Food & Beverage to go_February 2012

February 2012 Volume 4, Issue 2

Virtual value

how to increase turnover without increasing foot traffic

Counting on you how to get the best from your accountant

INSIDE

COMPANY ACCOUNTANT: Pam King

Contents Issue 2

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DESIGNER:

1

Getting the best from your accountant

2

Virtual value

4

Spinning up success

5

In training

8

Pizza and Pasta

12

Packing it all in

Doing the books can be hard work, so consultant Chris Elphick tells you what to look for in an accountant.

We look at two case studies of cafes that are increasing their turnover and profitability without increasing foot traffic. Find out how.

Spin Spuds are the latest craze for diners on the go and we look at what they offer to the food service sector

Weston Milling is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Trainee of the Year competition. Check out the entry requirements and competition details.

We catch up with what’s happening in the fast moving world of pizza and pasta, with news and recipes.

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Packaging is a major component of the food industry and we check out some local companies as well as looking at how packaging can help reduce food wastage.

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CHRIS ELPHICK – BUSINESS COACH AND MENTOR

Getting the best out of your accountant

By Chris Elphick There’s no place for a Kiwi DIY attitude when it comes to the financial side of running your business. Chances are, you’re not an expert in money and you’ll need an accountant to prepare end-of-year- accounts, sort out tax and explain profit and loss.

Accountants deal with this and a lot more than simply keep your books in order. Think of them as a key member of your business team – your financial mentor providing sound financial advice in plain English, about things such as what the latest tax changes mean for you. They can help increase your financial literacy so that you become more confident in dealing with the money side of your business.

How to choose an accountant Take your time choosing an accountant. Ask for recommendations – talk to other business owners, your local Chamber of Commerce or business association.

Send out the job description and interview suitable accountants who respond. This gives you a feel for how well you’ll work together. Ask about their services, charges and experience working with similar businesses to yours. If you’re a family business, are they experienced in things such as family trusts?

Large firms vs small firms – which is better?

Include both large and small or one-person firms in your search as each has benefits and possible drawbacks.

Larger firms offer a broad range of experience and services. However, they can be more expensive and more impersonal to deal with.

Smaller firms tend to be readily accessible, but may offer a limited range of services. In the case of a one-person firm, ask how much time they have to commit to your business – what will happen if they get too busy?

personally, explaining exactly what they mean.

And if your contact is going to be with a staff member, that should be clear from the start.

Whoever you deal with, they should be in touch regularly to discuss your accounts and how your business is going. This can be a phone call or email, it doesn’t have to be face to face.

Your accountant should be able to provide information about a broader range of financial and business issues: • recent tax changes • explaining what the latest Government budget means for your business • helping you make investment decisions • providing their take on the economy, and how it is likely to affect your business.

If you’re not happy with the service your accountant is providing, talk to them about it.

Your relationship is a two-way process, and taking the time to make it work will make it easier for you to run a successful business.

Working with your accountant Prepare a job description outlining what you are looking for. Describe your business and how much financial knowledge you have.

Assess your needs – book-keeping, running all your accounting activities or simply collating your accounts each month. Ask - do I need: • help using an accounting package (e.g.

MYOB)?

• advice on tax, trusts, investments and issues such as depreciation of assets?

• assistance with basic things such as cash flows, budgets and profit and loss?

At the outset, agree on how you will work together. Drawing up a contract for services can help prevent surprises.

If you only hear from your accoutant when your end-of-year accounts arrive, or when their office junior calls to ask for your receipts, you’re not getting the most out of them.

Chris Elphick is a business mentor and consultant based in Wellington.

www.chriselphick.co.nz

At the very least, your accountant should go through your end-of-year accounts with you

FBT I February 2012

1

e u l of the a v e Th

virtual customer They don’t spill the sugar or drop crumbs on the floor. Their plates don’t need washing and they never trail mud in on a winter’s day – in fact they don’t walk in through the door at all. Two Auckland cafés have discovered the value of the virtual customer – and there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Bob’s story - Bob Han, manager of Go-deli, Constellation Drive, Mairangi Bay It’s nine o’clock on a Friday morning, the café is quiet but the kitchen is running full tilt. Five staff members are focused on preparing, cooking and packaging 200 orders before 12pm. This is the scenario that café owner Bob Han finds himself in every week, with his team working to capacity in the traditionally quiet period between breakfast and lunch.

His secret lies in his partnership with local entrepreneur, Sandra Finlay and her company, ezlunch. The ezlunch online

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FBT I February 2012

ordering system creates a link between schools and local fresh food suppliers to deliver fresh hot and cold food to children as an alternative to the traditional packed lunch.

Bob Han’s café, Go-deli, supplies lunches to eight local schools and he couldn’t be happier about it.

“People are generally spending less on going out to eat, which means that cafés are going through a tough time right now. We’ve been supplying school lunches for six months and our overall revenue has increased by around 10 per cent already. It’s reassuring to have another income stream so

we don’t have to depend solely on walk-in trade.”

Practical considerations for the pint-sized ‘virtual customer’ have to be considered. Portion sizes are smaller and the food needs to be packaged carefully to keep food at the correct temperature from the time orders leave the café until they reach the classroom.

“Packaging and delivery means that the cost per portion for school food is slightly higher than the cost of the food served at the café,” Mr Han points out.

“But because there is no service element, we can discount our price to make it affordable as a lunch box alternative. This means that while our prices and margins are reduced, we still make a 20-30 per cent profit.”

With the fixed costs of the business needing to be off-set in quiet and busy periods alike, Bob Han takes a view which balances productivity and profitability.

This makes supplying ezlunch a sensible option. And many parents would agree. With the cost of an average school lunch equivalent to the price of a coffee and cake, parents like the convenience and

value of having freshly prepared food delivered to their children at lunchtime.

‘Easy’ is at the heart of the ezlunch philosophy not just in its name. Suppliers can log in to the ‘back end’ of the ezlunch website whenever they like and view orders coming in. Parents can place their orders online or by text message before 9am for same-day delivery.

This means that suppliers like Bob can print off the order list at 9am and start food preparation as soon as the breakfast rush is over.

Labels detailing each order, the child’s name, classroom number and school can be printed directly off the website and are used to seal the meal bag.

An unexpected bonus for Bob Han came when families started to appear in his café at weekends saying how much their children enjoyed his food. Go-deli prepares dairy-free and gluten-free options on its school lunch menu as well as using free-range eggs and chemical-free meat. Once tasted, families were prepared to travel for Bob’s food.

“There are lots of cafés in the area competing for business. I

The value of the

virtual customer was really pleased when customers started to choose Go-deli because they liked our school lunches.

Our menus get sent out in school bags once a term, so even noncustomers see our name and brand.”

There’s no real down-side according to Bob Han. All the administration of the system is handled by ezlunch and a couple of minor teething problems were quickly smoothed out by responsive handling from the company’s helpdesk.

“My relationship with ezlunch has become really close. If there’s a problem, we work it out. We’re six months down the track now and I am planning to supply school lunches from our Mission Bay café next.”

Paul’s story – Paul Yen, owner of Dellow’s Kitchen, Jervois Road, Herne Bay Paul Yen, 21 year old chef and café owner of Dellow’s Kitchen is also a school lunch convert. The fact that Dellow’s Kitchen was placed in Metro magazine’s top five cafés in the fresh menu category at the end of October is no mean feat - particularly when you realise that Paul opened his doors for the first time barely five months ago.

Mr Yen strongly believes that every café should move towards catering as an additional revenue stream to allow business expansion without creating a need for more floor space or new equipment. Dellow’s Kitchen already offers its customers a range of take-out options from finger

food for office functions to fresh frozen meals for tired customers who can’t face cooking at night.

School catering is another string to his bow.

Working with an online system has obvious benefits for this switched-on businessman.

Orders placed on the ezlunch website are constantly refreshed and it didn’t take long for Paul to realise that the volume of orders in the evening gave a clear indication of the next day’s totals. “We’ve found that the order numbers at night usually represent 50 per cent of the next day’s order. And when we check

first thing in the morning, we get a 75 per cent view. This makes it easy to order enough fresh food without falling into the trap of overstocking.”

Another benefit of accurate forecasting is that it allows Dellow’s to place bigger orders with their suppliers than they otherwise would have done for the café alone.

“We can negotiate better prices because we order in greater quantities - and that gets us free delivery. This saves valuable staff time picking up from our suppliers or running to the supermarket.

We also place orders every day or

every other day, which ensures a high food turnover - meaning that we always cook with the freshest of ingredients.”

This is important to selfconfessed food fanatic, Paul Yen. Having worked his way through the ranks in the renowned fine-dining establishment, Mikano, located on Auckland’s waterfront – Paul rose from high school food runner to chef in less than five years.

“It was always the food that mattered,” he says.

“I was planning to go to business school, but working with such a fantastic top chef inspired me – I guess it changed the direction of my life.”

Barely two years later, Paul has fulfilled his ambition of becoming a business owner - and he was supplying virtual customers through ezlunch before he sold his first flat white an ‘actual’ customer.

“It just makes sense,” he says.

“Our profits have increased, our staff down-time has reduced and our cash flow has improved - even though we make less of a margin on school lunch orders.”

“Having multiple income streams helps to smooth out the variables of the ‘walk in’ trade.

Ezlunch orders are guaranteed work which I can complete without increasing my fixed costs.

I would rather keep my staff busy.

If you give people three things to do, they will generally make those three things fill their available time. I would rather drive workflow and challenge my staff’s productivity.”

THE BETTER THE LOOK THE BETTER THE TASTE

First impressions count. Creating the e right atmosphere by dressing like a professional essional will help your venue succeed. Dress for success.

Inspire your guests with confidence e by how you and your staff appear.

Call 050 Uniform (0508 643 676)) now for your FREE Arrow Uniforms catalogue.. Or download a owuniforms.co.nz copy from our website www.arrowuniforms.co.nz

FBT I February 2012

3

NZ’s spinning

spud k ic t s a n o n io t a s n e s Be the first in your town We’ve just found the newest, tastiest and funnest thing to eat in New Zealand – a spinning spud sensation on a stick.

They’recalled Spin Spuds and once you try them....you are hooked. Already fully established in America, Asia and Australia they are finally here in New Zealand. So, you may be asking yourself “What exactly is a Spin Spud?” Well, the common New Zealand potato is simply cut using our specially designed machine and it spins around a stick in the shape of a spiral. They are then cooked and sprinkled with one of the delicious six New Zealandmade, gluten-free Spin Spices.

They are easy to make, quick to cook, delicious and fun to eat.

Spin Spuds were founded by director and entrepreneur Sarah Taylor in 2011. She had heard of the hugely popular Tornado Fries novelty food in the US and the crowds and excitement they created with children and adults alike. Sarah was keen to spread this fast food phenomenon to New Zealand businesses to increase profits and attract customers. Spin Spuds are proud to be the official

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FBT I February 2012

importers of the high-quality, US-made Tornado Fries fully automatic machine and the agents for the Australian manual machine.

Ideally suited to cafes, restaurants, fish’n’chip shops, markets and other food outlets, Sarah says: “We are currently in discussions with a family restaurant chain who are excited to use this product as a fun kids’ meal.

“They are presented to the customer upright in our specially designed stand, some places are putting an oyster on the top as an adult entrée, so it’s a versatile food every age group can enjoy.”

Spin Spuds packages are affordable from only $14.90+gst a week for the manual machine package and includes everything you need including some great attractive marketing gear. Spin Spuds are not a franchise so there are no franchise fees. You can even rent a fully equipped caravan, which includes a regional license for territorial rights to that area. The profits are endless.

For a brochure or further info email info@spinspuds.co.nz or visit their website at www.spinspuds.co.nz or just phone 08004 Potato (0800 476 828).

TM

Advertorial

Trainee of the Year 5th Anniversary Join us in our Celebration for the Weston Milling Trainee of the Year, 5th Anniversary.

The Trainee Competition was started to show the Food Industry what baking is all about, giving exposure to the baking industry and the up and coming trainees and to provide an opportunity for our trainees to see what is out there and give them the motivation to dream big and aim high. Since being launched in 2008 we have grown considerably, with entrant numbers almost doubling each year.

Over the previous years we have had some great support from the BIANZ and the Executive Members who have offered advice and training to the finalists each year leading up to the Final, this is continuing to be a great partnership.

Southern Hospitality each year have provided us with the appropriate equipment needed for the show, this has enabled us to offer the best environment for the trainees to work in, and we value the tremendous support we receive from them.

In our 5th year we will again have a bigger show as this year it will again be held LIVE at the Fine Food Show New Zealand at the ASB Showground in Greenlane, Auckland.

This years show will showcase some new ideas, great creativity and push the finalists to create the best they can.

For the winner, it means invaluable industry exposure, a prize which includes a $4000 scholarship, an iPad, $2000 worth

of travel, an equipment allowance plus this year we are including a Bonus prize for the employers of the winning trainee, $1000 to go towards marketing or advertising for your business.

We would like to thank our supporters the BIANZ and Southern Hospitality and all the Industry businesses who allowed there trainees to attend our competition.

So start preparing for the 2012 Weston Milling Trainee of the Year Competition, find attached to this magazine your entry form, this is your chance to enter into our 5th Anniversary and show New Zealand our great talent.

TM

Call 0800 937 866 Fax 09 259 0990

Email westonmilling.orders@gwf.com.au FBT I February 2012 5

TM

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FBT I February 2012

FBT I February 2012

7

Traditional, perfectly dried pasta, in a large variety of shapes including Penne, Linguine, Fettuccine, p g e andd Orzo.

Spaghetti

Available in 500g and 3kg packs.

Made in Italy Imported by

Prodotti d’ Italia AVAILABLE AT LEADING FOOD DISTRIBUTORS

www.pdi.co.nz

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FBT I February 2012

Seafood Orzo Salad

Family Orzo Salad

One 500g packet of Riscossa Orzo 200g smoked salmon 1 cup cooked shrimps or prawns ½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes One small packet feta cheese cubed One small jar pitted olives Mesclun salad leaves Lemon zest Lemon oil

One 500g packet of Riscossa Orzo 2 cups of cold shredded chicken Select any mix of the following: Cubed cheddar cheese Cooked sweet corn kernels Cold cooked peas Chopped red or spring onion Pineapple pieces Chopped capsicum Cubed raw carrot Pinenuts Mesclun salad leaves Flavoured olive or avocado oil (lemon or lime)

Cook orzo for 8 mins by placing in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally to separate grains. Partially drain and add cold water to stop cooking.

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! ! y o j n E

Cook Orzo for 8 mins by placing in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally to separate grains. Partially drain and add cold water to stop cooking. When cold, stir to separate and drain completely.

Carefully mix in the rest of the ingredients, adding flavoured oil or vinaigrette dressing last according to taste. This salad may be made well in advance and refrigerated.

For 100’s of exciting Orzo recipes – Google ‘Orzo Pasta Recipes’

Hell comes to Korea After 15 years of making pizzas, outraging people through their advertising and expansion into overseas markets, Hell Pizza is opening in Asia.

The irreverent pizza operation already has franchises in Canada, Britain and India, but director Stu McMullin says Korea has huge potential for the operation.iIts master franchisor in Korea will open its third Hell store in Seoul next month. It also has plans for seven more stores. New Zealand has 65 Hell outlets, he says, but Seoul, with a population of about 20 million, could end up with 100.

A Hell Pizza shop in New Zealand has a catchment area of about 10,000 households, or about 25,000 people, but there were that many people living in just four apartment towers across the road from its first Hell store in Korea, he said.

“The numbers just blow you away.”

The two Korean stores, which opened in August and November, “are doing OK”, and turning over between $12,000 and $15,000 a week, McMullin said.

“It’s going to take one to two years to build critical mass. The second store was busier than the first upon opening, so that’s a good sign.”

The company has not had to revise any of its pizzas to suit Korean

tastebuds, but its menu is smaller.

“They don’t like a huge amount of choice. We have 21 pizzas here; they only have about 11.”

The marketing behind Hell is not lost on Koreans, with a large proportion of the country identifying as Christian, and exposure to American culture means concepts such as hell and Halloween are not lost on them, he says.

But Hell’s relaxed Kiwi approach – and its often edgy marketing style - is not a perfect fit with Korean culture and it has introduced a slightly softer version of its sometimes controversial brand there.

“The thing they struggle with a little bit is brand personality. We pick up the phone and say `How the hell are ya?’ but they are very proper and very organised.”

There have been a few local quirks to learn, McMullin says. For example, a bylaw that says a business’ signage can’t be bigger than that of the business on their left. “They had to shrink down our logo for the first store but then for the second store there was no one on the left, so we were fine.”

Hell is proud of its expansion – it does not look to enter new markets but waits for prospective franchisors to make an approach – but is realistic about its overseas prospects,

McMullin says.

“They’re not overnight sensations. I’d be giving them two to three years and then have a look. We work hard at our business but not everything is going to succeed every time.”

Hell’S pizza bar opened in New Delhi about a year ago, with a heavily vegetarian menu.

“It’s also going OK. “The thing there is the ground rent is humungous, because you’ve got so many people on so little land. They’re paying about $15,000 a month in rent; for some of our shops here that’s what we pay in a year.

“The other problem there is bribes: our guy there pays thousands of dollar a month to the cops, council, local officials ... you name it.”

The global recession has taken a toll on Hell. Its franchise in Ireland is changing hands after its master franchisor pulled out last month, and McMullin and fellow directors Callum Davies and Warren Powell are preparing to take over the Australian franchise after a difficult few years that saw its Australian franchisee slash the number of outlets there from 10 to two.

Business has been rosier back home. Its Masterton store broke Hell records when it turned over about $50,000 in its opening week this

winter. But McMullin says it has now probably reached saturation in New Zealand.

The company is looking to introduce new store models to help grow sales here – the details of which are firmly under wraps for the moment.

One plan is to franchise its Hell on Wheels caravans – which currently service big events in Wellington and Auckland, he says.

“You’d only have a small initial outlay and then you could cruise around different towns.”

The company has courted public controversy on numerous occasions, including in 2006 when condoms mailed out to promote its “Lust” meat pizza attracted a record 685 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.

“Our strategy has always been to be noisy in the market. Controversial has always come with us but it’s never been our aim.”

McMullin says Hell is a lot bigger now, but little has changed since the days of serving university students out of the Kelburn squash club.

Established in 1996, Hell was sold to Burger King owner Tasman Pacific Foods in 2006,then bought back in 2009 by current directors Stu McMullin, Callum Davies and Warren Powell.

FBT I February 2012

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Christchurch to get a pizza the action again Famous Christchurch pizza restaurant Winnie Bagoes could be serving up slices soon, after owner Geoff Cavell, approached Recover Canterbury for help with re-opening in the new year.

He is now on the verge of buying a building within the four avenues where he plans to reopen his pizza restaurant, but also wants to redevelop the site into a live entertainment venue, according to the Christchurch Press.

It won’t be a cheap process – the costs will include council compliance costs and earthquake-strengthening work on top of the standard fit-out expenses.

Design company Element 17 director Steve Rosling, who will manage the fit-out and design for Winnie Bagoes’ new premises, said the project could be in the region of $800,000 to $1 million dollars and take three to four months to complete.

Cavell’s business partner suggested he contact Recover Canterbury to see if it could contribute in some way.

“I feel a bit guilty knocking on the door,” Cavell said.

But something had to give after relocating twice and carrying the costs.

On September 4, 2010 Winnie

Bagoes’ Gloucester St premises were damaged by first big quake and the shop was closed down for several weeks before re-opening in Colombo St..

“When we moved to Colombo St we thought, ‘This is perfect’, then we got four months’ trade and - bang,” Cavell said.

When the business reopened on Colombo St its turnover shotup 80 per cent, and that helped Cavell when he claimed on his business interruption insurance, as those figures were what the payment was based on.

“The new model will require a lot of extra expense for us, to cater for good

quality live entertainment,” Cavell said.

Insurance, however, is proving expensive, and difficult to find. Cavell said his quoted insurance premium had gone from $9000 to $70,000 plus GST. His excess, for material damage cover, has gone from $2500 to $180,000.

The alternative is for Cavell to just pay for business interruption insurance and material damage cover for equipment and furnishing for about $4000 and not insure the building.

“It’s all risk. Do I put $70,000 in, and feel good when I go to bed and the aftershocks are going, or do I take this punt?”

Wattie’s Tomatoes are specially grown to achieve maximum flavour meaning you can use less and still achieve the rich tomato flavour desired.

www.wattiesfoodservice.co.nz

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FBT I February 2012

“ McCAIN’S

BEER BATTER FRIES ARE ALMOST AS POPULAR AS OUR

BEER

”.

Quality and consistency are important ingredients

“That’s why I like McCAIN A-grade Beer Batter

to create a foodservice experience that generates

Steak fries. They’re a great size, look good on the

repeat business. And according to Kyle Wade of

plate, and customers love their taste. In fact, apart

Auckland’s hip new bar, Fort Street Union, using

from our beer, they’re our best seller”

the right fry is a key to achieving that.

Kyle adds, “We’re part of a group of seven venues,

“Offering a consistent, quality fry has been

and we only use McCAIN Fries. The bottom line is,

extremely important to our business,” he says.

if your fries aren’t great, you lose business.”

Ah McCain... you’ve done it again!

For more information talk to your McCAIN Sales Representative or call our National Sales office on (09) 526 6640.

g n i g a k Pac Looking for someone that understands packaging and knows the vital role it plays in the success of your

products?

Ricpac Packaging is a company specializing in solutions for the food industry. Whether it’s a large manufacturer, a supermarket, a bakery, a coffee shop, a neighborhood takeaway, an ethnic restaurant, your local fish and chip shop ….or any other category that may come to mind, Ricpac is interested in them all and prides themselves in taking a personal interest in all their customers – big or small.

As a family-owned and -operated company, the staff at Ricpac are passionate about what they do and having been in the industry for many years have an immense knowledge of anything to do with packaging and the presentation of food.

They understand the massive role packaging plays in the success of your product. Whether it’s a simple paper bag, or a stunning custom made solution, the staff at Ricpac enjoys the challenge of finding just the right product to suit your situation. Ricpac stock all the major brands of packaging available in New Zealand along with their own product range they

have designed and sourced from many different parts of the world.

Service is of utmost importance to them and they are conscious of the need for efficiency in this important niche market. They have chosen to specialize in the food packaging industry which offers their customer a unique advantage. Because of their concentrated focus they have qualities unique in the industry.

With their head office being based in Christchurch it has been a challenging year or so and almost overwhelming at times watching some of their loyal customers struggling and suffering in the extreme situations and challenges this city has faced and still currently faces.

However, Ricpac has been there for them in their time of need and has enjoyed working hand in hand with many customers who have been through so much and being there for them as they pick up the threads in getting re-established.

It has shown the importance of being small enough to care for each and every customer and their needs

Ricpac Packaging 12

FBT I February 2012

and problems and providing simple solutions in helping in the way forward. Ricpac has a lot to offer anyone in the food industry and has a large loyal customer base spread throughout New Zealand.

By now you will be aware that if you are not already a loyal Ricpac customer and use any packaging for food it would be in your best interest to contact the friendly staff at Ricpac today and experience for yourself the kind of service and help that you desire from your suppliers.

It is also worth noting that

Freephone 0800 730 750

Ricpac is a one stop solution provider to the food industry and often works in with head offices of various different companies to provide a custom packaging solution from one source that is not only competitive but also maintains uniform image across a franchise while making the maximum retail impact.

Don’t delay, contact Ricpac today and join their large base of happy, contented customers knowing that your need becomes their interest in finding the ultimate solution to any problem you may have.

www.ricpac.co.nz

Huhtamaki

Cutting down waste through

packaging Sustainable packaging has become the tool of choice to combat food waste in the US as a global push towards sustainability carries the food industry along as well.

“What it comes down to is this overall commitment in the industry to sustainability,” according to Meghan Stasz, director of sustainability for the US Grocery Manufacturers Association.

“When we think about sustainability as a whole, we are looking to minimize waste.

That’s both packaging waste and food waste.

For the most part, we are doing that through innovation. So sustainable packaging that also prevents food waste is really a win all around, and that’s where the two tie in.”

The food waste problem in the US is massive – even worse than New Zealand.

There is no exact number in terms of either how much food waste is generated in the US or how much is disposed of, but more than 30 million tonnes are being sent to landfill.

The causes of food waste vary, but obvious losses occur along the supply chain due to spoilage, especially with fresh or frozen foods. But there are also other causes that people don’t think of right away when they think about food waste. These can be things like mislabeled packaging or mislabeled product. A lot of times what happens with mislabeled products is when they get to the retail environment or somewhere along the supply chain, they are recognized as mislabeled, and often they are thrown away. That’s an opportunity for donation.

That’s certainly what the major food banks all across the country will tell you. These food banks are really working with both the

retail and the consumer products industry to help make the process easier for the decision maker to donate that food to a food bank. The food bank can then help fix the label, make sure that it’s accurate and meets all standards and requirements, and then turn that perfectly nutritious, healthy food over to their customers.

From an environmental perspective, food waste in a landfill creates methane gas, which is a very potent greenhouse gas— more potent than carbon dioxide. Mitigating that greenhouse gas helps on the climatechange front and on the resulting carbon charges, whether or not you are a believer in anthropogenic global warming.

In terms of economic impact, there are tremendous efficiency gains that can be made by taking a hard look at supply chains and seeing if we can find value in what we previously thought of as waste.

There seems to be an overwhelming perception by consumers that food packaging is wasteful, but the food industry can change that perception. Consumers interact with packaging in a very intense, personal way. They use it every day; it’s something they think about a lot. Packaging is there to protect the product, so helping consumers understand its role and also telling the story of all that the industry is doing to make packaging more sustainable will really help change that perception.

Sharing stories of packaging innovation and redesign and the reasoning and the technology behind these initiatives is really powerful and has an impact on consumers, because consumers do care.

committed to innovation One of New Zealand’s leading packaging companies is committed to sustainability in the food industry, using only materials that are either fully recyclable or from certified sustainable sources.

Huhtamaki provides an extensive product range including hot and cold paper cups, plastic and paper ice cream containers, tubs and lids for spreads, dips and margarine and for the dairy industry. Their company is a major supplier to the QSR (quick service restaurant) market sector both locally globally.

Ron Hill says Huhtamaki manufactures in both paper and plastics across fifteen different technologies at their Henderson Auckland site and is careful to listen to customer requests for new products.

“At the moment we are enjoying high levels of enquiry from the trade for new and improved products, NPD being the life blood of any manufacturing entity keen to keep pace with new technology,” he says.

“We have a number new product development projects underway, the results of which will go to market in the second half of the year.”

The company has been operating out of its Henderson site since the early 1960s and is part of the global Huhtamaki group, which manufactures in 35 countries.

“Huhtamaki is committed to investing in the support of the New Zealand food and beverage industries and in particular initiatives around recycling and sustainability where we have much to offer in terms of design and manufacturing capabilities,” Mr Hill says.

FBT I February 2012

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