Canterbury Biltong ticks all of the boxes for consumers

Canterbury Biltong ticks all of the boxes for consumers

Canterbury Biltong is a local company going from strength to strength with a product that hits the mark as far as health-conscious consumers are concerned. The company, which makes and sells air-dried beef products, has outgrown its current base and has just announced that it has purchased a site at Portlink Industrial Park in Woolston.

Owner/Director David Stanley says the company has plans to build a new factory and offices, with a total floor area of 500m2.

The company’s origins date back to 2003 when Stanley started making traditional South African beef snacks in the garden shed of his Heathcote Valley home.

Back then biltong was largely unheard of in New Zealand, and Stanley and his wife spent a lot of time introducing consumers to the product at local markets, A & P shows and other events.

Now, 13 years later, the company has grown to employ 11 staff and its products are stocked by both of New Zealand’s major supermarket chains, as well as service stations and many other retail outlets. Canterbury Biltong also exports its products to Australia.

Stanley attributes the company’s success to having a great product that travels well and tastes good.

“There is a lot more awareness of healthy eating now, and our product ticks all of the boxes as it is made of quality beef, contains no preservatives, is low in sugar and is gluten-free”, says Stanley.

Stanley says he is really looking forward to having new, purpose-built premises, with the option to add an additional 400m2 at a later date to cater for future expansion if required.

Stanley admits that his original intention was to find larger, existing premises to move into as soon as possible, rather than building a new factory.

“However, there was always an issue with existing premises we looked at – either they were not up to code, there wasn’t enough parking or they would be too difficult to get up to a food-grade standard”, says Stanley.

“After looking for 7 or 8 months, we decided that we would be better off to design our own building from scratch, so we managed to reorganise and find enough space in our existing factory to take us through until our build is completed”.

Stanley says that he loves the openness of the Portlink site, with its great views of the hills. From a practical point of view it is very close to the family home in Heathcote Valley, as well as close to the company’s suppliers and the city.

Strategically, Portlink offers easy access to the main arterial routes for distribution of product around the South Island and beyond. Meanwhile, the Port of Lyttelton is literally just through the tunnel offering maximum convenience for exporting goods.
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