Sales like hot knife through butter
New Zealand sales of Westgold butter have just passed the
3 million mark on the back of a consumer shift towards more natural fats.
Recent reports indicated demand for butter, cream and other dairy-rich products continued to increase globally, in line with consumers’ renewed tastes.
Westland Milk Products, which produced Westgold butter, was owned by shareholders, most of whom farmed on the West Coast.
The company was launched in
2004 as an export consumer brand.
Westland marketing and innovation general manager Hamish Yates said consumers appreciated the fact not all butter was created equal
‘‘Globally, we are seeing an increasing consumer demand for natural, wholesome foods, and a return to the simplicity that products such as butter offer,’’ Yates said.
Westgold butter had only two ingredients – cream and salt – and was produced in Hokitika using the fritz churn process, derived from traditional batch-churning methods.
‘‘The West Coast has New Zealand’s highest proportion of jersey and jersey-cross cows, which are renowned for producing milk high in butterfat.
‘‘We also find that there is a real appeal for the West Coast from North Island customers, who associate the region’s beauty with a more natural product,’’ Yates said.
John Marshall was one of
Moana farmer John Marshall Westland’s farmer shareholders. He milked 180 cows on a 152-hectare farm in Moana, 30 minutes inland from Greymouth.
‘‘Quality pasture is key to producing premium dairy products,’’ Marshall said. ‘‘We prefer to run a biological system which, while not organic, is largely free from sprays and chemical fertilisers. This is part of our commitment to limit our impact on the environment.’’
International retail butter sales were expected to expand by
2.9 per cent to US$19.4 billion
($29b) this year, outpacing the 1.9 per cent growth in sales volumes, according to Euromonitor International.
‘‘Quality pasture is key to producing premium dairy products.’’