ORGANIC VEGE SHORTAGE
When Goodness Kitchen exhausted all local supply options, the Nelson-based company
realised it couldn’t secure the 200 tonnes of organic vegetables it needed for its new range.
So the company reluctantly searched
further afield for commercial
quantities in order to supply the
mainstream market with synthetic
spray-free vegetables – heading to
Europe’s vast commercial growing
regions instead. Brand manager
Poppy Binning says the two-yearold
Depth, MF, UF and RO Filters QA, R&D Laboratory Filters Ultrapure Water Systems
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FT525
company is built around honest
and ethical supply, and with its
business progressing from frozen
fruit to frozen vegetables, it faced
a conundrum. “The opportunity
for organic vegetables in New
Zealand is sizable, she says. “New
Zealanders are becoming more and
more aware around what they are
putting into their bodies, and are
searching out wholesome artificial
spray-free options. As a nation, we
are wanting to make better food
choices every day. We were getting
approached time and time again
about artificial-spray-free options in
vegetables. It was no longer good
enough just to be New Zealand
grown.” Goodness Kitchen’s internal
research showed that consumers
were willing to pay for premium
quality frozen organics. “The range
has been independently certified
organic in New Zealand to Assure
Quality standards and carries their
logo on front of pack,” Binning says.
“Certification means the farming
processes are approved, and all
social and ethical practices have
been met through the whole supply
chain.” On looking to Europe,
the company found good quality
certified organics in the Netherlands,
Germany and Spain. “We wanted a
level of product that our consumers
can trust; our big drivers were quality,
safety, pricing and taste. We needed
to find a product that didn’t comprise
on taste and delivered to our honest
sourcing approach,” Binning says.
The company has launched five
new products into the New Zealand
market – mixed vegetables, garden
peas, sweet corn, green beans
and broccoli/cauliflower blend –
packed locally using sustainable
cardboard packaging and recyclable
soft plastics. Total organic fruit
accounts for 9.5% of sales over
the past quarter at Foodstuffs, with
total organics growing at 127% in
grocery and 9.5% of total frozen
fruit sales. In the most developed
markets, organic vegetables make
up to 10% of total frozen vegetable
sales.
www.goodnesskitchen.co.nz
68 ANNUAL DIRECTORY 2019
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