Tasmania’s burgeoning food industry could learn something from its neighbour across the Tasman Sea, a business cluster expert believes.
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Cluster Navigators chief executive Ifor Ffowcs-Williams was the guest speak at a series of business events in the state’s North and North-West this week hosted by Northern Tasmania Development Corporation and Cradle Coast Authority, presenting a food cluster workshop at the University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus on Friday morning.
He outlined several New Zealand case studies where food producers, who traditionally could have been competitors, collaborated to break into new markets.
Mr Ffowcs-Williams calls this type of collaboration “coorpertition”.
These case studies included a cherry and apricot producer collaboration who combined to present their fruit to the Chinese market, using social media to establish contacts and market their produce.
Another example was the five craft breweries who teamed up to access the UK market.
“They captured the attention of an importer and collaborated to build container loads of mixed beers to make it happen,” Mr Ffowcs-Williams said.
He also spoke about the Nelson-based collaboration comprising Pic’s peanut butter, Proper Crisps and Chia drinks, that exported New Zealand products to Hong Kong and were now looking to expand that international market.
“Businesses find a way to collaborate through co-purchasing packaging or freight, co-marketing, co-specialisation or co-creation of value. Together we can market our products or services,” Mr Ffowcs-Williams said.
“It’s David meets Goliath. The small producers need scale and the big producers need innovation.
“As Steve jobs said ‘think differently’ – at a business level and at a community level. What can you do for Northern Tasmania to move from flying solo to Tassie teamwork?” he asked the audience of 35 producers and industry stakeholders.
Mr Ffowcs-Williams is also assisting FIAL (Food Innovation Australia Ltd) with the Australian Food Cluster Program that was recently launched in Tasmania.
Some Tasmanian businesses and organisations have already started working collaboratively, such as the FermenTasmania group and those bringing the Microwave-Assisted Thermal Sterilisation machine to the state.
FermenTasmania’s executive officer Dr Tom Lewis and Professor Roger Stanley from the Centre for Food Innovation at the University of Tasmania also spoke at the workshop.