Primary Sector Category: 2019 Winner Kiwi Quinoa - Retail Pouch of Wholegrain Quinoa
Kiwi Quinoa, winner of the Primary Sector Products Award was awarded the title in 2019 for their retail pouch of wholegrain quinoa.
Quinoa-loving sheep and beef farmers, Dan and Jacqui Cottrell always dreamed of producing quinoa but didn't think it would ever become a reality. After a trip to South America in 2012 confirmed the landscape was very similar to the Central Plateau of New Zealand (around Taihape), they decided to give it a go. After years of trials and many lessons learnt, it was confirmed the super food could indeed thrive here. In 2016, they harvested the very first commercially-ready quinoa crop in New Zealand.
“We learnt about the New Zealand Food Awards when we were a number of years into our Kiwi Quinoa journey from a fellow producer who had been part of the awards. We were really proud of the quality of our product, the way we were producing it and our sustainability story and became interested in entering. We recognised that the New Zealand Food Awards showcased some of Aotearoa’s most innovative and best products. The whole process was exceptionally professional and thorough. The awards evening was an incredible experience that we were so proud to be part of. Winning the Primary Sector Products Award is one of our proudest achievements on our Kiwi Quinoa journey.”
Entry:
1. Brand Name
Kiwi Quinoa
2. Product Description
400g (8 servings) pouch of wholegrain quinoa, a unique variety grown from a specially sourced variety that does not contain bitter saponins. It has a mild, nutty flavour and is 20% higher in protein and fibre than imported quinoa. It is easier to cook with minimal rinsing and retains its integrity.
Innovation
3. Where did the idea for this product come from?
Take a farmer with an itch to do something new and an agronomist with a passion for health food and what do you get? The first quinoa grown in New Zealand!
As a husband and wife team (Dan & Jacqui Cottrell) we had the idea of growing quinoa as a diversification on the family sheep and beef farm near Taihape in the Rangitikei, while exploring in South America and noting the quinoa-growing regions of Peru bore quite a resemblance to home. After years of trials and many lessons learnt we had our answer – quinoa can indeed thrive here in New Zealand. With the growth in global demand for quinoa and for plant-based foods that double as a protein source, we decided to go in boots and all and start growing our own quinoa near Taihape.
We harvested our first commercially ready crop in February 2016 with other harvests following, including our harvest this year which was filmed and aired on Country Calendar 14 April, 2019. Our Kiwi Quinoa - is a unique variety which is considered wholegrain, it is superior in taste and nutritional benefits, less processed and easier to cook than other quinoa on the New Zealand market.
4. How did you determine the product originality?
Kiwi Quinoa is a unique variety of quinoa which we sourced from Wageningen University in Holland and have the exclusive rights to grow in New Zealand. Intellectual property was secured for 20 years which protects our variety - this was required as the food itself (quinoa) is a viable seed. Kiwi Quinoa is unique to all other quinoa in the New Zealand market as it does not contain bitter saponins. This removes the requirement for processing or polishing, therefore qualifying our quinoa as wholegrain.
5. Did you consider any new technology to your company in the development of this product?
Yes. We needed to invest in an optical colour sorter as this technology was not available in the lower North Island. This equipment can remove darker grains from entire crop lines and helps gain a more uniform product; especially important as we do not polish or wash our quinoa. Initially we had to ship product to Canterbury for this. In addition, this forms an additional layer of risk protection, ensuring 100% quinoa, free of any contaminates.
Specialist farm equipment (tow-behind wind-rower) was imported from Australia to help address weed challenges at harvest (due to our 'spray-free' policy).
6. What were some of the challenges in developing this product and how did you overcome them?
Our first challenge was finding a variety that would grow successfully in our climate, that would be easy to process and that would have a unique point of difference in the marketplace. This involved overseas trips for research and negotiation which was challenging from a time and dollar perspective.
We sourced a number of varieties from Wageningen University to trial in New Zealand conditions. After validating the best performing variety, we negotiated and secured the sole commercial license for this and all future varieties within New Zealand, and the following year imported a small amount of seed to plant initial crops in 2015.
Key challenges of pioneering a new crop in New Zealand include working out agronomy, weed control (without sprays), developing harvest techniques, largely on our own as nobody knew how in NZ. The need to create a supply chain from scratch, from our farm through the seed cleaning industry, into the FMCG industry has required a considerable amount of problem solving. We were successful through perseverance and through harnessing the skills and assistance of great people within the agricultural, packing, logistics and retail industries to bring it all together successfully.
Given our spray-free policy, a key challenge was weed prevention. We imported specialist farm equipment from Australia to address this.
Sustainability
7. Describe how environmental outcomes have been maximised across the entire life cycle of the product and your company processes for achieving these outcomes.
Kiwi Quinoa is located 27km east of Taihape on a sheep, beef and cropping farm, employing three people. We incorporate sustainable business practice to minimise negative and maximise positive impacts on the environment wherever possible.
All efforts are made to run the Kiwi Quinoa cropping operation efficiently to reduce energy, water and chemical usage. The crop is grown in rotation with a pasture-based livestock farming system. This results in significantly reduced fertiliser inputs –around 15% the amount of N,P,K fertilizer used compared to European operations –due to the nature of unlocking soil microbial activity and plant available nutrients within the soil that cannot be replicated in a straight cropping system.
All crop waste and stubble are incorporated back into the soil to help maintain soil carbon prior to re-grassing, which in turn works in a renovation rotation for the livestock farming business. No stubble burning. Kiwi Quinoa is grown from farm-saved seed, outdoors without irrigation.
Kiwi Quinoa is grown spray-free: No herbicide, fungicide or pesticide sprays are used on the plants. This is achieved through the mixed cropping system, following pasture to help eliminate weed risk. Mechanical means of weed control are used such as windrowing crops prior to harvest to help dry and wilt weeds.
Produce waste is minimal. Local business Valhalla Seed Partnership help with the seed cleaning process which includes two passes of an optical colour sorter at the final stage of seed cleaning. This results in a small ‘seconds’ line of 3%, with darker lines being separated and still being used.
Any waste seed not suitable for market is used for stock feed. We are currently validating using the waste material (chaff etc) to feed natural predatory species of insects bred for the horticultural industry through Karaka based business, Bioforce.
We recycle cardboard. Pallets are reusable. The plastic pouches currently used for the 400g Kiwi Quinoa retail packs are made from a laminate which is not recyclable. We are currently working on new packaging and are presently working through sustainable packaging options, one of the options being one of the first FMCG businesses in New Zealand to use stone paper in a stand-up pouch. This is largely comprised of waste calcium carbonate, coupled with a home compostable plant-based layer.
We have made a significant effort to source and secure a seed variety that does not contain bitter saponins, so it does not need to be processed or polished (unlike other quinoa varieties) eliminating this process step and the water and energy involved. As such, it is considered as wholegrain, retains higher nutrient content and is ready to cook with minimal rinsing.
8. Provide a specific example of environmental sustainability initiatives related to the product you have entered.
Innovative solutions implemented to minimise negative and maximise positive impacts on the environment include:
Fertiliser inputs are specifically field-based and include a wide range of nutrients rather than the simple N,P,K macros. Soil pH is a major focus with soil conditioners such as lime, dolomite and humates being used with aim of maximising soil microbiology before and planting through to re-grassing. This results in higher yields, from lower inputs due to healthier soils.
GPS technology used in planting and harvesting helps minimise wastage.
We are currently in discussions with Massey University, with the goal of exploring research options to help better establish quinoa as a viable crop in New Zealand which in turn will help improve sustainability through diversity of the agricultural landscape.
Excellence
9. Briefly outline your product development process.
We researched the potential demand for quinoa on a global and local basis, identifying it as a great opportunity. We put major effort into finding a seed that gave us a point of difference in the New Zealand market and did extensive research overseas –the outcome being our exclusive license to use a special saponin-free variety from Wageningen University, Holland in New Zealand (with a formal agreement).
We researched market pricing and the cost of production, along with potential sales volumes and established that growing and selling retail and food service packs was viable. Various packing, packaging and logistics options were reviewed, resulting in using Healthpak to pack the product and 3PL logistic business Online Distribution to help us achieve national distribution from a laptop in a farmhouse.
We then ran a series of growing trials in 2014 and established a viable growing and harvesting method with a focus on growing spray-free and using regenerative agriculture with the environment top of mind. We determined that we could use the brand name Kiwi Quinoa in New Zealand and designed the retail packaging after comparing various pouches available.
We took key customers on our journey with us to ensure the demand and ranging was there. In anticipation of launch we presented to key customers and ensured sales staff were available to liaise with stores.
In parallel we developed our website, promotional material and recipes to support in-store tastings and consumers’ yearning for knowledge around quinoa and specifically around Kiwi Quinoa. We harvested our first commercially ready crop in February 2016 and sold our first retail products in September 2017.
10. How did you determine the product’s likely success in the market?
We saw the quinoa price surge as global demand increased following the World Food and Agriculture Organizations 'International Year of Quinoa’ in 2013. Research showed that consumption in New Zealand was still very small on a per capita basis, compared with other markets, indicating opportunity for growth in the market –New Zealand consumers had been slower to adopt quinoa, with all quinoa for consumers at this stage being imported from Peru (New Zealand Customs data).
The growing demand for health-oriented products due to the rise in gluten intolerance and the growing demand for plant-based proteins as part of a plant-based diet was a strong indicator that there was a great opportunity for quinoa. Growing concern around environmental footprint and sustainability indicated consumers would look favourably on a New Zealand grown quinoa, grown with sustainability and spray-free practices in mind as well as low food miles.
Environmental pressures on the agricultural industry highlighted the need for diversification on the agricultural landscape and growing quinoa here fitted this need. In addition, the inherent strengths of the quinoa plant against environmental challenges such as drought, pointed to quinoa being a very promising food crop for New Zealand.
From a consumer’s perspective, this is one of the world’s most nutritionally balanced plant foods which is so versatile it can be used in every meal including dessert. It has a very low footprint on the environment and has a social trigger point in that the increase in Western consumption was placing this staple food for the Andean populations out of their reach financially.
We then forecast what we believed would be the potential sales volumes of Kiwi Quinoa in New Zealand and beyond, looked at market pricing, margins customers would expect, product and market costings and did the overall financials to ensure selling the product would be viable and successful.
11. Demonstrate the product’s success with sales and distribution information
Unit sales (pouches) have exceeded 11,000 units since new season product was released in September 2018. On track to hit 20,000 Sept-Sept following recent exposure on Country Calendar.
Refer to the sales graph in the attached document outlining monthly sales figures in $ terms since launch in September 2017. Now stocked in over 100 stores and supermarkets nationwide - refer to 'NZ Purchase Points'.
Distributed nationwide out of Auckland and Christchurch 3PL warehousing using cloud technology controlled from the farm office in Taihape. Online sales distributed in eco-friendly home compostable packaging via NZ Couriers eShip which allows customers to track their package directly from us. Initial shipment to Japan due to depart 7 June 2019.
Primary Sector Special Questions:
12. What customer or market research or expertise have you used?
In 2018 we engaged a Sales Representative to assist with growing our retail and food service markets which is helping to drive our growth in sales. In March 2019, we ran consumer focus groups to clarify what they are looking for in quinoa in terms of product, packaging formats, usage ideas and education. We are now using this as a base for our brand and packaging revamp. With our Marketing Consultant, we are working through our brand and packaging revamp with a specialised branding/design agency, using consumer insights to form the basis of the strategy development.
13. Have you created or developed a new market with your product? How do you know this?
We have contributed to growing the small but growing New Zealand quinoa market by educating and raising awareness of how to use quinoa through media (Country Calendar April 2019), PR, in-store tastings and marketing collateral. We know this as our sales figures have reflected the growth.
14. What markets is the product currently in and what are your future markets? Please provide any relevant sales and distribution information.
Current markets: New Zealand (refer to section above 'NZ Purchase Points').
First shipment due to depart to Japan 7 June 2019.
