Making connections

AVO UPDATE

Making connections

By Jen Scoular : NZ Avocado chief executive

While attending the New Zealand Merino conference in Christchurch recently, I didn’t expect to be in a room of 450 people, mostly farmers, who were some of the most inspiring lovers of New Zealand wool I have ever heard.

NZ Merino hosts this conference annually. I was invited as part of the Te Hono alumni – a primary industry initiative seeking to establish linkages between our amazing country, the products it produces, and the creation of value and stories to enhance the sales of those products offshore.

As we head into what will be a very challenging season, I needed the aspiration, the opportunity to look at things differently, the chance to share our challenges with others and to hear how others are facing their challenges. We heard from the author of Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness, Owen Eastwood, who has written a wonderful book about whakapapa and leveraging your identity to create strong teams. New Zealanders have such amazing pride in being Kiwi; we identify with so many aspects of the very essence of being a New Zealander. There is automatically a connection between us, we ‘belong’ in the same team, and that belonging strengthens what we do in that team. Across the avocado industry we are a diverse team, but we have a game plan, a strategy and hundreds of years of combined experience amongst us. We are facing an unprecedented season, but rather than think of the negatives, we need to take some comfort from that experience, the connections we have, and the assets we have built up over the years. It is impossible for our exporters to visit their customers at the present time, but they have nonetheless built some of those relationships over a long time, and the connections they have made are assets as we face the tough times.

We are facing an unprecedented season, but rather than think of the negatives, we need to take some comfort from that experience, the connections we have, and the assets we have built up over the years

I really enjoyed hearing about other sectors. Whether it is those that are similar to avocados – like kiwifruit or apples and pears – or sectors very different from ours – like the wool sector. How inspiring to hear some of the initiatives that have strengthened the wool industry. We heard from the founder and chief executive of Allbirds – I hope readers have all tried their shoes, which are the most comfortable shoes in the world. We heard from the chief executive of VF Corporation – the owners of clothing brands Ice Breaker and Vans. They love the story behind New Zealand wool, the provenance, the passion of the farmers looking after their farms and their sheep for future generations. That story resonates, and their well-told story supports the similar story we tell in our export markets – the power of New Zealand, the significance of our connections, and the amazing products that New Zealand produces.

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