Neither of New Zealand’s two largest venison producers is now using the Cervena brand, with Alliance Group joining Silver Fern Farms to sell the product under its own brand.
That leaves only Duncan and Co and Mountain River using the Cervena brand, which was launched 30 years ago.
Deer Industry NZ venison marketing manager Nick Taylor said neither Alliance nor SFF has renewed its licence to use the Cervena brand, which targets foodservice.
Cervena has been focused on United States foodservice to provide a guarantee of quality, provenance and animal husbandry, and Taylor said it still has strong market recognition.
“Our focus target has been chefs to understand the difference with NZ product as opposed to other markets or feral venison, which for many consumers can be their first venison eating experience,” Taylor said.
The brand has primarily been used in the US, one of NZ’s largest single markets alongside Europe, where Taylor said there was some work done before covid struck.
The pandemic has prompted exporters to shift their focus to retail, hence their decision to use their own brands.
Alliance Group sales manager Shane Kingston said the co-op has invested heavily in its brands, particularly in the US.
“We are seeing increased sales of venison in supermarkets and online, and stronger brand recognition among shoppers,” Kingston said.
He said Alliance is capitalising on this investment.
“For us to align both our retail and food service promotions, it makes sense for our venison to be marketed clearly under our own brand.”
He said at the time Cervena was launched marketing companies did not have strong brands to take to retail.
“Cervena provided the common platform for the development of an industry quality-assurance programme and allowed the differentiation of young farm-raised venison in the US market.”
He said Alliance will continue to work alongside Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) to help drive marketing and promotional activities in the US.
Silver Fern Farms (SFF) is replacing the Cervena brand with its own branded venison from March, in line with its plate-and-pasture strategy for beef and lamb.
In a letter to suppliers, chief supply chain officer Dan Boulton says the shift in brands from Cervena and Silver Fern Farms follows requests from customers.
“While this does mean that SFF will not be using the Cervena licensing going forward, this is a really exciting opportunity to continue our investment in developing our venison markets by drawing on the success of our existing 100% product lines.”
He described the 100% programmes in lamb and prime Angus as the company’s flagship premium products, which is well-established and recognised by customers across key markets.
