Mistry-Mehta has been with the co-op for 11 years and started out at Fonterra Brands New Zealand.
Before beginning the chief innovation and brand officer role, she was in Singapore for four years, in the ingredients business, building the functional nutrition unit - Active Living.
Listen below:
Mistry-Mehta, who grew up in the Waikato, said she enjoyed her time offshore but it was also great to be back in New Zealand.
“Really nice to be back home amongst family but equally I relished my time overseas, learning about the markets and customers around the world.”
Mistry-Mehta’s new role was about problem-solving as well as innovation, she said.
“Everything ultimately comes back to adding value to our customers and consumers.
So, how do we solve those really complex problems for our customers and also bring new solutions to our consumers.”
Of course, farmers were also an important part of the chief innovation and brand officer role, Mistry-Mehta said.
“It’s around shareholder return. We know when we innovate we increase value and that really is the power of innovation.”
There were four key focus areas, Mistry-Mehta explained.
Building and strengthening the team - including Fonterra’s extended team
“So we have access to the best skills and the best capability in the world to innovate with”.
Commercialisation - maximising the value of innovations and amplifying what the co-op does well
“Tightening that end-to-end connection back into market and back into our customers.”
Setting directions
“Where are our value drivers? Where can we add the most value? What is the market demand telling us? [Then] having a very clear plan in terms of where and how we’ll innovate.”
Telling Fonterra’s story
“How do we tell our story here in New Zealand, but also take that really fantastic story to the world.”
These four important focus points would not only build on Fonterra’s long history of innovation but also take it into the future, Mistry-Mehta said.
