Managing Director
Foodstuffs North Island Limited
I feel that as Kiwis we are privileged to live in a safe, well run democracy such as New Zealand. We have a country that has such a temperate climate it allows us to feed not only its people but enables us to export the best food and products around the world.
The fact we have access to land and resources with the ability to provide so ably for ourselves and others is a privilege that we must treat with respect and at every opportunity business must look to sustain and enhance.
We need to celebrate what this great little country of ours provides to its people and the world. What better way to do this than to ensure that the resources available today will be here into the future. We should even take it one step further by striving to enhance our resources through active sustainability and preservation.
Foodstuffs prides itself on being 100% New Zealand owned and operated and its mission is to feed the nation’s communities up and down the country. This is a big job, not only to achieve this mission but to do it in a sustainable way.
Foodstuffs cardboard, plastic wrap, food waste and a number of other recyclables go off for re-use in other areas. Diverting waste to other productive uses wherever it makes commercial sense is simply good business. I firmly believe that the sustainability challenge is an increasingly important one. Food security, climate change, global poverty, resource constraints are just a few of the challenges we face. Business’ simply has to be part of the solution to these issues, we all have a part to play in ensuring our resources are here for the future.
With this abundance of natural resources and high primary industry focus there comes some risk. The weather plays a strong part in the success of our farming industry so there is natural risk of drought and extreme wet weather events affecting the farming sector throughout the coming year.
Food safety continues to be of utmost importance, so having good traceability systems and suppliers with approved food safety programmes is critical to protecting the health and safety of all consumers.
Increased amounts of international travel naturally poses a risk to our primary industries, it is now even easier for pests to get inadvertently introduced. Strict border control to protect our important primary sector will remain an ongoing challenge throughout 2015.
As a retailer the most important stakeholder is the New Zealand customer. It is a constant challenge to ensure we stay relevant and connected to them. The single biggest challenge facing many of our customers today is the fact that their disposable income is being continually compressed due to the rising cost of living. As property, rates and power costs increase the challenge to us as a supermarket operator is to keep food affordable. Over and above this, consumers want to be able to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.
This means we must ensure our offer meets our customers’ needs and they are able to take advantage of locally sourced, quality products at the best possible prices.
The Foodstuffs team is looking forward to 2015, it promises to be an exciting year where we hope to surprise and delight New Zealanders with our offer and service across all our brands.
THE 2015 FMCG BUSINESS LEADERS FORUM
The annual Leaders Forum, featuring exclusively in the February edition of FMCG Business magazine, includes advice and industry updates from Ministers Nathan Guy and Jo Goodhew, Countdown and Foodstuffs Managers, FGC Chief Executive Katherine Rich and Nielsen NZ Managing Director Rob Clark, to name just a few.
To subscribe to FMCG Business magazine please email: subscriptions@intermedia.co.nz , or contact the team: trubanowski@intermedianz.co.nz or thislop@intermedianz.co.nz
