4 | WESTPAC AUCKLAND BUSINESS AWARDS Matakana Berry Co Virginia Wright Good soil, good staff biggest assets Matakana Berry Co was a finalist in the Westpac Business Awards 2022 for Excellence in Strategy & Planning. One of New Zealand’s largest commercial strawberry growers Matakana Berry Co can be found halfway between Omaha Beach and Matakana about 20 minutes out of Warkworth, north of Auckland. Having grown strawberries for well over 30 years in Coatesville, Grant and Lynda Ashby took over the Matakana business in 2016. Their son Matt is the farm manager. Toni Squire was already employed in the Omaha operation when the Ashby family moved from Coatesville and continued her extensive administrative role doing accounts, compliance and food safety, health and safety, human resources, and ‘anything else that needs to be done’. They grow their strawberries in the black, nutrient-rich, free-draining peat loam soil typical of the area which is perfect for growing produce of all kinds. “The soil is one of our biggest assets, and because we’re a bit further north and a bit further east than the majority of Auckland growers we get a bit more sunshine and less chance of frost so we’re able to start a wee bit earlier,” says Toni. This year they were in Countdown stores nationwide from the beginning of September whereas most of the Auckland growers start supplying from October through to Christmas and into the new year. Toni gives credit not only to the soil but to the staff as their biggest assets. With staff coming mainly from Tonga and Vanuatu through the RSE Scheme (Recognised Seasonal Employer) has a 95% return rate with some into their 12th or 13th season on the farm which has been growing strawberries for 15 years. “They hit the ground running, they know what they’re meant to be doing, they can look at a field and know whether it’s coming on early or a bit later, and they care about their work,” says Toni. Covid proved a catalyst for change when their usual experienced staff were locked out of the country and many of the replacements they were able to find had little or no experience with strawberries. “Suddenly we had a work force that we had to train up from scratch. Some of them had never seen a strawberry before, so that was really stressful and we lost a lot of fruit because we couldn’t pick it,” says Toni. They emerged from a period of reassessment after 2020 still facing a lot of unknowns “They (RSE workers) hit the ground running, they know what they’re meant to be doing, they can look at a field and know whether it’s coming on early or a bit later, and they care about their work.” but with a gameplan for 2021 based on the things they could be confident of, thanks in part to the detailed spreadsheets that Toni had been compiling for many years. “We looked hard at what they were telling us and we decided to really make the most of what our location gives us,” says Toni. They also went ahead with the rebrand they’d been considering even before Covid, from Gala Berry to the location specific Matakana Berry Co. It made good sense given the increased push from consumers for New Zealand grown and manufactured products. At the same time they went to flatpack packaging. “You can’t hide anything when there’s only one layer, and that’s what the consumer wants. The other thing they want is to pick up a punnet of strawberries and know it’s of consistent quality and we set the bar really high on that. We’ll put fruit in the bin if it doesn’t make the grade on the day,” says Toni. Their considered approach to their business’s future was rewarded when they made the finals of the Westpac Auckland Business Awards in the Excellence in Strategy and Planning category. “That’s a nomination that’s come through from a member of the public who obviously has trust in our brand. We were pleased and humbled to be nominated and in the finals,” says Toni. They’re also pleased to be having Christmas off for the first time ever thanks to a combination of factors, including the weather, meaning their early start strategy was matched by an early finish, apart from their real fruit ice-cream which will be selling all summer through. Ph: 021 634857 Email: auckccl@gmail.com Specialists in Produce and General Freight, we have a fleet of GPS monitored, chilled Curtainsider vehicles servicing the Greater Auckland area daily from Mercer to Warkworth Proud to be associated with Matakana Berry Co
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