Fonterra Settles Greenpeace Claim Over Anchor Butter Labelling
A day after selling its consumer businesses, Fonterra has settled a civil claim, filed by Greenpeace, out of court.
Images of Graeme McNabb’s farm on the West Coast will soon be hitting supermarket shelves around the world.
The farm, which supplies milk to Westland Milk Products will be a feature of Westgold Butter’s new packaging, designed to catch the eye of consumers around the world.
McNabb says it was exciting to get the call from Westgold staff recently to say the photos taken on the farm about 18 months ago will soon be on their product packaging.
Westgold is changing its packaging, across all products, to build consumer awareness of the brand, as well as differentiating Westgold from other brands, and to showcase its quality, both locally and in international markets.
With its lush green pastures backdropped by bush and the majestic Southern Alps, Graeme McNabb and Rachael Anderson’s 213ha dairy farm is at the end of the road in the Kowhitirangi Valley inland from Hokitika. The picturesque property is where some of the first dairy farms were established on the West Coast because of its flat, fertile land and reliable rainfall.
“Not only is it a lovely part of the country as far as its scenery goes, but we grow great grass here year-round which in turn produces excellent milk,” says McNabb, who moved to the West Coast property five years ago after running a dry stock farm in Canterbury.
“The West Coast is a great place to both farm and live. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Hamish Yates, Westland’s general manager sales and marketing, says the new look packaging follows two years of research to better understand consumers’ purchase drivers and the trends in food consumption.
The design aligns with Westgold's brand story and reflects its home, Te Tai Poutini, the West Coast of the South Island.
“We believe our home and where we source our milk from is a key driver for our intense flavours and great quality,” says Yates.
The appointment of Richard Allen as Fonterra's new chief executive signals execution, not strategy, according to agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
Potatoes New Zealand has become much more than a grower body, according to Pukekohe grower Bharat Bhana.
The country's kiwifruit growers seem to have escaped much of the predicted wrath of Cyclone Vaianu which hit the east coast of the North Island this month.
Beef + Lamb NZ chair Kate Acland says that in these uncertain times, New Zealand needs to do everything it can to seize market access opportunities.
A former Fonterra director with farming interests in India says he's surprised with the political posturing over the Indian free trade agreement.
New Zealand exporters are putting the blowtorch on politicians to get the free trade deal with India over the line.

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