Future of Food · Issue 02 · April 2024
Riches in niches
How well is the New Zealand food sector innovating to meet global demand?
Where we once had a few big companies exporting a handful of products, thousands of entrepreneurs now export hundreds of brands. That is where the future may lie.
Our co-ops and single-desk trading gave a small country real clout in commodities. But consumer demand is fracturing along almost individual lines, and since the early 2000s our high-volume sectors have shrunk while wine, infant formula, nutraceuticals and a quiet explosion of small brands serving niche audiences, especially in Asia, have grown.
This issue asks whether we are investing in the right skills to win those niches. Professor Joanne Hort makes the case that consumer and sensory science is the missing capability. Our companies still struggle to scale, few invest in understanding the end consumer, and marketing budgets are thin, which makes business-to-business relationships and good storytelling all the more important.
What the issue covers
- Contract packers and online channels have opened exporting to thousands of small brands.
- New Zealand companies still do not scale fast, and few invest in consumer research.
- Consumer research can prove demand and reveal problems that lead to real differentiation, although it cannot guarantee success.
- How we tell our innovation story to the world will matter as much as the products themselves.
A question to take to your next board or leadership meeting
What do you know about the person who eats your product that your competitors do not?
Work through it with me- Written by
- Vincent Heeringa and Dr Victoria Hatton
- With contributions from
- Anne Abraham, Fonterra Research and Development Centre
- Professor Joanne Hort, Massey University
- Gil Meron, Sprout
- Mrinali Kumar, Eat Kinda
- Tim Morris, Coriolis Research
- Dean Fraser, Ngāi Tahu Holdings
- Tanira Kingi, Climate Change Commissioner and independent director
The Future of Food series was originally published by FoodHQ Innovation Limited between 2024 and 2026, while I was Chief Executive. Each issue is reproduced here in full, with thanks to my co-authors, the contributors and FoodHQ's partners.