Need for commercial kitchen
Demand for a commercial kitchen in Whanganui is growing as local food businesses look to expand.
Milk It, Baby!, owned by Victoria’s T42 Victoria Handley, makes and sells lactation cookies to support nursing mothers. The products have been so popular that the business is now fielding international orders.
In fact, demand is outstripping supply. “I physically can’t make the amount of cookies that are being ordered,” says Victoria, “which means I have to put orders on hold. It’s a missed opportunity for me.”
While Victoria makes use of the commercial kitchen at Victoria’s T42, she needs a larger for-purpose space to produce and package products.
Rhonda Morris, Whanganui & Partners’ strategic lead — manufacturing, logistics and commercial, said Milk It, Baby! was not the only local business dealing with this issue.
“I know of a number of our food businesses that want to expand, have proven demand for their product, but aren’t in a position to invest in a purposebuilt factory. They need to scale up, but the facilities just aren’t available.”
Rhonda says a solution would be to establish a commercial kitchen in Whanganui.
“It would be an industrial space that food businesses can lease for time slots that work for them. This would support mass production, development of new products and efficient packaging,” she said.
The nearest facility is at Massey University, but said Rhonda this isn’t a viable solution for Whanganui businesses. “The facility at Massey is almost completely booked out and the travel time eats into productivity. Our small business owners need something more accessible and convenient.”
The first step to establishing a facility in Whanganui is identifying a suitable site. Whanganui & Partners has searched through available real estate, but so far nothing has been right.
“I know the perfect site is out there. It’s just a matter of a building owner seeing this as an opportunity to add productivity and profit to their pre-existing premise. Once we have an appropriate site, Whanganui & Partners would be happy to facilitate the compliance process and to assist seeking investment or funding opportunities.
“We know that the demand is here, so it could both serve the needs of our business community and be a profitable investment. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s interested in supporting this project, either as a building owner or an investor.”