INNOVATION
GET READY FOR
BEEFY GREEN
Hemp seed food product manufacturer Beefy Green says
it is about to kickstart a fundamental revolution within the
New Zealand food industry.
As winners of FoodStarter – a competition
aimed at finding this country’s most
innovative food product currently under
development by a start-up business –
Beefy Green says its crusade to introduce Kiwis to
hemp food products has just got one step closer –
and it is promising an environmental and economic
landscape shift. Legislation allowing hemp to be
sold for human consumption has fuelled company
founders Brad Lake and Brendon McIntosh into
action to take full advantage. “New Zealand is the
last country in the world to allow hemp seeds to
be sold for human use,” McIntosh – a pharmacist
– says. “Wherever we looked, at any source
of information, the truly astounding benefits and
capabilities of this plant became undeniable. We
know that hemp seed is a plant-based answer
to many of our country’s health problems.” Lake,
an ASB rural banker, knows that the agricultural
sector is facing a head wind and that hemp has
an undeserved stigma in society. “But hemp is a
viable option for parts of our farming community,
for bioremediation of our soils, to clean up the
environment and provide massive environmental
and economic advantages to help combat some
of the issues facing farmers,” he says. “NZ Hemp
has the ability to meet the demands of a world
sourcing nutrition, in a sustainable form that fits
their needs. It has the ability to show not just each
other, but the world, that we are serious about our
need for change.” The pair entered FoodStarter
because they no longer wanted to sit on the sidelines,
observant and silent. “We wanted change,
so we are helping to create it. Driving demand for
New Zealand grown hemp-based products locally
and internationally is our drive,” Lake says. “We
will not allow archaic misconceptions to limit our
progress to a sustainable and powerful healthy,
environmental and economic future. This plant has
been the subject of unwarranted scrutiny. This has
to change, not just for the idea of Beefy Green,
but for the benefit of generations of Kiwis.” The
competition arose out of a Canterbury business
leaders’ discussion on how to promote and attract
high-growth businesses into the region. Foodstuffs
South Island and Ministry of Awesome - with the
backing of ChristchurchNZ, FoodSouth and a
handful of other key businesses - decided to fast
track their idea into reality. From 69 entries, Beefy
Green clinched the prize - more than $95,000 of
business incubation assistance and guaranteed
placement of their products on South Island New
World supermarket shelves. Winning this competition
will allow the company to complete the
development of the protein bar with industry expertise
and scale up its manufacturing. The other five
finalists had equally innovative and commercially
viable products…insect patties, flavoured sheep’s
milk, nitro coffee and flavour fuel in a jar. Ministry of
Awesome head Marian Johnson says Canterbury
is a hot-bed of opportunity and business innovation.
“It’s the perfect HQ for high growth food
and beverage entrepreneurs’ bold ambitions,” she
says. “As the city rebuilds and grows, the potential
is limitless, and this competition will help one
worthy business take advantage of the expertise
available locally.” ChristchurchNZ chief executive
Joanna Norris says Canterbury is the perfect spot
to nurture a high-growth food and beverage entrepreneur.
“We have a history of exploring innovation
that supports global trends…Beefy Green and their
ambitions are the latest example of this.”
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