Business drives value all the way to UK

01-09-2010 | Marie Taylor

New Zealand needs another point of difference other than its name for its primary produce, an award-winning Central Hawke's Bay farmer says.

Sam Morrah and his wife, Hannah, are just back from a flying visit to the UK to pick up Marks & Spencer's "Plan A Future of Farming" award. They won a £1000 prize for international suppliers working towards the British retailer giant's commitments.

The couple's trip showed them lamb producers need to have a point of difference and need to tell a story.

Sam says the fact that Kiwis are producing NZ lamb just isn't enough now.

"This award is given with respect to what we have done in the last three years to drive value in our business, and how committed we are to putting a product on their shelf under their requirements."

Marks & Spencer's Plan A sets out 180 commitments to achieve by 2015, and has the goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer. It targets climate change, reducing waste, using sustainable raw materials, trading ethically and helping customers lead healthier lifestyles.

Its website says: "We're doing this because it's what you want us to do. It's also the right thing to do. We're calling it Plan A because we believe it's now the only way to do business."

The Morrahs were up against seven others including coconut growers from Ghana, banana growers from Costa Rica, coffee growers from Kenya, prawn farmers from Thailand and wine producers from South Africa.

The couple wrote a compre­hensive 28-page document to tell the story of how they had changed their farming business to supply Marks & Spencer.

Sam and Hannah found consumers demanding product grown under specified criteria. For example Marks & Spencer sells only fresh lamb, not frozen. UK farms supply it from June to December and NZ farms from January to May.

Its website also says "we are working closely with our farmers on selecting the best breeds of sheep that thrive in a natural grazing system. Sheep feed never includes animal by-products, antibiotic growth promoters or digestive enhancers".

"We inspect and score farms on everything from stock, feeding and animal health, to fire precautions, farmer attitudes and new technologies."

Sam says the Marks & Spencer agriculture manager considers their point of difference is the innovation and communication between the three parties: the supplying farmers, processors Silver Fern Farms, and Marks & Spencer.

"The ultimate result is the highest market price available."

The couple also met Welsh lamb suppliers producing Brecknock Lamb, a specialty lamb with a stronger taste. "There's a real story behind it," Sam says.

"There's probably room for NZ producers to go and tell their story to customers," he says.

They found British products strongly identified in the supermarkets, along with organisations supporting British farmers. "They are very ‘pro' their own products."

Meanwhile they found the economic recession in the UK playing a huge part in the price consumers are prepared to pay for lamb.

"They have choices about what they can buy, and meat is forever being specialed. At that time we could buy 12 lamb chops for £10 or three chickens.

"I am guessing nine times out of 10 consumers would buy the chickens."

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