MALCOLM DIACK (OTAGO LOCUSTS) www.foodtechnology.co.nz 83 SPATNZ (Next Generation Shellfish) Greenshell Mussels are unique to New Zealand, making them one of this country’s most iconic seafood heroes. Until now, mussel growers have relied on catching wild spat (baby mussels) around the coastline. Shellfish Production and Technology NZ is developing commercial Greenshell mussel hatcheries with breeding programmes to increase the value of the product yield. SPatnz’s hatchery now has guaranteed monthly spawning of around three billion embryos, which are transferred to sea hatcheries and then nurtured to allow for rapid gains in meat weight. The company is also developing specialised branded products, such as anti-inflammatory mussel oil for the bioactive market, with higher returns per kilo. The venture is a collaboration between industry and the Minister for Primary Industries. www.spatnz.co.nz MENULOG (AUCKLAND) XO.BITES (AUCKLAND) With a range of melt-in-your-mouth biscuits, Xo-Bites is living its motto – happiness is homemade. The company is bringing back the baking of childhood, all in bite-sized, home-made and made to order bikkies that are fresh and tasty. The range includes choc chip, caramel pecan, chewy caramel, peanut butter and three colours of shortbread. www.xobitesnz.com People have been eating insects and their eggs and larvae for thousands of years, but with the world's population rising to an estimated 10 billion by 2050, there's a renewed interest in consuming insects as an eco-friendly source of protein. Malcolm Diack is a locust farmer and breeds what he calls "sky prawns" in at his company Otago Locusts in Dunedin, which won the novel food category at the New Zealand Food Awards in 2017. Since winning the title, Diack has been flat out with interest from the industry, and says he ate his first locust in 2011 after reading a story about Israelis eating them for protein. “It tasted really good,” he says. The entrepreneur, who learnt to raise locusts as part of a past frog-rearing company, now sells to restaurants across New Zealand and wants more customers on his list. More than 10,000 locusts were sold for human consumption last year, and Diack enlarged his farm and purchased two insulated shipping containers to cope with the business’s capacity of 6000 live locusts a week. nz.linkedin.com/ in/malcolm-diack-392055127 For the first time this year, New Zealand’s largest online food delivery service will deliver dinner to hungry movie and concert-goers from local restaurants surrounding 12 of the most popular events in Auckland Council’s Music and Movies in Parks series. Menulog and its local restaurant partners will deliver to eight Movies in Parks events and four free music concerts, and Menulog commercial director Paul Dodds says the more than 500 Auckland restaurants involved will be able to showcase their food to locals and visitors. www.menulog.co.nz
FT-Annual Directory 2018-eMag
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