About Us

Bilo – coconut bowl Vinaka – thank you.

Entrepreneur Praveena Prasad-Deo immigrated to New Zealand from the beautiful Islands of Fiji at a young age with her family. While working as a medical professional, Praveena carried an ambition of entrepreneurship. The birth of her two beautiful boys were a key driver for her to extend into the business world.

As she turned her focus towards entrepreneurship, Praveena knew she wanted to offer niche products from around the world to the market. After turning her attention to products offered in her homeland of Fiji, she came across Kava - the national drink of Fiji.


Although traditionally reserved for ceremonial or special social occasions, Kava is now enjoyed as a social beverage much like beer or wine (except non-alcoholic). But despite the rise in popularity of Kava around the world, Praveena found that many of the benefits were still being overlooked. Upon further research, she also found that Kava was often deemed ‘undrinkable’ due to the low quality of Kava available on the market.


Praveena decided to source Kava from local Fijian growers to supply customers in New Zealand and world-wide. This would allow New Zealanders and international customers to enjoy high quality, refreshing and relaxing Kava, but also support the local Kava farmers to distribute their product worldwide.


Having established a trusted supplier for Premium Fiji Kava, Praveena hopes to return to Fiji soon to source more products such as high quality, hand crafted bowls and accessories.
The name BiloVinaka pays homage to Praveena’s roots from Fiji but also the origins of Kava. It combines the Fijian word for ‘coconut’ - the traditional drinking vessel of Kava - and the Fijian word for the phrase ‘thank you’.