In 1975, in the spectacularly beautiful environment of the Marlborough Sounds region of New Zealand, a young man by the name of John Turner arrived in the seaside town at the top fo the South Island to start his own fishing company. It was in the Marlborough Sounds that John observed the first experimental mussel farm. Scientists and researchers around the world had known for many years that this particular mussel found only in New Zealand contained a unique powerful concentration of essential fatty acids.
Along with others, John recognised the potential of this unique shellfish as both a gourmet shellfish and as a health supplement. John became one of the first to procure a license to operate a mussel farm in the Marlborough Sounds. In the early years of the New Zealand mussel Industry, John was a pioneer as he travelled the world to establish markets for the Greenlip Mussel. He initially focused his energy on producing a half-shell mussel product for the food industry, and in 1982 he shipped the very first container of frozen half-shell mussels to the USA.
It was in 1986 when John met a young Japanese man that shifted his attention to the very important health benefits of the Greenlip Mussel. The young Japanese man’s father was the well-known scientist Professor Kosuge from Shizuoka Pharmaceutical University. One of Professor Kosuge’s key areas of research was studying the active nutritional components of the New Zealand Greenlip Mussel.
In early 2000, John was joined in the family business by his 2 sons James and Jared who share their father’s passion for promoting New Zealand natural products. MOXXOR was founded in 2004, opened in USA in 2008 and then in Japan in 2013.
John Turner | MOXXOR Founder