Alliance is extending its range of branded premium cuts but is also looking at ways to capture the history and production values of its suppliers to underpin its product range.
An increasing number of meat and dairy exporters are targeting discerning consumers with products that meet their environmental and animal welfare expectations.
First Light managing director Gerard Hickey says suppliers of its beef and venison have to meet certain provenance, welfare and market standards that consumers are prepared to pay a premium for.
Silver Fern Farms’ Plate to Pasture brand underpins its production values, but will this year launch net carbon zero beef into the US and is seeking suppliers to commit to regenerative agriculture, all of which will pay premium prices.
Chief executive Simon Limmer says it has 3500 suppliers certified to NZ Farm Assurance Plan (NZFAP) programme, representing 94% of sheepmeat and 58% of beef supply.
“We are targeting 600 suppliers into the new NZFAP Plus extension programme by the end of 2023,” Limmer said.
Limmer sees a low-carbon economy as an opportunity to create new forms of value through being climate positive and hailing farmers as climate innovators.
Alliance is extending its range of branded premium cuts but is also looking at ways to capture the history and production values of its suppliers to underpin its product range.
Hickey says the Government and NZ public expectations on environmental issues and climate change, reflect those of discerning global consumers.
While it was established to supply venison and beef that met animal welfare standards, Hickey says environmental values and addressing climate change concerns is something his innovative suppliers will willingly take a lead.
“Our farmers are typically attached to and interested in the market beyond the farm gate and have a particular mindset,” Hickey said.
“They are attuned to what our target consumers require and will pay a premium for.”
Hickey says NZ needs to tell our story, especially given a global food production trend he is observing.
“Increasingly the world is moving in two directions,” he said.
“One is big money investing in big science, which is developing new artificial proteins, and the other is specialist producers targeting consumers who want natural food that is naturally produced and which cares for the environment, the farmer and the animal.
“If we don’t tell our story, we’re going to get pulled into competing with big money and big science.”
Climate Change Minister James Shaw is not surprised companies like SFF are using commercial drivers to influence change among their suppliers.
“The big processors like Silver Fern, Fonterra, Synlait and others are the ones who have to sell what it is that we produce,” Shaw said.
“In many ways they are closest to the market signal and what they are saying is ‘If we don’t fix this, then we will find that there is restricted market access’.
“At the very least that will come in the form of change to consumer behaviour or dropping off of consumer demand.”
Shaw says some major multinationals that NZ supplies food and fibre product to expect to see reduced emissions from production.
“And that if we don’t, then they will no longer buy our product – that’s the stick end of it,” he said.
“The carrot end of it is that we also know, particularly in the US market but also in the EU and the UK markets, that product that can be demonstrated to be low or zero emissions, is regenerative and/or organic, has a brand provenance to it that consumers want and are willing to pay a premium for.
“Conveniently, the things that you need to do to reduce your emissions will also help with the branding of your product and actually increase the value that you get for that.
“To me that’s very consistent with the strategy that the agricultural sector has had for some time, which is to shift away from volume as the primary measure to value as the primary measure.”
Anzco is a founding member of the NZ Farm Assurance Plan (NZFAP) and Grant Bunting, its supply chain manager, says the voluntary scheme can provide evidence that product meets these thresholds.
NZFAP provides independent verification of production standards and an assurance of product integrity, traceability, biosecurity, food safety, environmental sustainability and animal health and welfare.
Bunting says up to now, the key market-requirements for NZ red meat has been antibiotic-free and grass-fed, but he says NZFAP will provide evidence farmers are meeting production standards.
“There are not many at the moment that are a strong market access factor, but you would be foolish to think it won’t happen in the future,” Bunting said.
