Silver Fern Farms Targets Change In US Consumer Taste With American Retail Launch
Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand’s largest red meat producer, is fresh off of their U.S. market launch with a range of grass-fed beef, lamb, and venison products and has signaled that they are targeting a more conscious consumer in the US with exact-wight vacuum-sealed packaging which provides grocers with 20-25 days of shelf life. Each package us marked with a QR code that allows consumers to trace the products back to the individual farm where the animal was proudly raised in New Zealand.
“We have supply chain traceability all the way from the farm to the retailer customers,” said Matt Luxton, Director of Sales, USA for Silver Fern Farms, quoted in an interview with Lorrie Baumann for Gourmet News. “There’s lots of companies in the U.S. that buy from everyone and put it into a retailer program. We pride ourselves in having that connection all the way through to the retailer.”
Luxton referenced Silver Fern Farms industry leading sustainability practices as a source of US consumer interest. “We’re telling them [through the social media campaign] the story about water reduction, plastic use reduction, environmental standards, animal welfare standards. We know we’re doing a good job there, and we like telling the story.”
One of Silver Fern Farm’s differentiators is their minimal transport time and aging process for an optimal tasting experience. “The maximum trucking time in New Zealand is about two hours,” Luxton said. Primal cuts are shipped from New Zealand to the U.S. with a shipping time that averages about 3.5 weeks. During that time, the meat is stored in optimal condition for aging, according to Luxton. “The eating quality at the end of that process is better than when it comes out of the plant.”
Gourmet News records that retail packaging for the company’s products comes sleeved in a colorful design that includes the information that consumers want to know about the meat they’re buying. The country of origin is clearly marked on the front, as is the package weight, the cut, the number of pieces included inside and the number of servings it will provide. The back of the package has recipes and directions for cooking, and the clear instructions and clarity on cooking times will appeal to the consumer who might be more familiar with meal kit cooking than with planning a meal from scratch.
A QR code also provides transparency about the farms where the animal was raised. “It’s giving them a clear picture of what we do,” Luxton said.
