Dunedin factory offers hope for future export success with new plant

Press, 9 October 1987, Page 28

Dunedin factory offers hope for future export success with new plant

Recent refusals by Challenge Meats staff to discuss the activity at their newly commissioned meat processing plant in the Dunedin borough of Green Island have created an air of mystery around the production unit and its processes. But there’s no secret, Factory manager Brent Marshall claims, just al desire to get on with the business of making fine food products from a sheepmeat base.

The Green Island factory was commissioned early this year following $6 million investment by parent company Fletcher Challenge to create an export standard processing unit from a former fellmongery. The plant is the result of intensive research and development by Challenge in association with the Danish Meat Research Insti-

tute, (D.M.R.1.), a world leader in pork production technology. “Sheepmeat, like other meats, is a protein form,” Brent explains. “The Danes have been phenomenally successful with pork products, a meat that is now eaten at every meal occasion. That is what we want to do with sheepmeat and we were fortunate to get an exclusive development agreement with the D.M.R.1.” Challenge Meats’ Green Island factory has been designed to produce a range of products for targeted market niches such as delicatessen and fast foods. “We have looked at the latest trends in food consumption around the world,” General Manager Marketing Robert Hutton said “and have targeted the ones where we feel

sheepmeat products can have a major impact. “Lamburgers for example, are nothing new, ‘ but if you consider the amount of sheepmeat consumed in countries like Saudi Arabia, where pork is taboo, and compare this with their wealth and rapidly growing consumerism, there may well be an opportunity for convenience products like lamburgers. “Similarly, the delicatessen market is one which has had remarkable growth in recent years and we are looking at a range of sheepmeat products which will be sold in delicatessens and specialist stores.”

“What it comes down to is the changing eating habits of the world. With more and more women in the workforce there isn’t the time for preparation of raw meat meals such

as roasts. Women are looking for convenience foods, pre-cooked in small ready-to-eat portions. In addition, the high cost of living and a trend towards "healthy" eating has seen a marked drop in red meat consumption. This is not just an overall drop but a significant decrease in the amount of meat consumed in a meal. So what we are aiming for are smaller, more convenient meat portions as well as ‘new’-products to tempt the consumer.” Construction of the Green Island factory was completed at the beginning of the year and since that time the equipmment has been put through its paces, producing products similar to those developed for Challenge by the D.M.R.I. “Product Development is a matter of continuous

testing," Brent Marshall reports.“To the layman it must seem a drawnout process and often it feels like nothing has been achieved. But nothing worthwhile has ever been earned easily. So too with our product development We are determined to keep working at it. until the customer tells us we have got it right

"Some products ;we have developed are now in the market research and testing stages. From there we’ll go back to the factory to examine the comments made by consumers and make further improvements before more market research. This will lead to the final launch of the products. When will that be? Well, it’s not a mystery to us, but to tell you might be giving away trade secrets."