Michael Mayell

Michael Edward John Mayell (born 9 May 1961) is a New Zealand entrepreneur and environmentalist, best known for founding Cookie Time, a company he started in Christchurch in 1983 after dropping out of tertiary education. The company went on to become one of New Zealand's most recognised snack food brands. Mayell has founded several other businesses and projects since the 1980s, mainly in the software and health food industries, and has been connected to over 31 companies. Most of Mayell's later projects are social enterprises concerned with sustainable practices in agriculture and building, particularly hemp-based products, as a solution to the damaging effects of dairy farming.

In the 2000s, Mayell co-founded Springdoo and several other related software companies based on voice and messaging solutions for businesses, before selling it to UK-based Cityblock PLC, a company linked to former mobile content company Monstermob. In 2012, Mayell's tech projects ceased operations. Later that year, Mayell suffered a transient ischemic attack (a form of minor stroke) which he attributed to stress and lifestyle habits, prompting him to change his outlook.

Mayell's shift into social enterprise began in the late 2010s. In 2016, Mayell co-founded and launched Drinkable Rivers, a science-based campaign to monitor and improve the quality of New Zealand waterways, with the ultimate goal of making them safe to drink. The following year, he founded Nutrient Enterprise, a company which produces nutrient powder sachets using ingredients sourced from local growers. In 2019, Mayell partnered with cannabis activist Abe Gray in an unsuccessful effort to reestablish the Whakamana Cannabis Museum in Christchurch, which Mayell saw as a vessel to promote sustainable hemp foods.

Since the 2010s, Mayell has become known for his alternative lifestyle and environmental views. In 2022, Mayell moved to Golden Bay, pursuing a project to establish a communal ecovillage. The concept, dubbed NeighbourGood, was described in a manifesto which outlines a vision for a sociocratic community to be established in Takaka for up to 150 people. The project is ongoing.