YOUR INDUSTRY
KICKSTARTING THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY Words by Anne Hardie
The Food Factory in Nelson is designed for entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry to kick-start their business venture by hiring the facilities and getting advice from the voice of experience. Founder of Pic’s Peanut Butter World, Pic Picot, instigated the idea and helped establish the facility, with the Provincial Growth Fund putting $778,000 into the $2.1 million project. A charitable trust was set up to run the facility, employing Brian Olorenshaw as a general manager who guides startup businesses or those expanding to the next stage. The facility opened post Covid-19 lockdown with its four commercial kitchens, a presentation kitchen, walk-in chiller, warehouse and staff amenities, which can be hired for a period of time. Olorenshaw likens it to a flatting situation, where flatmates have their own rooms, but share facilities and get together in the smoko room where they bounce ideas around, seek advice and learn from the experience of others. “People around the table have scar tissue and a few war stories and that’s beneficial. None of the problems and challenges are brand-new.” Tenants need to have their own food control plans in place, while people like Brian and the four trustees provide help with the regulatory minefield, marketing strategies, business plans, a food compliance consultant and most 26
NZGROWER : AUGUST 2020
The Food Factory general manager Brian Olorenshaw
importantly, contacts who can open doors for them. Pic is one of the trustees, along with former Horticulture New Zealand president, Julian Raine, Fresh Choice Nelson owner Mark A’Court and public relations and communications consultant Debbie Hannan. Brian says tenants are selected for The Food Factory after their business idea, motivation and skills have been assessed. The reality is, not everyone is going to get a business idea off the ground, he says. One of the criteria for selecting tenants is the timing of their journey, and some need to go away and do the necessary due diligence first. They also need to have the confidence in themselves and their product to drive the business forward. “They need that entrepreneurial bent really. If they lack confidence in themselves or their product they are going to struggle. And unfortunately the statistics show:
50%
OF SMALL BUSINESSES CEASE TRADING WITHIN FIVE YEARS
97%
OF BUSINESSES IN NEW ZEALAND ARE SMALL BUSINESSES WITH LESS THAN 20 EMPLOYEES
