By ELLEN READ
A unique meat chip convenience food invented by Hamilton couple Anna and Erik Arndt is on target to succeed in Britain and Europe.
The chips, developed by their company Aria Farm and made from lamb, beef and chicken, have been on sale in more than 300 New Zealand supermarkets
for the past two years.
Now the product has reached the freezers of 51 supermarkets owned by leading British food retailer Sainsburys, and will be stocked by 307 of the Spar group's independently owned supermarkets in southwest England.
The chips are rebranded in Britain as lamb, beef and chicken strips.
Instead of manufacturing here and exporting the product, Aria Farm has sold an exclusive licence for several million dollars to British company Farmers First, conferring the right to manufacture and market Aria products throughout Europe, a market of over 420 million consumers.
The British company is confident of achieving significant volumes in its larger marketplace. It has invested $3 million in a processing plant in Blaenavon, near Pontypool in Wales.
The company has also received a grant of more than $1 million from the Welsh Development Agency towards establishment costs and for marketing.
Anna Arndt said licensing Aria's intellectual property guaranteed international acceptance of a unique New Zealand product.
"While we would have preferred Aria Farm to take direct ownership in international markets, New Zealand producers are not in a position, in the longer term, to supply sufficient lamb, beef and chicken to satisfy the huge potential growth in a mass consumer market," she said.
For the Arndts, this is the first step in their strategy to turn their meat strips and mince into global products.
Once the strips are established in European markets the Arndts will seek other licensing opportunities.
