Food Network Vital

Food Network Vital

The Food Innovation Network announced by Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee today addresses a vital need in the Canterbury food industry, CDC Sector Manager Agri-Business Blair Cottam says.

Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC) and its partner Lincoln University have been collaborating with the Ministry of Economic Development on the development of a Canterbury regional hub as part of the national Food Innovation Network New Zealand (FINNZ).

‘We have been working closely with companies in the food industry within Canterbury to understand how they can grow more rapidly. Many of these companies identified access to equipment and expertise for new product development as a major constraint. The FINNZ network will allow such companies to accelerate the development of new high value export products,” Mr Cottam says.

“The infrastructure that FINNZ will put in place represents a concerted national effort to raise the value of food products manufactured by New Zealand companies. A regional hub in Canterbury will provide local companies with easy access to this infrastructure as well as enabling them to tap into the resources of the other hubs nationwide.”

"This initiative is very much what we've been working towards - it's a great outcome for the city."
Food & beverage companies constitute a significant part of Canterbury’s economy employing over 6000 people in Christchurch alone and accounting for approximately 19% of all commodity exports from Christchurch Airport and Lyttelton Port.

The development of the FINNZ Network builds on CDC's work with the Food & Beverage industry. Last year CDC and Lincoln University launched the Canterbury Innovative Foods Cluster. Starting in May CDC is running a series of management workshops to help food & beverage companies in areas such as strategic planning, marketing and choosing the best channels to market.

ENDS

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