Kiwi charm dazzles techies
The natural openness of Kiwi farmers and their potential to attach stories to meat, wool and other farm products is appealing to tech leaders in Silicon Valley.
They have taken in their droves at the San Francisco design hotspot to wearing casual shoes made from merino wool by Allbirds, co-founded by ex-All White Tim Brown.
Making the most of more storytelling opportunities, Kiwi charm and the country’s natural assets is the challenge that primary industry executives have put on themselves after attending the Te Hono Summit at Stanford University in July. Silicon Valley experts were brought in for the summit.
‘‘The thing that really blew them away [in] Silicon Valley, which is about transaction after transaction, was when the New Zealanders were up there it brought personality and culture,’’ said New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) chief executive John Brakenridge, a summit founder.
‘‘They felt that was the most distinctive thing for New Zealand, that provided something real and authentic.’’
Over six summits, previously called bootcamps, primary industry chief executives have represented companies behind 80 per cent of New Zealand exports. New Zealand had many stories to tell which were largely not getting to consumers, said Brakenridge.
Companies used to spend $0.5 billion to launch a big brand but could become the next big discovery by connecting with consumers via social media and online channels, attach a story focusing on natural assets and see them being shared by peer groups, he said.
’’I think that opportunity to do this is the best in decades if not the century.’’
Brakenridge said summit leaders were motivated to be ‘‘less about rhetoric’’ and had shaped nine projects which would go back to Stanford University professors as design challenges this year. Silicon Valley experts would also provide advice.
They want to shift from volume to value trading, be more connected to markets and provide back stories linking to health, wellness and a care for the environment. The executives have invested $1 million in consumer empathy research in premium markets in the US to find out what drives buying behaviour and opened an office in Shanghai to connect closer to the Chinese market.
Brakenridge said opportunities were emerging in other countries to monetise products linked with a ‘‘deep care’’ for the environment or food safety. Among the projects were Water and Waka and farmers were working closely with Maori, Crown, and other groups in initiatives such as using markets to reward changes to farmer behaviour about rejuvenating water quality.
To get closer to niche markets the Te Hono USA project is looking at ways to use new digital channels and technology. Other projects want to position New Zealand as the delicatessen of the food world and commercialise luxury food and health and wellness opportunities.
Another project was looking at opportunities for plant based foods. Brakenridge said there seemed to be an attitude that synthetic meat and milk would only enter the bottom end of the market, but their marketing was also being directed at high end restaurants.
‘‘In Silicon Valley what used to go into technology a huge amount of that money is going into food innovation . .... For New Zealanders to realise both the threats and the opportunities is incredibly important.’’
During the summit executives dined on burgers made by US company Impossible Foods.
A line-up of business people including Lone Star Farms owner Tom Surgess and co-author of Moments of Impact, Lisa Kay Solomon, challenged the projects devised in a session along the lines of the television series Dragon’s Den.
Brakenridge said the leaders were advised during the session to get businesses offshore and closer to consumers, perhaps partner with offshore companies and bring in people with design, consumer empathy and even anthropology skills.