Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
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.
