Beverages

New appointments at Asahi Beverages NZ support continued growth

Asahi Beverages NZ has appointed people into senior roles to support ongoing growth, build capability and provide opportunities for its people as it continues to invest in establishing itself as one of New Zealand’s leading beverages companies. CEO Andrew Campbell says the appointments reflect Asahi Beverages NZ is a growing business focused on delivering preferred alcohol and non-alcohol beverages to valued customers and consumers, as well as attracting and retaining great talent. “We’re excited to be welcoming new people to our team who bring with them outstanding, and in several cases, global experience to drive future growth.” Tom Robinson is among those joining the business in a newly-created role of GM Supply Chain based at Asahi Beverage’s Papakura manufacturing site. British-born Robinson is currently Plant Manager at Asahi Beverages’ Yatala Brewery on the Gold Coast, which is Australia’s largest brewery. A highly experienced and effective site GM, Robinson has run multiple brewing and cider making operations and held his role at Yatala for over 11 years. He was previously a Head of Manufacturing for Heineken based in the UK for four years. Robinson has also worked for leading UK brewers Scottish and Newcastle and has a degree in Chemical Engineering. He has commenced his new role remotely and will move to Auckland when the travel bubble between Queensland and Auckland reopens. Asahi Beverages NZ has also appointed Mark McGuire to the new role of NZ Capital Projects Manager responsible for the businesses’ supply chain function. McGuire has been with Asahi Beverages NZ for over 12 years and was previously Manufacturing Operations Manager.

Coal not in Fonterra’s future

Fonterra has been working on its transition to renewable energy for some time and says it can, and will, get out of coal, with a couple of practical constraints. Nine of its 29 sites use coal and Chief Operating Officer Fraser Whineray says there’s been a lot of progress over the last few years to get the Co-op to a position where it can make this commitment. “With customers in more than 140 countries we have global insights and long-term trends supporting these actions, which have been in progress for some time. “Last year we achieved our target of a 20 per cent reduction in energy intensity from a 2003 baseline after making thousands of improvements across sites here in New Zealand. Lifting energy efficiency is a valuable pre-requisite to larger investments. “More recently we reduced the total quantity of coal we use by 10 per cent when we converted our Te Awamutu site to burn wood pellets and this builds on our experience from converting our Brightwater site in 2018 to co-fire on wood biomass.” Conversion or replacement of existing coal boilers to renewable energy is a significant, logistical, technical and financial undertaking. “We’ve built a lot of capability in-house and with partners in New Zealand and internationally and this provides us with comfort that solutions are sustainable. “It’s important to us that New Zealand continues to be at the forefront of sustainable food production – and getting out of coal is one way we can help with this. “We already have the lowest carbon footprint among major milk producers around the world and we want to continue to build on this competitive advantage,” says Whineray. “While we’re working on this transition, we need to make sure we can deliver on our […]

Hawke’s Bay companies create world-first functional beverage

A collaboration between two Hawke’s Bay exporters has developed a new world-first beverage, a shelf-stable collagen and artesian water blend. The new Adashiko Collagen Refresh water is the first in the world to contain pure collagen and pure water – with no preservatives, no flavouring, colours or other additives and is set to introduce nutraceutical beverages to the hospitality industry. The company already has interest from customers in export markets around the world as it looks to capture a share of a $2 billion global collagen RTD category. Luci Firth, Adashiko CEO, says the new beverage is designed to rejuvenate the premium bottled water industry. She says the product was also ranged in local supermarkets within its first week of launch and is already exceeding initial sales forecasts. “The bottled water category in the hospitality industry typically consists of unflavoured still and sparkling varieties and has seen little innovation for some time. “Many New Zealanders will struggle to pay for bottled water and with so little value added by suppliers, restaurateurs and bar owners are left to compete head-on with tap water, while still having to cover the cost of supplying it. “The addition of a functional water product to this category means they will now be able to offer a competing product which they can justify retailing at a premium price point,” she says. Firth says the neutral-tasting, odourless collagen water can also be used as a mixer for cocktails. The development of the product took over a year and was a joint venture between her company and Hawke’s Bay manufacturer Parker Beverages. Doug Speedy, managing director of Parkers Beverage Company, says specialised equipment allowed them to pasteurise the product to a precisely controlled temperature. “After several iterations in the trial process, ultimately it was the purity of the […]

Cheers to a good brew

Sam Wood (left) and Willy Cowper. -Aaldert Verplanke Brewing your own beer is a challenge for most people and more known for the disasters than the good ”batch”. This story is about Kiwi ingenuity, passion, perseverance, believing in the product and a “sustainability” philosophy. Ian Williams is a brew master and has travelled the world practicing his trade. Encouraged by his uncle to come up with a “fail proof” brewing kit for home brewers, Ian spent about 2 years developing the process and ingredients to produce high quality beer at home. When he finished his first prototype, it was time to consider manufacturing a saleable product. He took the design to Sam Wood at ATI engineering in Hastings to manufacture the brewing appliance. Sam was keen and thought, “great – all the design and development work is done; now we just have to make it.” However, to get to a sellable product it took another year and a half. Producing an appliance that involves heating, cooling and pressure, has lots of challenges. Keeping the cost down was one of them, and still is. The WilliamsWarn BrewMaster was finally created, capable of producing consistently good beer with ingredients supplied by WilliamsWarn. This would not have happened if it were not for NZ and overseas investors who believed in the product – Sam had also become a shareholder. However, the small number of appliances produced meant that costs were prohibitive, so the decision was made to design a lower cost product that could be manufactured offshore using mass manufacturing techniques not available here in NZ. A complete rethink and redesign by Sam resulted in the introduction of the BrewKeg™ that is now produced in four different brew batch sizes, from a small 10L homebrew kit up to 150L for the microbreweries. It […]

SweeGen accelerates global expansion with new food and beverage application centres

New centres enable deep collaboration with global and regional customers on sugar reduction and taste innovations Global food and beverage manufacturers can now easily create and collaborate on exploring sugar reduction solutions with SweeGen in its newly launched Food and Beverage Application Centres located in four global regions — North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The centres will create synergy and local interaction with new and existing customers thereby accelerating new product development reflecting local consumer preferences in taste, flavors and ingredients. “This expansion on application and technical support into local markets is our continuing commitment to provide a unique sugar reduced solution that rapidly reduces product development time for our customers, and delivers a winning product for the region, said Shari Mahon, S.V.P., application technology. “Each facility will feature a full spectrum of development capabilities supporting beverage, dairy, confectionery, snack and bakery foods.” The flagship California centre opened first this year. Mexico and Europe to follow, and Asia-Pacific slated to open by the end of 2020. The opening of the European centre will coincide with an anticipated EFSA approval of the company’s Rebaudioside M stevia sweetener in Europe. Additionally, and planned to open later this year in Europe, the company will produce more than 3,000 metric tons of stevia sweeteners per year at its new manufacturing site. The personalised customer service at the centres is just one of SweeGen’s competitive advantages. SweeGen also provides manufacturers access to reliable high purity world-scale supply of best tasting zero-calorie stevia sweeteners. “The investment we’ve made in our new application centres is an investment we’ve made in our customer relationships and their businesses,” said Luca Giannone, vice president of sales and marketing. “We see stevia as the preferred global ingredient for sugar reduction and that’s possible because SweeGen scales the production of Reb […]

DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand welcome sector-wide vision

DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand welcomes the launch of a shared sector-wide vision to be world leaders in the sustainable production of high-quality food and fibre. “We are supportive of the Primary Sector Council’s broad vision of having a coordinated approach across sectors and Government that will help us develop our international brand and deliver more value for farmers,” Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Chair Andrew Morrison said. “New Zealand farmers are constantly having to adapt to shifting consumer demands in order to compete internationally and achieve a premium in the global marketplace. Increasingly consumers are asking for assurances that the product is both sustainably and ethically produced. “We believe that our farmers are already world leaders when it comes to the production of high-quality, pasture-based products with a low environmental impact – but that doesn’t mean we can get complacent. We are always striving to improve” DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel added. “Sustainable farming has a critical role to play in New Zealand’s future prosperity and wellbeing. If we all work together to embrace change, adapt and thrive, Kiwi farmers have a bright future ahead. The Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World – aligns with work that is already underway from both DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand in the form of both Dairy Tomorrow and Taste Pure Nature. Dairy Tomorrow is our dairy sector strategy to ensure dairy farming is sustainable and profitable into the future. It includes six key commitments: • We will protect and nurture the environment for future generations; • We will build the world’s most competitive and resilient dairy farming businesses; • We will produce the highest quality and most valued dairy nutrition; • We will be world leading in on-farm animal care; • We will […]

Marlborough wine producer wins diversity award

A cadetship programme giving Marlborough and Hawkes Bay locals employment and providing a solution to skills shortages in the wine industry has won a national workplace diversity award. Constellation Brands New Zealand, which owns Drylands Winery and Riverlands winery in Marlborough, and Selaks winery in the Hawkes Bay, took out the Tomorrow’s Workforce category at the 2019 Diversity Awards NZ The company began its cadet programme in Marlborough in 2012 as a way of identifying and training local talent. It gives young people and those outside the industry a chance to explore working within the wine industry during a year of paid training. The programme was later extended to Hawkes Bay. About a fifth of the 60 people who have completed the training have been offered permanent employment with Constellation Brands New Zealand. Those who aren’t offered employment leave fully trained and qualified to work in most New Zealand vineyards and wineries. “This programme is an investment in the future of the company, the industry and New Zealand. This is critical in helping to fuel a growing industry with a labour shortage in Marlborough,” says Constellation brands New Zealand Vice President Human Resources Julie Bassett. Judging convener Neil Porteous says this is a well-designed programme with the greater good of the industry and regions at its heart, that has invested in developing capability creating pathways for both younger workers and those looking for a career change.

Food waste initiative delivers potential for environmental advances

JJ Richards and Sons NSW/ACT Operations Manager Benjamin Martis, right, discusses the plant’s waste management 28-ton receiving tanks and processing tanks with CST Wastewater Solutions Engineer Peter Bambridge pICTURE:p Waste management leader JJ Richards & Sons is proving an environmental initiative in Sydney that eliminates landfill dumping of commercial and retail food waste by transforming it into valuable green energy and fertiliser. The company’s custom-engineered waste reception centre at Seven Hills – which its designers say has demonstrated potential to become a model for national use – processes pulped waste from its partner Pulpmaster’s collection tankers into an easily handled and valuable resource for use in agriculture, horticulture and fossil fuel replacement. The plant – which already handles bulk waste from major customers including supermarkets, food shops, hospitals, schools and catering facilities – uses CST Wastewater Solutions’ KDS multi-disc fine screening and compaction technology as part of its automated process that turns the pulped waste collected into a cake form that is more than 50 per cent lighter and dryer than the pulp and which can be transported to users for half the cost of heavier and less hygienic output. Waste producers using the system get monthly reports on how much they are saving on disposal costs, while simultaneously reducing their environmental impact. The material is used by farms and other agricultural enterprises as high potency fertiliser and for the production of biogas to reduce their environment footprints whilst simultaneously boosting their output with natural fertilisers and fossil fuel replacement green energy. The system not only disposes of an environmental headache and cost for responsible businesses – including high landfill costs and the high cost of transporting waste to somewhere remote, secure and non-harmful – but turns the problem into an environmental asset – and a cost saver. Businesses love getting […]

Assisting product development with new mini aseptic solution

In today’s fast moving food and drink industry innovation is king. Everyone is looking for the next product to give their business the edge and food fashions and trends come and go with increasing speed. Food manufacturers often need to use seasonal ingredients, potentially offering limited edition flavours or varieties of key products: from herbal ice creams and summer berry drinks, to fruity condiments and vegetable smoothies. As a result, the life of innovative products is often shorter than has been seen previously and it can be hard for new product developers and marketers to pick which will survive in the market and which will fall away. All of these factors create challenges for operational factories and production lines. No business wants to invest in a fully-scaled line for a product that may have limited (albeit still successful) sales. The new HRS Asepticblock Mini Series allows manufacturers to produce new trial products with the minimum amount of product in a short time, reducing the unnecessary expense or wastage that can accompany full scale trials, and alleviating the need to suspend or interfere with the routine production of regular products. It allows the reproduction of a full scale final pack, but from as little as 20 to 50 kg of product. The Aseptic Mini Block Series was born from the need of many of small- and medium-sized customers to produce relatively small quantities of aseptic products, but who are prevented from doing so by high upfront capital costs and low return on investment. Traditional aseptic processing lines consist of two sections; one section is the steriliser or pasteuriser (based on a suitable heat exchanger according to the product type), and the other is the aseptic filler. The HRS Asepticblock Mini Series is designed for such producers working with a range of […]

Entries Welcome for Food Safety Awards

New Zealand Food Safety is encouraging keen foodies to get their entries in for a number of key 2019 food safety awards. The Significant Contribution to Food Safety, Food Safety Culture and the Primary Sector Products awards celebrate the achievements of those who are demonstrating innovation and excellence in food safety in New Zealand. To enter – visit www.mpi.govt.nz/scholarships-and-awards/ for more details. “We’re focussed on making sure we have safe and suitable food, and that New Zealand food is the most trusted in markets around the world,” said Head of New Zealand Food Safety Bryan Wilson. “Rules are an important part of that, but ultimately food safety is about the people who produce the food we enjoy. Through these awards we can recognise and reward excellence in the primary industries and food sectors.” The Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award recognises an individual, a team, or an organisation who has made a significant improvement to food safety in New Zealand. This could include developing or improving a food safety process or operation. It could be in one sector or across a few. Nominations close on 23 May 2019. The award will be presented during the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology’s (NZIFST) ‘Good Food 4’ Conference in Christchurch on 3 July 2019. “This is the third year that this Award is open and we thank the NZIFST team for their support and allowing us to present the award at their Conference Awards Dinner,” Mr Wilson said. The Food Safety Culture and Primary Sector Products awards are part of the 2019 New Zealand Food Awards. The awards are owned and organised by Massey University. Entries for the NZ Food Awards close on 31 May 2019. Winners will be announced at the Awards’ Gala Dinner on 23 October 2019 in […]

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