Bronze Sponsors of the 2020/21 Market Report
The OANZ 2020/21 New Zealand Organic Sector Market Report explores the growth of the New Zealand organic market by capturing the current state of the domestic market across the entire supply chain.
Biological Husbandry Unit at Lincoln University, Biodynamics New Zealand, Chantal Organics, Commonsense Organics, IncaFé Organic Coffee, Jersey Girl Organics, Kings Seeds and Pāmu spoke to OANZ about why they chose to be bronze sponsors of the 2020/21 Market Report.
Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU) at Lincoln University
The BHU organic training College was established in 2007 to deliver hands-on programmes in partnership with Lincoln University.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
It’s a useful teaching tool for the BHU Organic College it’s great to be able to highlight market trends in class and put some numbers next to them.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
There seems to be a growing interest in the environmental and social bottom lines, this is highlighted by feedback from students and growing enrolment numbers
What are you doing to help the organics sector grow?
Education: Training over 400 students in hands-on organics over the past twelve years.
Research: The BHU Future Farming Centre (FFC) is dedicated to the science and extension of permanent and whole-system agriculture and horticulture, such as organic agriculture, agroecology, and regenerative agriculture for the benefit of all farmers and growers.
Community extension: Our business incubator programme for budding organic growers.
Biodynamics New Zealand
The New Zealand Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association (Inc) is a membership-based organisation promoting biodynamic methods.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
The market report is very important to our association as it outlines the current organic trends in the country. As an organic certifying organization it is very valuable information to us and our members. It helps to supply us with direct market information that we can use to help us look for government support in our sector.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
Over the last year of talking to people about organics, the precipitation that I find most interesting is that all organic products are created the same way because they use the same word. And the trust people have in that word.
What are you to help the organics sector grow?
We are trying to be more present and active in the organic sector, by supporting things like the market report. We have just started a new educational program to help do more training and education in different sectors.
Chantal Organics
Chantal Organics distributes to grocery and health food stores all over the country, supporting sustainable and organic farming to protect the planet and nourish the people.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
Being a smaller business that can’t afford detailed research, we rely on industry reports to guide our choices. We are especially curious about how the New Zealand consumer needs are changing and how they compare to consumers in other countries.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
We have noticed that in 2020 Covid-19 has accelerated consumers interest in all things health and wellness, and that plays perfectly into organics. We still have to explain and educate consumers on why they should pay a price premium, so this is an ongoing challenge for consumers and brand owners.
What are you to help the organics sector grow?
At Chantal Organics we have reset our brand and packaging to connect with a wider health and wellness audience. We have significantly modernised our packaging, introduced new products (eg Organic Trail Mix, Gluten-Free and Paleo breakfast range) and dialled up our sustainability initiatives, especially in regard to packaging. We have extended our social media communications, engagement and reach to help further educate consumers about the benefits of organics.
Commonsense Organics
Commonsense Organics is a family business based on three key values: Organic food, environmental sustainability and fair trade.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
The report is very important because it is the only ongoing research into the organic market in Aotearoa.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
Trust in organics continues to grow. The Covid-19 pandemic has woken some people up to the reality that the environment is not a subset of the economy. In order for the economy to thrive, we must have a thriving ecosystem and it is increasingly clear to people that organics is part of the solution.
What are you doing to help the organics sector grow?
Commonsense is the leading trusted retailer of organics in Aotearoa and support is growing for our brand. During level 4 lockdown, all our stores stayed open and we initiated deliveries from the stores that had not previously provided this service.
We support local organic growers and processors, and we support those who are moving towards organics but need encouragement. We provide growers with information on how to start the journey to certification, and we support processors to source organic ingredients.
We have also provided staff time to co-ordinate Organic Week last year in Wellington and provided the posters and graphics for this year. We have co-ordinated the Organic Traders Association since its inception and co-founder Marion Woods is also the Chair of the Soil & Health Association.
IncaFé Organic Coffee
IncaFé Organic Coffee is the ultimate blend of quality and sustainability.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
The market report is one of the few occasions where the growth of the organic sector and the support for the organic sector gets the limelight with parliament and national media — there is very little mainstream marketing around organics due to lack of funding. So the Market Report is, apart from providing very useful insights, one of the rare events where organics gets the limelight, outside the organic sector
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
It seems to grow in popularity within certain segments but there is no dialogue at all in mainstream New Zealand — other than in the organic sector — about the merits of organic agriculture and about the issues with non-organic agriculture. I am sure many people (academics) are quite scared about libel suits and I am sure many agriculture businesses are part-owned or receive funding from large corporations, not so much to discredit organic but to downplay or ignore environmental effects from non-organic agriculture. The same is happening globally with funding of university research since most research or university departments are majority funded by larger corporations. In politics, it seems to be completely ignored and not high on the agenda even by the Greens for tactical reasons. So from my perspective, I have not seen a major shift at all.
In general, information from the organic sector struggles to reach out and seems to target the already converted.
What are you to help the organics sector grow?
We changed our trading name years ago to clearly identify our organics roots. We continue to work on very thin margins to make high-quality organic coffee accessible to the greater public and we do everything we can to avoid organics from becoming this niche elite product only for people that can afford it or for a small segment of hard-core organic people. We participate in coffee events, magazines and other events where our main messaging is how good organics is for the environment, growers and for consumers.
Jersey Girl Organics
Jersey Girl Organics is committed to achieving circular sustainability and becoming an industry leader in upholding the ideals, principles and values of organic, sustainable farming.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
The market report highlights to the primary production sector the value and size of the organic business. Hopefully, this will lead to further investment and growth, strengthening the organic sector making it easier for small producers like ourselves. It also shows the value to policymakers who may feel moved to take measures to protect the integrity of the organic brand as well as put resources towards making it easier to work with other countries so that certification to their standards is not so onerous.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
Over the last couple of years, we feel there has been an elevation in the perception of organics both in the grower and exporter community and with consumers. There has been an increase in demand from cafes and manufacturers wanting organic milk.
What are you doing to help the organics sector grow?
We are facing customers every weekend at 5 farmers markets, answering questions and extolling the benefits of organic produce. We promote organic production methods as being better for the environment as it has less negative impacts than alternative systems.
King Seeds
Helping people and communities grow is at the heart of Kings Seeds, which have been selling organic seed for over 17 years.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
The Market Report gives us an overall perspective of organics in New Zealand and the depth of support it has. I think as a term, organics has been bandied around a lot in recent years and the wider public is unsure of exactly what it means.
I’m glad there is legislation now in place limiting companies from offering goods and products as organic without actually proving it through a registration system.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
My philosophy has always been to encourage the reduction of chemicals in our lives as I think this has been the cause or part cause of many of our modern ailments, and also to work more closely with nature than against it.
I think there is still a lot of misinformation out there about organics which might take a few years to change as the generations of society understand it more.
As a seed company, we’ve been selling organic seed for over 17 years, there is a steady growth to home gardeners but a falling off to commercial growers who will quite happily take conventional seed which is cheaper when equivalent organic seed is readily available at a slightly higher price.
What are you doing to help the organics sector grow?
Sourcing quality organic seed is a real challenge as there is no commercial seed been produced in NZ that meets commercial standards and if it is, it is produced under contract to overseas companies and remains unavailable to us here.
I think the Organics Sector in NZ will continue to grow especially among the primary producers like the wine industry where biological controls of pests and diseases are very effective and economical.
Pāmu
Pāmu stands for best practice in sustainable and safe farming, and for the unique provenance of New Zealand foods, nutrition products and fibre on global markets.
As a bronze sponsor, why is the market report so important to your company?
We find the data and intelligence contained in the report incredibly useful, as we work to convert more of our dairy farms to pure organic, which is a growing part of our dairy business.
Over the last two years, what have you experienced in regards to the perception of organics in New Zealand?
There is a perceptible change in how people are seeing organic products — from seeing them as niche products, to a recognition of organic as an important and growing part of the primary sector, and something that consumers in New Zealand and overseas are now increasingly demanding. The need for our primary sector producers to produce what the world wants, including organic products, has become well entrenched in the NZ psyche!
What are you to help the organics sector grow?
We are on track to convert more of our dairy farms to organic in response to market demands. It makes good business sense and importantly, also enables us to lower our environmental footprint.