Being healthy is a lifestyle and Kam has embraced it fully, his health journey is unique and has transcended from his personal life into his work life.“5 years ago I had a goal to run the London marathon, so that included training daily, watching my diet and from that I saw a new life of energy burst into me - it then became a lifestyle I stuck with with.” Along with his health enthusiasts business partners Kieran and Dominic, they’ve built a company with an ethos to solely distribute pure, natural healthy products to stores and consumers across Europe.
“We’ve taken the exclusive rights to distribute Coconut Essence in Europe, which is one of the biggest coconut brands in Oceania.” The startup company has moved from strength to strength and they've recently signed off deals and are working with premier league football teams, two of UK’s largest football academies, the Jamaican sports federation and will be shortly listed in Nisa and Budgens stores later this year. DOKAKI have the responsibility to maximise the brand’s appeal and increase sales in the UK. “It was a challenging and exciting process to get a huge brand like Coconut Essence on board - we had to pitch ourselves as well as the vision of our company and how we'll build on Coconut Essence’s success.”
Kam didn’t sugar coat his journey to representing a company of international stature; it took months of preparation, networking, pitching, and acquiring funding before they were able to get Coconut Essence into the UK market. “With businesses and especially start-ups, everyone is going to judge you - you have to learn not to take it personally and become detached to some degree. You have to be prepared to endure the nay sayers who say - you can never make it, you’ll never get your product on the shelves.”
Kam, Kieran and Dominic, all gave up high level managerial positions to pursuit their business venture. "I was a branding manager for Konami, but before then I graduated with a 1st class degree in multimedia and game design, and previously worked in a call centre for a year after graduating from university." Kam loved going to work, which is funny because I don’t meet many people that do. However, he decided to get uncomfortable and take a step into the unknown by leaving his well paid job.
“Life changes and what's most important to me is being happy with myself and being the best I can be. I don’t know if this comes with age, but I notice that I value the people I have around me more, and what value I add to them.”
“In traditional Asian culture, you are pushed into becoming a doctor, accountant or a lawyer. My older sister was like a mum to me and she urged me to express myself and not conform to the expectations of others.” The freedom to express that Kam’s sister instilled within him has manifested throughout his journey in career and business. He learned to work for passion and not to restrict himself to a career that he didn’t love.
A pivotal moment in Kam’s life was in 2012 on a flight back to London from Los Angeles. He revisited a distinct memory from his childhood: “I remember my mum coming home, and my siblings and I were hungry. We hadn't eaten that day and my mum brought home some food for us to eat. I asked her why she wasn’t eating and she replied that she wasn't hungry." Fast forward to 2012 and the severity of his mother’s sacrifice had hit home, “she went without food so we’d have enough to eat.” Growing up poor and understanding his mother’s actions to ensure her kids could live a better life, realigned his goals.
I’ve always being intrigued to hear people’s perspectives of success and what life means to them. A period of Kam’s life saw him travelling the world, living in affluent central London and having a high paid job. "I've achieved much success in my employment and it was time I needed to give back to my parents”. To get the financial freedom he wants for himself and his family would possibly take him 15 years within employment. However, the business he has set up with his partners will enable him to achieve it in 4 to 5 years.
It was a pleasure to meet Kam, I learned a lot from our conversation and left feeling inspired. I have tried his coconut water and coconut chips and Coconut Essence Coconut Water is up there with the best. I was very surprised by the taste of the coconut chips, they’re practically little pieces of heaven!
Visit www.coconutessence.co.uk where you can your buy your 100% natural coconut products online and get them delivered straight to your door.
Subject - Kam Punia, founder of DOKAKI
Photographer & Writer - Kofi Dwaah
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