Adding a new edge to the ‘New Zealand Made’ marketing strategies of yesteryear, Tekau Plus is set to establish ten high value premium iconic NZ brands in not only China, but throughout North Asia. With a focus on cultural marketing strategies that incorporate sustainable production standards and labour equity, the Tekau Plus family of niche exporters are big on aligning Māori values with commercial imperatives.
“It’s the first project of its kind led by indigenous Māori of Aotearoa that will look intimately at how to initiate longstanding trade and investment ties in North Asia,” said Wayne Mulligan of FOMANA Capital.

While the United States and other countries hit hard by the economic recession are resorting to protectionism, the New Zealand-China FTA is expected to deliver tangible commercial benefits. With a geopolitical power shift also expected in the next decade, Tekau Plus plans to optimise smart branding and the grow the supply and demand curve for pure, safe and healthy products in China, Korea, Taiwan and other key markets.

According to Mulligan, increasing demand from China and other emerging markets in North Asia are resulting in increased consumer spending and providing important new opportunities for NZ businesses.
“Ten years from now, I suspect that China will be our major market,” he said.

Last year saw an almost 47 percent increase in the value of exports sent to China. This value is expected to rise and rival New Zealand’s two other major trading partners, Korea and the United States. With dairy accounting for over 25 percent of exports to China, wool products, kiwifruit and wine shipments are also increasing. As the New Zealand-China FTA continues to come into effect, with continued reductions in tariffs on NZ’s export goods, establishing distribution infrastructure in China is a key priority for the Tekau Plus export program.

“We’re going to drill down into where in North Asia it’s best to position our exporters because it’s not just about taking Māori products to key markets like China, it’s about understanding how we position an indigenous marketing company in those countries,” said Mulligan.

A report from the Bank of Nova Scotia released earlier this month confirmed why Tekau Plus affiliated brands plan to take full advantage of the global economic recovery by considering opportunities in markets they’ve never dealt in before. China and other fast-growing emerging markets will provide a large share of the economic growth seen around the world in the near term, the report said. China’s economy grew by nearly nine percent in 2009, it noted, at a time when New Zealand’s economy shrunk by one percent.

Over coming months, Tekau Plus affiliated research teams will identify distribution channels for the Tekau Plus line of high value products which include signature brands like Tohu wine and BioFarm yoghurt.

Read about the 10 brands in this PDF