New Zealand’s reputation for premium food and beverage has grown in key markets, but the F&B export sector still needs to build awareness to counter ‘buy local’ trends and competition from other sources of high-end food products, according to NZTE research.
Wine (along with red meat and dairy) led the charge as recognised premium products from New Zealand, according to research conducted by Kantar in April 2023 across Australia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Wine topped the recognition rankings – associated with New Zealand by 54% of the surveyed consumers, and particularly those in China, Australia, and the UK.
The findings are drawn from the fourth wave of research conducted to support NZTE’s ongoing Made with Care campaign, which aims to drive awareness and preference for New Zealand as a source of premium food and beverage products.
Overall awareness of New Zealand premium offerings has risen, with 48% of survey respondents saying they associated New Zealand as a producer of premium food and beverage products, a lift from 41% in October last year.
However, other sources of premium F&B such as France and Italy were also increasingly recognised in the same export markets, indicating that New Zealand would need to keep its profile high through ongoing awareness-building to remain competitive.
The awareness gap remains wider in some markets than others.
While Chinese and Australian consumers showed high awareness of New Zealand as a premium producer, awareness was lower in Japan and the United States, and only moderate in the United Kingdom.
The research noted that awareness remains critical to help New Zealand build brand equity with global F&B consumers, who have varying levels of knowledge about New Zealand or what the country offers.
This includes ensuring consumers understand what makes New Zealand products high-quality in order to build preference and encourage purchases.
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