Pick Pocket started the way most good ideas do — at the kitchen table, between the two of us, trying to solve a problem we actually had.
We're a young husband and wife from Auckland who got tired of the options. Tired of reaching for gum full of artificial sweeteners. Tired of watching people around us lean on habits that didn't serve them — cigarettes, vapes, sugary snacks — just to have something to do with their hands or their mouth after a meal, in the car, at the end of a long day.
We wanted something simple. Something that felt good, tasted good, and didn't come with a list of ingredients you needed a chemistry degree to read. So we made our own.
Made here. Made right.
Every Pick Pocket toothpick starts with sustainably sourced New Zealand pine — clean, smooth, and grown right here at home. We wanted something you could feel good about putting in your mouth, which meant no shortcuts on materials and no compromise on quality. If we wouldn't give it to our family, we weren't going to sell it to yours.
The flavours came next — developed in our kitchen, tested on anyone brave enough to try them, and refined until they were exactly right. Not overwhelming. Not artificial. Just a clean, satisfying hit of flavour that lasts.
Why toothpicks?
We've seen what addiction — even the mild, everyday kind — does to people. The constant reach for a cigarette. The vape that never quite leaves someone's hand. The energy drink that's become a crutch. We're not here to lecture anyone. We've both been there too.
But we genuinely believe there's a better way to satisfy that oral fixation — that need for something between your teeth or your lips when you're stressed, focused, or just winding down. A toothpick gives you that — without the nicotine, without the sugar, without the guilt. It sounds small. But small habits, done consistently, add up to something real.
Pick Pocket is our contribution to that shift. Something better to reach for instead.
Where we're headed
Right now we're focused on flavour and craft — getting the picks right, getting them into your hands, and building something we're proud of. But this is just the beginning.
Down the track, we want Pick Pocket to be genuinely good for you — not just harmless. We're exploring natural ingredients with real benefits: things like activated charcoal for whitening, green tea extract, xylitol for oral health, and more. The goal is a toothpick that doesn't just taste great but actually does something for you while you use it.
We're a small team — a husband and wife building something we believe in from the ground up. Thanks for being here at the start.
— The Pick Pocket Team 🌿