44 | Innovation contributes to huge success Seeka continues to hone its portfolio, having recently taken over the plant of Northland company Olivado. T T from page 42 HORTICULTURE Seeka It also dovetails nicely with Seeka’s sustainability and value-recovery objectives around reducing food waste and delivering more value from each crop. Seeka’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Delicious Nutritious Food Company (DNFC) already specialises in producing Kiwi Crush and Kiwi Crushies from kiwifruit deemed unsuitable for direct consumer sales. Michael says the Olivado plant will be integrated within their DFNC operations. “In fact, Seeka will move all its oil manufacture to Northland.” Seeka’s roots are in Te Puke’s kiwifruit orchards, where kiwifruit growers first teamed up together in the early 1980s to generate better returns. Seeka has grown to become the country’s dominant kiwifruit grower. By creating jobs and opportunities, Seeka is making a real impact in rural communities around New Zealand. A notable example is Seeka’s collaboration with iwi and local government over recent months to convert low-yielding land into productive kiwifruit orchards on the East Cape. “Seeka’s relationship with Māori extends back to the first days, and we have many examples. In Raukokere, for example, there are around 26 people in full-time employment as a result of the development with iwi.” Meanwhile, Seeka is working fast to build resilience in response to climate change. New regions and crops are being assessed and orchard practices adjusted to support sustainable fruit production and supply. That work is ongoing in 2025, with the company focused on reducing waste, increasing solar generation, reducing fertiliser use and improving plant to reduce harmful refrigerants. As part of its climate-change response, Seeka is diversifying into New Zealand’s citrus industry as a contract packer service provider. As citrus operations peak prior to the kiwifruit harvest, it also provides continuous employment to local workers. As well, there are inherent efficiencies in post-harvest infrastructure handling more fruit over a longer period. Reflecting its commitment to a low-GHG energy future, Seeka is actively installing solar “This mechanism has actually reduced Seeka’s insurance costs and avoided the increases in insurance costs experienced across New Zealand. Seeka estimates that the savings to date are more than $5 million.” panels where practicable – for example, at its post-harvest facility in Katikati. Seeka Katikati has high sunshine hours, but it also makes strategic sense to invest in solar generation there. “Katikati is a good location for solar as we pack avocados there, so we have power demand in summer; we also had suitable roof space there for the development,” Michael says. Connecting growers to the world, Seeka remains laser-focused on excellence and bringing high-quality, sustainably grown fruit from the orchard to the market.
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