Celebrating sweet end to a ‘crappy year’

LeaderBrand has started harvesting its Gisborne sweetcorn, with demand for pre-orders “going crazy”.Picture by Strike Photography

by Katherine Klouwens, LeaderBrand

As the bad weather never seems to end, everyone is over the rain, and we are in major need of some sunshine, and good food that makes you happy and improves your long-term mental health.

So, why not eat yourself into a better mood this festive season? Nothing says summer and happiness more than sweetcorn.

Last year, the country’s  supermarket chains said that 57 cobs of sweetcorn were sold every second and that corn was in the top five items for Christmas.

Major grower, LeaderBrand, knows all about this demand as pre-orders are already going crazy for their famous Gisborne-grown sweetcorn.

Chief executive Richard Burke said the team this week had just begun to handpick the first harvest bound for supermarket aisles on Christmas week.

“Sweet corn is such an important part of a Kiwi summer, and after the turbulent year we’ve had everyone needs some sunshine and happiness, and let’s be honest, food is such a great source of pleasure,” he said.

“So make sure you grab a bag of corn next week.

“To be honest, we’ve had a crappy year and cannot wait to see the back end of 2023.

“We’ve been in a war against the weather for the last year and we’re looking forward to a change in weather patterns which will mean good news for all of us,” Mr Burke said.

“A greater supply of fresh produce is now hitting the fresh aisles meaning better value at the till for customers.

“All the weather predictions for El Nino are promising to bring us more sunshine, heat and wind, and warmer weather into autumn, but so far that hasn’t shown up .

“We’d welcome all the sunshine and dry weather as it makes it a lot easier for us to manage the farm,” he said.

“We can lock in planting and harvesting schedules better in dry weather and our produce schedules are quicker during the warmer months.

“LeaderBrand has plenty of good irrigation equipment. In fact it’ll make a nice change to actually be able to use the machines this summer.

“Thanks to an amazing August in Gisborne, which was one of the hottest on record, we were able to successfully plant our corn harvest.

“Even though we’ve had more rain, the days are warmer and cooler nights mean that the sweetness has been locked into the crop,” he said.

LeaderBrand is one of the largest growers of sweetcorn in the country. The company trials different varieties of corn each year to ensure they’re growing the right variant for Gisborne’s climate and the Kiwi palette.

“Our corn is all about making sure we have the best tasting, sweet and creamy corn.

“We know how much Kiwis love their sweetcorn so it’s important to us that every cob is packed full of flavour.

“We hand-pick every cob to ensure we are only delivering the best quality corn.”

A great tip for checking the freshness of the corn is to look for a cob that has a tight green husk and is rounder and fatter at the ends.

LeaderBrand sweetcorn grown in sunny Gisborne will be in local supermarkets from December 18 until the end of March.