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March 2020 • Vol. 13 No. 3
Plant-based feature (see page 18)
AVAILABLE
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editorialcomment PLANT BASED CONTINUES TO GROW Reports continue to show that the sales of plant-based foods have increased year on year and proven to be a key driver of growth for retailers nationwide. Leading drivers include plant-based milks, meatless meats, dairy alternatives and plant-based meals. In the USA, the plant-based meat category alone is worth over $900 million, an increase of 18 percent on the previous year, with chilled plant-based meat driving the growth. According to Plant and Food Research New Zealand, the country’s current protein production is focussed on proteins sourced from dairy and meat and there is ongoing discussion on where the sustainability limits are for meat and dairy production, and what role diversification of protein sources to include plant-based protein might play in our premium future foods.
Sarah Mitchell Editorial Director
sarah@reviewmags.com
In the plant-based category, NPD means that there is high demand for plant proteins sourced locally. Despite the fact that there is significant innovation coming from overseas, there are opportunities for brands in New Zealand to capitalise on local sources and utilise protein research, and while there is scope for smaller production lines, the industry needs to look at ways this can be increased to be able make its mark internationally. “The majority of plant proteins used in the New Zealand food industry are manufactured overseas (e.g. gluten in Australia/Europe, yellow pea protein in Canada/Europe),” the report stated in the Opportunities in Plant-Based Foods by Plant and Food Research NZ. “Many of the requirements for isolating and manufacturing plant proteins are similar to those for dairy proteins. It is likely that engineering expertise and manufacturing capability from the dairy industry could be applied to manufacturing plant proteins. The main issue around this approach is the willingness of the dairy sector equipment suppliers to provide pilot-scale equipment of sufficient size to develop the ingredients.”
ATTENTION GROCERY SUPPLIERS The Food and Grocery Council is an industry association for grocery suppliers providing members networking, events, industry information and strong advocacy. Contact us for information on the benefits of membership: katherine.rich@fgc.org.nz • Networking • Industry Updates • Conference and Events • Education and Training • Advocacy and Law Reform
food& grocery COUNCIL NEW ZEALAND
www.fgc.org.nz
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SupermarketNews is published under license. Please direct all enquiries and correspondence to SupermarketNews. The opinions and material published in this edition of SupermarketNews are not necessarily those of the publishers unless specifically stated. All material in this publication is copyright and may only be reproduced with the consent of the publisher. Copyright 2020
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ISSN No.
PETER MITCHELL Tania Walters, tania@reviewmags.com Kieran Mitchell, kieran@reviewmags.com Sarah Mitchell, sarah@reviewmags.com Caitlan Mitchell, caitlan@reviewmags.com Felicity-Anne Flack, felicity@reviewmags.com Harsha Thanthriwatte, harsha@reviewmags.com Raymund Sarmiento, raymund@reviewmags.com Debby Wei, debby@reviewmags.com
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food& grocery COUNCIL NEW ZEALAND
The NEW ZEALAND BEVERAGE COUNCIL is an industry association whose members cover all aspects of the non-alcoholic beverage market both in New Zealand and the export markets. The Council members are spread throughout New Zealand and come together annually for a conference that covers industry issues and is addressed by international speakers. The organisation monitors product quality, sets standards for the industry and runs national competitions and awards.
THE NEW ZEALAND BEVERAGE COUNCIL (NZBC) P.O. Box 47, AUCKLAND 1140, New Zealand. Email: info@nzbc.nz Phone: +64 9 309 6100 DDI: +64 9 302 9932
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news CELEBRATING 30 YEARS
REAL-TIME SALES APP LAUNCH Countdown has launched a new app called Compass, which enables its supplier partners to more closely monitor sales of their products in any Countdown store. Available for free on both ios and Android, Compass draws on historical sales patterns to calculate dynamic daily sales expectations for every product in every store. The app generates alerts for suppliers if sales drop below expectations, giving them the knowledge and opportunity to quickly identify and fix potential outof-stocks or other issues. Countdown’s General Manager Merchandise & Replenishment, Steve Mills, said after seeing the app in action in Woolworths in Australia, many local suppliers had been asking for it to be made available here too. “We’re expecting Compass to be a really valuable tool for our suppliers, to help them understand what’s happening in any one store in realtime, but also to be able to act on that knowledge. “For example, there might be a product which is flying off the shelves somewhere but currently a supplier won’t always get that information with enough time to make a change for tomorrow. With Compass we’ll
all have that knowledge. Likewise, if there’s a product which isn’t selling as well as we expected, why is that? Is there stock on the shelf, have we got the display right and what else could be done to fix it?” “Not only does Compass let you view live planograms in every store as soon as they’re available, it also enables you to see stock on hand, stock on order, stock in transit, price information and presentation levels. One of the biggest benefits of Compass however is the ability for our suppliers’ reps to print shelf tickets. This request sends the ticket directly to the printing queue for our Price Integrity managers, which speeds changes up no end,” said Mills. “We see Compass as a genuine winwin because a lost sale for a supplier is most likely an unsatisfied Countdown customer as well. We believe that the introduction of Compass here has the potential to recoup real value for suppliers while improving availability for our customers at the same time.” Countdown has already piloted Compass with eight local suppliers, and the feedback has been resoundingly positive. n
Four Square Te Anau have celebrated team member Helen Meredith’s 30th anniversary with the store. Helen first started with Four Square Te Anau in 1990, where she served as a checkout operator. Fast forward thirty years, and you can still find her managing the store’s checkouts, stocking shelves or helping customers find what they’re looking for. Highlights for Helen have included meeting people from all over the world, as well as meeting TV personalities and sports stars. Another fond memory of hers is when the store received the friendliest retail award for destination Fiordland. “Four Square Te Anau has a special place in my heart. I love working on the checkouts and interacting with locals on a daily basis, as they are now my family. The tourists who visit our store are always so friendly and are eager to learn more about NZ,” said Meredith. “The local community love Helen, and she is known to be friendly, reliable and will greet locals by name. When we first took over Four Square Te Anau, Helen helped us get to grips with the local community. She is now a part of our wider family, with our two boys excited to see her on checkouts when they pop in,” said store owner operator Marissa Bruce. Four Square Te Anau put on a morning tea with their staff to celebrate Helen’s milestone.
Helen was showered with cake, flowers, bubbles as well as a shout on their local More FM radio station. They also had fun decorating her checkout ensuring customers new about the momentous occasion. On February 14th Four Square Te Anau put on a morning tea with their staff to celebrate Helen’s milestone. Helen was showered with cake, flowers, bubbles as well as a shout on their local More FM radio station. They also had fun decorating her checkout ensuring customers knew about the momentous occasion. Four Square Te Anau have been owned and operated by Marissa and Callum Bruce since 2015. n
HOT CROSS BUN CRAZE Hot cross buns are flying off the shelves at PAK’nSAVE Taupo in the lead up to Easter. Taupo’s most popular Easter treat has seen the local PAK’nSAVE store lead in North Island hot cross bun sales over the past four weeks. “We have been selling hot cross buns since early February and they have been flying off the shelves. Compared to this time last year our sales have more than doubled with locals and tourists alike picking up the festive treat. With an amazing bakery team led by manager Amandeep Singh, we’re able to keep up with customer demand,” said store owneroperator Chris Grace. “Our team are really getting into the Easter spirit this year. We are fully embracing the challenge of meeting customer demand by
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producing as many freshly-made in-house hot cross buns as possible,” said Amandeep Singh. Over the years, New Zealand hot cross bun trends have started to evolve. There is still a significant amount of demand for traditional hot cross buns, but there are new flavours being introduced. New flavours such as brioche and chocolate are gaining popularity and contributing to the growing demand for hot cross buns. “Our customers like variety and are not afraid to try new things, which is why we have broadened our range of the festive treat. We believe that our success is attributed to the range of different flavours, our amazing bakery team and their passion for baking the freshest treats, and Taupo’s high tourism numbers. Hot cross buns are such a nice, “once a year” treat and our customers are making the most of them being in store,” said Grace. n
OPPORTUNITY FOR CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION Having spent over 18 months in the New Zealand market already with its No Meat Mince product, and more recently Mexican and Bolognese meal solutions, The Craft Meat Company have some big news. The team are excited to be releasing products in May that have been two years in development, Classic Hemp and Chipotle Burgers alongside its Old English and Chorizo Sausages. The company’s goal is to make great tasting NZ-made plant protein products with a focus on being good for people and good for the planet. Evidence based eating is an interesting conversation to be a part of, and leading, and people are up for it, according to director Justin Lemmens. “Agree or disagree, whether the drivers are health, animal welfare or the increasing focus on sustainable food sources people want to talk and make decisions about it,” said Lemmens. Lemmens has 20 years’ experience in food manufacturing, business and brand growth in the foodservice and retail sector in New Zealand, while joint shareholder Kyran Rei has 20+ years in cheffing and food manufacturing and is leading the
technical development, NPD and sustainability drive. “From a nutritional standpoint, all The Craft Meat Company products use hemp. Considered one of the most nutritionally complete food sources in the world, the hemp in the product range delivers a complete essential amino acid profile also increasing the total consumable protein content, sitting comparably to animal based sources. We combine that with pea protein which is a good source of iron.” says Rei Also, high in dietary fibre, the range of products are low in cholesterol,
low sugar and low in saturated fat are among the other benefits. The ingredients used are of natural origin and GMO free, including some pretty cool one’s like seaweed based sausage casings. As a result of being plant based, the team at The Craft Meat Company can say its products are definitely hormone and antibiotic free. Parent company Sustainable Foods have fantastic teams at its sites in Wellington and Dunedin. “We believe saving the world can taste great and are committed to minimalising our water footprint and reducing or eliminating plastic.
Obviously one of the fundamentals of a plant based diet is it is less intensive to produce environmentally.” Sustainable Foods joint shareholders Justin Lemmens and Kyran Rei have a combined 45 years’ experience in FMCG and access to operations and logistics to service 400+ Retail Customers Nationwide on a daily basis. “We’re proud to be New Zealand made, and rapt to have the opportunity to provide Aotearoa a conscious consumption opportunity that will of course, be delicious.” n
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internationalaisle HOOP’S NEW PARTNERSHIP
WONDER FOOD Food lovers the world over are going crackers over a new egg that has been developed in Australia. The raw, smoked eggs from The Smoked Egg Company have wowed international audiences at the recent Gulifoods trade exhibition in Dubai. Creators Paul and Julie Kos
have built on their best-practice free range egg farm to deliver a world-first egg that tastes great and eliminates the threat of salmonella. As an added bonus, the smoked eggs have an extended shelf life. Eggs are the most used ingredient in the kitchen and the new smoked egg is a game changer. n
SALES OF KEFIR SKYROCKET A yoghurt-like milk drink containing ‘gut-friendly’ bacteria looks set to be one of the major food trends of 2020 after sales dramatically rocketed in the last year. Kefir, was until recently, a very niche dairy product in the UK – bought mainly by Eastern European shoppers, a region where it is very popular. But now demand for kefir drinks has begun soaring with Tesco seeing a 400 per cent rise in the last 18 months. Food experts believe that could be down to its probiotic qualities with kefir containing 40 types of gut-friendly bacteria as well as being a rich source of protein, calcium and vitamins.
“Shoppers are really switching on to gut-health and demand for kefir is now so strong that in the last few years we have nearly doubled our range and we have plans to add more this year,” said Tesco Dairy Drinks buyer Vicky Smith. “Its popularity has been building, mainly by word of mouth, on a monthly basis to the extent that now we stock seven different drinks as well as four yoghurt variants. The original natural variety has a slightly sour but wonderfully creamy taste. Last year in order to widen its popularity we added cherry, strawberry plus mango and turmeric flavours.” n
New Zealand brand activation specialist Hoop has formed a joint venture with Australia’s largest pure play co-packer LJM to fill the gap in New Zealand’s co-packing market. The partnership will position the companies as the leading retail co-packing specialists for New Zealand suppliers, with the first run scheduled for May 2020. LJM, employing over 500 people across seven high-tech sites in New South Wales and Victoria (50,000sqm including Multipack LJM), moves approximately 60 million packaged products across 1000 SKU annually
MORE APPEELING The team at Allen’s lollies have officially gone bananas and covered its beloved banana lolly in milk chocolate. Creating the perfect bite-sized treat, the new Allen’s Mini Chocolate Bananas are a mouthwatering combination of creamy chocolate and banana flavour. “Allen’s bananas have always been a standout favourite in our lolly range, and we know our fans who like them, really LOVE them! However, we know the unique texture and bold banana flavour might not be for everyone, but now that they’re covered in chocolate, we don’t know how anyone could resist?!” said Nestlé Head of Marketing Confectionery, Joyce Tan. n
SOFT PLASTIC RECYCLING TREBLES Sustainability organisation RED Group will be able to treble the amount of soft plastic it collects for recycling thanks to a $430,000 grant from the Coles Nurture Fund. RED Group will use the grant to purchase new processing technology and three new vehicles to increase collection and recycling of soft plastic across Australia.
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for national and global FMCG, food, beverages, spirits and pharmaceuticals companies. The aim of the joint venture is to be the go-to service provider for all co-packing requirements in the New Zealand market, enabling local suppliers to design and build specialist promotional activities. “The co-packing industry in New Zealand is fragmented. There is a huge gap in the market for a dedicated copacker to enter and drive the industry forward. LJM’s strong co-packing track record, size, intellectual property and technology combined with Hoop’s marketing and promotional capabilities are expected to be embraced by FMCG brands,” said Chris Hood, Director at Hoop Ltd. n
The grant comes nine years after the launch of the REDcycle programme at Coles, where customers can drop off their soft plastics to be recycled into a wide range of products such as outdoor furniture, road base and garden edging. Coles CEO, Steven Cain said the need to support recycling solutions was now more important than ever. “We want to be the most sustainable supermarket in Australia and drive generational sustainability in the country,” said Cain. “With the volume of soft plastics collected by Coles rising by as much as 32 percent last financial year, we want to help find more Australian solutions for recovered material.” n
CH’I SECURES BUNDABERG’S DISTRIBUTION Effective from 1 April, a sales representation agreement has been signed by the Ch’i Drinks Workshop and Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Kiwi subsidiary, Neill, Cropper & Co Ltd.
Kiwi-owned herbal drinks business, Ch’i Drinks Workshop, has announced a partnership with a subsidiary of Australian premium soft drink player Bundaberg Brewed Drinks — a move which will significantly upskill Ch’i’s sales and distribution, as well as improve reach and visibility across New Zealand retail and hospitality markets. Auckland-based Neill, Cropper & Co has been operating in New Zealand for over 100 years and is Bundaberg Brewed Drinks’ long-established importer and distributor in New Zealand. “As distributors in the ‘premium soft drinks’
sector, Neill, Cropper & Co fully appreciate the consumer passion for Ch’i, but at the same time they’ve witnessed our distribution gaps,” said Ray Nicholls, owner of Ch’i International. “Neill, Cropper & Co are helping secure a much stronger position for delivering a larger stream of herbal drinks.” The partnership will enable Neill, Cropper & Co to capture Ch’i’s unrealised brand value by improving their overall distribution and availability. The deal will give them access to food, hospitality and impulse outlets.
“Ch’i has short-changed New Zealand’s retail trade by not providing the support and focus required in the competitive FMCG business. This means, with Bundaberg Brewed Drinks’ distribution horsepower, you can expect to see Ch’i drinks on more café menus and drinks lists, which is something consumers have asked for.” While Neill, Cropper & Co is set to represent Ch’i out in the field, it has been agreed that all transporting and invoicing of Ch’i products be carried out by the Ch’i Drinks Workshop. This is believed to be the most efficient model. “Our sole focus on the Ch’i Drinks Workshop will be making their drinks and ideas available to as many consumers as possible. This is an integral business function for us, we strive to be a major value contributor to our partners in the various reseller channels,” said Neill, Cropper & Co Director, Andrew Cowsill. “Neill, Cropper & Co’s mission is to achieve outstanding sales results in the premium drinks sector, and we are very excited about the opportunities this partnership presents.” Both organisations have been supplying premium beverage brands to New Zealand since the 1980s and are keen to further their relationship if the timing is right. “Bundaberg Brewed Drinks has distribution arrangements in over 60 countries, including Europe, United Kingdom, United Sates, Asia and Middle East. Any future partnerships with Ch’i beyond New Zealand remain up for discussion,” said Nicholls. “Bundaberg Brewed Drinks doesn’t partner with just anyone. They are proven and cautious. We expect a three-fold effect: Ch’i will be available in higher volumes; brand awareness will grow; and we can now execute a new series of drink ideas. It’s an exciting time.” n
DRINKS FOR THE MOMENTS YOUR CUSTOMERS FIRST. DRINKS FOR THE MOMENTS YOUR DRINKS DRINKSFOR FORPUT THE THETHEMSELVES MOMENTS MOMENTSYOUR YOUR CUSTOMERS PUT THEMSELVES FIRST. CUSTOMERS CUSTOMERSPUT PUTTHEMSELVES THEMSELVESFIRST. FIRST.
New ideas in premium New ideas New New ideas ideas in premium inbeverages. inpremium premium beverages. beverages. beverages. 750ml 330ml 330ml 300ml 750ml 330ml 330ml 300ml Naturally Alkaline Handcrafted Fun nostalgic The Original D RI Naturally Alkaline Handcrafted Fun nostalgic The Original CH’I CH’I D RI NK NK SS WO WO RK RK SS H HO OP P RIVE RIVE RH RH EAD EAD NEW NEW ZEAL ZEAL AND AND water extracts flavours herbal water with with record record extracts of of Ginger Ginger flavours of of New New herbal drink drink since since 750ml 330ml 330ml 300ml 750ml 750ml 330ml 330ml 330ml 300ml 300ml www.chidrinks.com high pH pH tested at at 9.7. 9.7. and Cardomom. Zealands favourite 1987, now www.chidrinks.com high tested and330ml Cardomom. Zealands favourite 1987, now in in a a For more information Naturally Alkaline Handcrafted Fun nostalgic The Original CH’I D SSWO RK SO Naturally Naturally Alkaline Alkaline Handcrafted Handcrafted Fun Fun nostalgic nostalgic The The Original Original CH’I CH’I Bottled at at CH’I’s CH’I’s Warming recyclable DRIDRI NK RINK NK S WO WO RK RK S Hlocal SHHPOOPP contact your Bottled Warming brighter brighter baked baked cafe cafe treat. treat. recyclable glass glass RIVE RH NEW ZEAL AND RIVE RIVE RH EAD RHEAD EAD NEW NEW ZEAL ZEAL AND AND water with record extracts of Ginger flavours of New herbal drink since water water with with record record extracts extracts of of Ginger Ginger flavours flavours of of New New herbal herbal drink drink since since Neill Cropper representative. unique original original flavours. single unique flavours. single portion. portion. www.chidrinks.com high pH tested 9.7. and Cardomom. Zealands favourite 1987, now www.chidrinks.com www.chidrinks.com high high pH pH tested tested atat at 9.7. 9.7. and and Cardomom. Cardomom. Zealands Zealands favourite favourite 1987, 1987, now now inin a inaa source source Bottled CH’I’s Warming brighter baked cafe treat. recyclable glass Bottled Bottled atat at CH’I’s CH’I’s Warming Warming brighter brighter baked baked cafe cafe treat. treat. recyclable recyclable glass glass unique original flavours. single portion. unique unique original original flavours. flavours. single single portion. portion. source source source March 2020
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