Sharing is magic

Magic Beans App coming soon!

Be part of the magic

What is Magic Beans?

Magic Beans is a community of people who like to grow and swap fresh, home grown produce. They’re a passionate bunch who love to share not only their excess produce, but their gardening news, tips and ideas with each other.

We’ve been running Magic Beans Hawke’s Bay (NZ) for 7+ years now, with over 5000 regional members. It’s been so successful and positive for our Beanies (Magic Beans members!) that we want to offer Magic Beans to all of NZ and eventually the world. We are in the process of building a custom app that will allow members to join a wonderful community of home gardeners and take part in a moneyless swap-market for home grown produce.

We invite you to jfollow our journey and join in, so that you can become a part of the community to start swapping and sharing your excess produce, learn and share knowledge with gardeners all over NZ, and give your feedback as we build our fantastic new app! It is easy and free to join and use and we would love to have you with us. Magic Beans is a movement that is based on strengthening communities and environmental sustainability through localising food. Join us and we’ll make the planet and our communities healthier and happier together.

We believe that everybody has the right to fresh, healthy food that doesn’t cost the earth.

Magic Beans is a free and easy to use moneyless sharing platform connecting like-minded locals who are growing fresh food at home. Magic Beans will work on any smartphone, tablet or laptop.

List your excess produce and garden items to share and swap with your community, inspire (and be inspired by) other gardeners locally and around NZ, learn new food-growing tips and tricks and access great deals from garden-related local businesses in your area.

Join Us

We look forward to welcoming you as a part of the Magic Beans community.

Why should you join the Magic Beans movement?

There are so many great benefits to becoming a member of Magic Beans. You'll be making a positive difference in your neighbourhood and the world.

When we share our excess, we make healthy, fresh food available for local people who want it – FREE, and reduce food waste.

Half of Earth's biocapacity is used to feed us. Localising food drastically lowers the steps in the food supply chain, significantly decreasing emissions.

Be a part of the sharing economy, lower your food bill and eat fresh, healthy foods that don’t cost the earth (literally - you’ll actually be helping the planet!).

Be more resilient to supply-chain disruptions. Growing your own food means less reliance on external production and transport systems.

Make friends, meet locals, build community and learn new skills. Work together to make the most of the resources you have in your own backyards.

Growing at home means we reduce the packaging needed- this means less emissions from packaging production, and less waste in landfills and our environment.

Look after the biodiversity of life that helps produce our food. Protect food sources by providing a habitat for pollinators and the food web, right from your home.

Grow your own nutrient-dense organic or spray-free produce. Taking control of the food your family eats is good for everyone and our planet.

Growing even one type of food at home lowers the pressure on industrial agriculture systems. This is vital to sustainably feed 10 billion people by 2050.

Meet the Bean Team

Anneliese and Sarah are the founders of Magic Beans. They really are two peas in a pod. Both have a passion for food gardening, environmental issues, sustainability and community care, and with their complementary skills have come up with an amazing plan for Magic Beans.

Sarah Grant

Co-founder & Managing Director

At home Sarah is off-grid solar power, a rainwater collection system, a worm farm, a large composting system that includes bokashi, and hens who turn food scraps into eggs. Sarah’s favourite gardening jobs are tending to her array of fruit trees, pruning and tying the berry canes, and watching her children eat fruit and veges straight off the plants.

Sarah is a passionate advocate for sustainability and environmental care and has recently completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management, which complements her undergrad degree in Business (Management). Before having her children (now 4 and 6 years old), Sarah managed environmental charities at the national and regional levels.

Anneliese Hough

Co-founder & Product Director

An avid foodie, Anneliese loves any kind of food adventure, from growing food, to cooking and of course eating it! This passion fuelled the start of the original Magic Beans Hawkes Bay Facebook group in 2016. Anneliese loves collaborating with others in her community to make the most out of shared food resources to reduce waste- she’s particularly known for her delicious plum and rose jelly.

Anneliese holds an Honours degree in Professional Creative Practice and after a decade of working in commercial/editorial photography made a career pivot into digital product design, with a particular passion for User Experience Design.