sigatoka HQ, launched April 2022, walking visitors through harvesting, processing, and tasting
Social-enterprise model paying remote villages directly — including FJ$32,000 paid to one cyclone-hit village
Tauriko, NZ secondary roastery and Bula Cafe opened 2025 to scale international sales back into Fiji

Why it matters

Bula is the proof case that Pacific Island coffee can be a real specialty category, not a souvenir. Fryett's social-enterprise build — from 20kg in year one to thousands of village pickers — is also a working template for how wild-harvest plus managed plantings can preserve forest ecosystems while creating durable village income.

Production

head roaster: Luke Fryett (founder, splits time between Fiji fieldwork and international trade)
roastery location: Sigatoka, Fiji (plus Tauriko, Tauranga, New Zealand)

Café

Bula Coffee HQ, Coral Coast, Sigatoka, Fiji (plus Bula Cafe at Matakokiri Drive, Tauriko, Tauranga, NZ)

Recognitions

First and only Fijian producer with both 'Fijian Grown' and 'Fijian Made' designations

Sources

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