Past, present and future

No one appreciates that more than the new CEO of Kono, Rachel Taulelei.

The former NZTE Commissioner to the US and the founder of Yellow Brick Road took over the role in November last year. In her first public speech as CEO, Taulelei told a chartered accountants conference in Nelson, that where the company has come from is just, if not more important than where it is going.

Kono which produces the wine brands Tohu, Rewa and Aronui, is the food and beverage arm of Wakatu Incorporation based in the top of the South Island. The company's 4000 shareholders are all descendants of the original 254 Maori landowners in the Nelson, Marlborough, Golden Bay and Tasman Bay region.

While the company is unique in its own right, the fact that Taulelei is now Kono's CEO is even more so, given she is the first direct descendant to hold that position.

"In our head office we have the 254 names on the wall and these names are all representative of the families that settled into this area," Taulelei says. "It's a pretty powerful message to walk past each day for all of us. My great, great grandfather is on that list and it's the first time one of the 'owners' has sat in the CEO seat. So it has been an interesting journey to get to this point."

Kono which means food basket, is not just about wine. The company also has other business units including horticulture, seafood and food manufacturing. All the units have their own unique story to tell that comes from the lineage of the company and the goal of being a guardian of the land, Taulelei says.

"We consider ourselves to be kaitiaki or guardians of the resources. The value of kaitiakitanga is that it recognises that we are responsible for the health and vitality of our land, waters and resources. Not only now, but also into the future. We manage what we consider to be our ancestral treasures in a sustainable way that creates opportunities for growth and prosperity. We take (all our products) from the land or sea and take it right through to the market. Our goal is to be the best indigenous branded food and beverage company in the world."

It is just that sort of story, linking the past to the present and preparing for the future that resonates in wine markets throughout the world.

"Our story is rich, colourful – an enviable tapestry of history that is as broad as it is deep. It resonates with different groups in different ways, but in China especially we find it resonates very, very well. There are a lot of similarities culturally between Maori and Chinese. And there is a huge emphasis on long-standing and deep relationships."

The development of the wine brands has been fast, with Tohu launched only in 1998. Since then the company has gone on to purchase more vineyard land and their own winery in Marlborough. Expansion may be on the cards, Taulelei says, but it will be measured.

"As a company we have expansion plans both in volume, and growth in value. To support that there needs to be more fruit, but whether that is on our land or others, is up for discussion. At the end of the day that is a fairly finite resource, and while acquisition would be fantastic, we like all companies are subject to limitations. So we have to think smartly how we do approach that."

That measured approach is obvious in the company's 500-year plan that protects not only the current shareholders, but their descendants of the future.

"What that does, is allow us to plan for the wellness and prosperity of our grandchildren's grandchildren. So we are working to a relatively long term plan – 500 years, which is somewhere in the distance. We take that 500-year plan, that horizon back to our activities today. It is a very deliberate strategy."

Like many in the wine industry, the new Kono CEO believes that New Zealand needs to be focusing on the niche, quality market. It is here where we can make the greatest impact Taulelei says.

"We should be the world leaders in the luxury goods space. We are working with limited resources, some would say diminishing resources and the story that accompanies them needs to be treated with kid gloves. The space we need to operate in is that of limited supply, high demand and consequently extraordinary high value."