Call made to compete ‘up market’

Press, 20 January 1984, Page 4

Call made to compete ‘up market’

PA Auckland New Zealand wines could compete with more expensive products on the North American market, says Dr Donald Burns, head of the food processing section of the D.S.I.R. in Auckland. Dr Burns, who has returned after 17 months research in the United States, said yesterday that he believed New Zealand should compete in “the upper price bracket,” rather than in the bulk market. “I think New Zealand could certainly earn millions of dollars in ex-

porting wine,” he said. “The potential market is vast. There are many people in North America with a good level of disposable income, and I do not think the average American consumer has too many hang-ups about buying something that is not American.”

Tourism was a good means of selling New Zealand food and wine.

“We get a lot of tourists, and people who come here are in the upper income bracket that can afford the very high air fares,” he said.

“We should make sure they are exposed to as large

a range as possible of our food products — really good-quality lines.

“No-one should leave here without the opportunity to sample kiwifruit or tamarilloes- or feijoas, and, of course, lamb. How many times have you seen boysenberry pie or boysenberry mousse on a restaurant menu?

“Yet tourists are the very people who could afford these things, and would buy them when they get home if they were available.”