8 minute read
SFF ‘a solid vessel for choppy waters’
GROWING ACHIEVEMENT: Nadia Lim says on the world stage NZ farmers are at the top of their game, but inherently Kiwis are not big talkers.
Annette Scott annette.scott@globalhq.co.nz
SILVER Fern Farms (SFF) chief executive Simon Limmer says a solid vessel will be needed to navigate choppy waters ahead as trade grows challenging.
In his opening address to the multinational meat company’s annual conference in Christchurch this week, he told farmer shareholders that SFF’s partnership with them “is why we are here”.
“If we are not making your business sustainable into the future then we are not sustainable,” said Limmer.
“The way we transact with our shareholders today is much more than in the past.
“We have had a hell of a couple of years, our team is tired, so are you, but in choppy waters we need a solid vessel.
“Our visibility now is our investment for the future, acknowledging what is coming at us, and engaging.
“Trade is challenging, we need options in terms of diversifying the markets we sell into.
“We want to pay our best farmers the best money but the way ahead is challenging, the water is choppy, covid is still lingering, the supply chain is disrupted and there is a lot of work to do to navigate the markets.
“The way we engage with our shareholders back on the farm is critical.
“Our future slogan statement is ‘Creating goodness from the farms the world needs’. We need to be innovative in finding solutions right back to on farm.
“The goodness is the eating experience, the way people engage with our product. The farms are food-production systems and the farms of today are quite different to the farms of tomorrow.
“The world needs more from us. What we do here in NZ is very different to what the rest of the world is doing and how they are doing it.
“There is scope to grow, to capture more value up the value chain, to think more strategically and take everybody on the journey – creating goodness from the farms the world needs,” Limmer said.
Keynote speaker Nadia Lim, a nutritionist, farmer and entrepreneur, said New Zealand farming needs to “grab the bull by the horns”.
“What we can absolutely own and show the world is how we grow and raise real food, and educate people on how it’s done,” said Lim.
She said in global terms, NZ has the closest connection between the consumer and the farm.
Lim and her husband Carlos Bagrie run the historic Royalburn Station in Otago, where they practise regenerative and ethical farming focused on sustainable and circular solutions to help the land, animals and food sources thrive.
“It’s about connecting your business to the consumers who are craving to have more of a connection with how their food is produced. Don’t hold back, be honest and truthful. Consumers appreciate that,” said Lim.
“Talking for sheep and beef, as that’s what we are into, on the world stage NZ farmers are at the top of their game, but inherently we are not big talkers … we need to puff out our chest, be proud and tell the full story, be more confident and bring those people who don’t live on the land on a journey, educate them, given them the option to learn.
“They hear the one-liners but there’s so many more moving parts.”
The cost of living will ultimately drive demand for synthetic foods, but Lim said there will always be a market for “real food”.
NZ, being the size it is, will never “play in the big space”, she said, but “we are well placed to play on the top of the stage with real food and real meat”.
However, it will be important to work with nature.
“It should not be the consumer driving it as the consumer is not always right as production is then driven by demand and that is not how nature works.
“The most sensible way to eat is to go back to the land first. What suits the land and the environment to produce is important. Educate the chef and he takes it to the retailer who takes it to the eater.”
There is scope to grow, to capture more value, to think more strategically and take everybody on the journey.
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by Ravensdown
12 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 11, 2022
News More consumers seek NZ’s pure taste
Neal Wallace neal.wallace@globalhq.co.nz
RESEARCH shows the Taste Pure Nature brand is gaining traction with its targeted red meat-consuming audiences in the United States and China but also warns a third of Californians have decided to eat less red meat.
But the research for Beef + Lamb NZ’s Taste Pure Nature (TPN) brand also reveals purchasing drivers by US consumers can easily shift.
Buying patterns are being influenced less by concerns such as health and fitness, diet and environment and ethics such as climate change and emissions, but more greatly influenced by issues such as taste and experience, global security and price.
That aside, a third of those living in California say they are intentionally eating less red meat for environmental and animal welfare reasons and because of cost.
“Consequently, 53% of consumers have added more plant- based foods into their diet over the past year,” researchers say.
In its latest newsletter, B+LNZ says a survey on the impact of TPN last year reveals consumer awareness of NZ’s grass fed system and aspirations to buy NZ lamb and beef rose between 13% and 22% between 2019 and 2022.
The research showed aspiration among its target conscious foodie consumers to buy NZ grass fed beef was 51% (plus 22%), lamb 75% (plus 13%) and awareness of NZ’s grass fed farming systems sat at 64% (plus 21%).
There was already a high awareness of those attributes in China meaning growth between 2020 and 2022 was much lower at 5% to 7%.
Aspirations to buy NZ beef was 82% (up 7%), lamb 83% (up 5%) and awareness at 89% (up 5%).
A summary of consumer behaviour to TPN reveals US food buyers primarily use online tools such as Facebook and YouTube to make their food purchasing decisions and they listen to other people including well known chefs.
More than 40% consider NZ a country that pursue sustainable agricultural practices.
“Nearly half agree that food being produced by regenerative agriculture practices is important to them mainly because it is better for the environment, for their health and because it tastes better.”
It notes consumers consider premium prices for NZ beef and lamb as justified.
“One third of lamb consumers have bought NZ lamb in the last six months, and one in five have done the same for NZ beef.”
In the year to July, TPN had two paid media programmes in the US, which initiated 1.7m video views and 110,000 clicks on the TPN website.
A third programme is being launched this month.
Linking with social influencers reached 2.2 million potential customers and initiated 43,000 TPN video views, while social media promotions boosted traffic to its Facebook site by 70% and Instagram by 38%.
Since January the TPN website has hosted 108,000 visitors, a 5% increase.
More than 80% of Chinese consumers state New Zealand as their preferred country of origin for beef and lamb, when they can buy it.
More than 90% say they are aware of NZ’s strong reputation for producing high quality beef and lamb, and that farm animals in NZ are allowed to graze naturally.
An estimated four in five beef buyers say the TPN campaign had a significantly influenced their buying intentions to buy, actually buy and recommend NZ beef with a similar number saying the same for NZ lamb.
Grass fed beef is considered a premium product by 57% of people in China and grass fed lamb by 55%. Those that consider grain fed beef and lamb a premium drops to 12% and 11% respectively.
“New Zealand is top of mind for grass fed beef (48%), surpassing Australia, China, the USA and Japan by far, and for grass fed lamb (32%).”
THE BEST: More than 80% of Chinese consumers state New Zealand as their preferred country of origin for beef and lamb, when they can buy it.
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