YOUR INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY REMEMBERS BLACKCURRANT ‘PIONEER’, KEITH OWEN Words by Anne Hardie During the 1980s, he was instrumental in the development of both boysenberry and blackcurrant fruit juice concentrates which enabled more opportunities for fruit not suitable for other purposes. Later, he moved into a consultancy role for the berryfruit industry and was appointed an independent director of the boysenberry co-operative – then known as Berryfruit Export Ltd. The science of food through advanced plant breeding techniques and high-tech processing was developing rapidly, but the gap between the science and the market was increasing. Keith drew on his background in science and market knowledge to clarify and explain such things as anthocyanins and polyphenolic compounds and their potential applications. The information was then made available to the industry to support marketing. Keith showing blackcurrants to representatives of Japanese food company, Meiji
Keith Owen was the driving force behind berryfruit research in New Zealand, striving for the science behind their health benefits to fully capture their potential. In the blackcurrant industry, Keith was recognised as the ’go to guy’ and New Zealand Blackcurrant Co-operative general manager, Mike Callagher, says the industry would not be where it is today without Keith’s drive for research. “He steered the industry in the direction of using the science,” he says. “Particularly working closely with Plant & Food Research to examine what was in blackcurrants and steering the health research of those ingredients to back up the marketing around the product. In that respect, he was pioneering. “The industry has benefited from that to this day and will continue to benefit.” Keith’s long career in the food industry began with a firstclass honour’s degree in industrial chemistry in the United Kingdom that led to a job with the multinational company Unilever. That brought him to New Zealand and ultimately a job with Newman’s Export Ltd – a company exporting frozen and processed boysenberries, blackcurrants, blackberries and even sphagnum moss to a wide range of markets throughout the world. 52 NZGROWER : OCTOBER 2021
In Japan, Keith helped to establish the differentiation of New Zealand blackcurrant anthocyanin to competing fruits and spent years supporting this work. It has resulted in ongoing added-value niche sales. His career covered various commercial and industry body roles which expanded opportunities for the entire berryfruit business. After his retirement, Keith continued his involvement with the berryfruit industry, including promoting the health benefits of New Zealand fruit in Japan. He also continued to work alongside various companies, assisting with documentation for importing fruit as well as advising on technical interpretation of information.
In the blackcurrant industry, Keith was recognised as the ’go to guy’ Always generous with his time, Keith mentored many people in both exporting and importing and empowered many people in their careers. His tireless efforts over the years and friendly manner earned him the Personality of the Year award in the New Zealand berryfruit industry. Keith passed away in August and is survived by his two sons, Stuart and Douglas and daughter-in-law, Karyn. He will be sorely missed by all.
