New owner excited for future
As Fishers Meats prepares to mark 100 years in business in Dunedin next year, there has been a change at the helm with new owner Grant Howie taking over. He talks to business reporter Sally Rae.
BUYING a business was a big decision for Grant Howie and one, he acknowledges, that was not made in haste.
The former Silver Fern Farms senior executive always had a hankering to do his ‘‘own thing’’ but never had the right opportunity at the right time and in the right place.
That was until Fishers Meats came along, the longstanding Burnside business which was founded about 1919.
Former All Black Adrian Cashmore moved south in January, 2013, after taking over the business with two business partners.
When his partners moved into other ventures outside the meat sector, Mr Cashmore reluctantly decided to sell, although he stayed on as sales manager.
Fishers sold a range of traditional meat products to supermarkets and food service customers across New Zealand.
Started originally by the Fisher family as a family butcher, its key customers now included Pak ’n Save, New World, Countdown and Bidfood.
Two weeks into his new challenge and Mr Howie acknowledged running his own business was a different ‘‘head space’’ to be in than working for a large company like Silver Fern Farms.
But he expected that, and was adjusting to moving from a corporate role to now having total responsibility for every aspect of the business.
The meat trade was also a sector where he had experience and knowledge to be able to confidently run a business, and he was thrilled the team of 10 were staying on.
Dunedinborn and bred, Mr Howie’s background was in the New Zealand and global food sector, having worked at
❛ Dunedin has obviously had its fair share of manufacturer closures, with the likes of Cadbury and, while we are a much smaller operator, I’d
like to think we play a part in the Dunedin business community and that we can all help each other out
in some way
Fishers Meat owner Grant Howie
Mainland Products, Cadbury and, for the past decade, at Silver Fern Farms, where he was general manager sales.
Mr Howie was determined Fishers retained its close links to the Dunedin community, while also expanding into new products and markets.
Dunedin was the perfect location for a costefficient food manufacturing operation. The cost of operating was much lower than in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch, he said.
It held ‘‘huge’’ future growth potential and he was keen to explore opportunities in export markets and new products.
He was fortunate to inherit a business with excellent, loyal staff who had a ‘‘ton of knowledge’’ and a strong sense of direction, and he wanted to build on that.
‘‘I’ve been lucky to inherit a good young team that know the business really well and share my passion for making things happen.
‘‘We also enjoy strong support from the Dunedin public and I think it’s important that local businesses support each other as much as they can.
‘‘Dunedin has obviously had its fair share of manufacturer closures, with the likes of Cadbury and, while we are a much smaller operator, I’d like to think we play a part in the Dunedin business community and that we can all help each other out in some way,’’ he said.
There was a lot going on in the global food sector and there were a wealth of opportunities for agile, smallmedium sized food businesses.
It was a matter of picking up on the right consumer trends that matched the business’ capabilities.
The recent development of alternative proteins could not be ignored, and a consumer segment was saying it wanted to eat more plantbased protein.
That was a threat but also an opportunity for food companies to explore.
Fishers’ site had lots of capability that it could tap into and ‘‘turn on more’’.
‘‘It’s about matching that capability as a manufacturer with the right consumer and customer trends and coming up with something that works,’’ he said.
Fishers supplied only the New Zealand market, although it did have a licence to export to Australia. Export opportunities would probably be looked at in the future.
Those markets would not be attacked ‘‘next week’’ — it was more of a mediumterm plan — but it was on the radar to export.
With his previous experience, he had knowledge of markets and knew which were tougher than others.
Mr Howie saw various new product opportunities for Fishers, including the potential for a dualbrand strategy.
‘‘Fishers is an iconic brand here in Dunedin . . . and is well known for its high quality traditional meat products.
Even my parents remember
‘the old days’ when Fishers sausages were the only ones they’d ever ask for.
‘‘But I think in time there is the potential for a wider offering of products that are fit for the future and that could be a completely new brand that targeted a different consumer segment,’’ he said.
Being a small, nimble and agile business meant it could be as innovative as it liked.
Beef and pork were two of its key products that it turned into traditional products, like corned beef, and it also did other marinated products.
There was a sous vide product line, meaning it could produce things like lamb shanks and pulled pork for ‘‘heat and eat’’ for food service, but there was also potential to expand into consumer products.
Fishers also did toll processing for the likes of food giant Heinz Wattie’s, producing under contract to its recipes. Meat was sourced mostly from local suppliers and, at times, was imported.
Both Mr Howie and Mr Cashmore were enthusiastic advocates of Dunedin and the lifestyle the city and its surrounds afforded.
Mr Cashmore, a former
Blues, Chiefs, Auckland and Bay of Plenty fullback, hung up his rugby boots due to injury in 2006, while playing for Ospreys in Wales.
He had been selling commercial real estate when the opportunity to buy Fishers — and move south with his family — came up.
Despite having no knowledge of the meat industry at that time, it had been a ‘‘pretty good journey’’ for him.
He was delighted that Mr Howie had bought the business, saying it was the best thing that could have happened.
He, his wife and their three children were ‘‘happy as’’ in Dunedin. The city was moving forward and ‘‘looking fantastic’’.
With the likes of the hospital redevelopment and if the ambitious plans for the waterfront went ahead, ‘‘what a place it’s going to be’’, he said.
Mr Cashmore was not involved with rugby, and none of his children played, but he quipped that he was ‘‘just pleased the Highlanders are winning, because the Blues aren’t’’.