Alliance buys Singapore marketer Goldkiwi to improve reach

Alliance buys Singapore marketer Goldkiwi to improve reach to Asian customers

By Sophie Boot

Sept. 19 (BusinessDesk) - Alliance Group, New Zealand's second-largest meat cooperative, has bought Singapore-based marketing and sales company Goldkiwi Asia for an undisclosed amount.

The two companies have worked together for more than 25 years, with Goldkiwi Asia key in building Alliance Group's presence in China and South East Asia. Alliance general manager of sales Murray Brown said the meat company bought the marketing business to communicate directly with customers.

"Globally, around all our markets we want a more sales-focused business so we can get more understanding and get closer to the market," Brown said. "There are new channels, developing channels for distribution, and the next stage is that we need to understand consumers more."

Goldkiwi's six staff will transfer to Alliance Asia, the new name for the business. Brown said the company is trying to drive the sales of high-end added-value products, having already had success in selling meat for hot pot and meatballs in China through its partnership with Grand Farm. The market is ready to try new products, but Alliance's focus is to ensure control over the supply chain, particularly for cold storage for its meat, he said.

"The Asian business continues to grow - China's significant, but all of Asia is quite an important sector for the bottom line," Brown said. "We've got technical staff there at the moment, a chilled container arrived and we've got a skilled person on the ground showing them how to handle and control the product. The understanding of food safety and hygiene has moved a long way, it's a key part of the attributes of the product."

Brown declined to say how much Alliance paid for Goldkiwi, but said buying the business was "very cost-efficient" because intellectual property and goodwill isn't as expensive as a bricks-and-mortar operation.

(BusinessDesk)

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