One thing’s for sure - New Zealand has an impressively strong performance when it comes to food production. We’re innovative, well suited to growing and farming, and have a positive image globally for producing quality food. The growth opportunities for food production in New Zealand have only become more apparent over the past few years, with a larger reliance and appreciation for locally produced goods as well as increased demand for our exports. With strong growth in the sector predicted, here’s 4 investment trends from some of our top New Zealand food producers…
People
From the people doing the grunt work to investors, and everyone in-between – everyone plays a part in running a successful company. Retention of quality, productive staff is critical. Although the labour market may return to see previous levels of staff availability, this is not guaranteed, so many food producers are investing in staff retention initiatives to safeguard against future labour market downturns.
ANZCO Foods recognise mental health and well-being as critical issues in the agricultural sector, and as such support organisations and individual people working to make a difference both on and off-farm. The HeadFit Awards celebrate individuals, teams, and workplaces that are leading the way in the mental health space. They also celebrate individuals who have gone above and beyond internally in improve mental health within the workplace with their ANZCO Foods Employee of the Year Awards.
Research & Sustainability
We’re all working towards a more environmentally friendly, sustainable future, and it’s smart for businesses to get on board.
The effects of climate change are becoming more and more obvious with major weather events on the rise. Environmental impacts undoubtedly affect farming and production, and therefore the future of food production.
Further to this, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment through buying decisions, enhancing the need for food producers to invest in R&D and sustainable practices to remain relevant in an environmentally conscious world.
The New Zealand Food & Grocery Council (FGC) has recently announced a partnership with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) to implement an on-pack labeling scheme which assists consumers to recycle correctly, while also supporting brand owners to design packaging that is recyclable at the end of life. This is seen as a critical step to increase recycling rates by supporting brands to design packaging for local recycling capabilities and providing consumers with more credible information.
Technology & Automation
As the business climate evolves it’s become clear technology and automation are the way forward. Food producers are investing heavily in the technologies and automation needed to process more, reduce the reliance on labour, and make jobs easier and safer for staff.
Beverage company, Fructor, completed a $30 million upgrade of its manufacturing plant in Manukau, Auckland back in 2020. This was part of their strategy in expanding further afield into overseas markets. Their aim was to have the most sophisticated grocery distribution warehouse in Australasia, including leading-edge semi-automated racking. This racking system had previously only been seen in Shanghai.
In conjunction, investments are being made in new equipment and technology to allow food producers to reduce their carbon footprints and produce more sustainable products in a sustainable way.
Marketing
Marketing is essential in making consumers aware of companies that are going above and beyond to play their part in the new environmental landscape. New Zealand needs to remain top of mind both locally and internationally for producing foods that are produced sustainably from start to finish.
Fonterra recognise the value of being discovered by consumers, and with sustainability being an increasingly prominent proposition, they aim for sustainability to become the key marketing propositions for most of their brands by 2030.