48 | PRODUCTION Tasman Bay Food Co T T Virginia Wright Squeezing the most out of apples Simon Thomas took up the role of CEO in 2022, the first non-family member to lead the company, with several family members holding key roles, both operating and overseeing the business. The founders of the Tasman Bay Food Company, Brian and Heather Hirst, were pioneers in the grape juice industry in the Tasman District, and that grape juice was the first product of the still family-owned business, which continues to thrive 40 years later. Simon Thomas took up the role of CEO in 2022, the first non-family member to lead the company, with several family members holding key roles, both operating and overseeing the business. Over the years, the Tasman Bay Food Co has created a wide range of products as food trends have come and gone, all characterised by their focus on local, healthy ingredients turned into locally produced brands. “The legacy brand is Juicies, which turns 35 years old this year, and that’s really at the heart of the business itself. In its original format, it was a juice product that kids were putting into the freezer, and it transitioned over into the frozen product in the early ’90s,” explains Simon. Nelson grows an abundance of apples, mainly for export, and also sold on the domestic market. The Hirsts recognised the potential of juice-grade apples for their business – those not considered premium. “Which led to what Juicies are now, which is a fresh-pressed, apple juice-based, frozen iceblock, which now comes in multiple flavours,” says Simon. “All our apples come from within about a 50-kilometre radius of where our factory is located. The apples that don’t make the grade for export or domestic consumption become either juice fruit, or animal fodder, even though they’re perfectly good eating apples. We juice these apples on-site, blend them with fruit concentrates and freeze them.” The simplicity of their approach offers consumers a natural and unadulterated product, which is really tasty and which is increasingly recognised (35 years later), as a healthy product for children and their parents alike, as consumer awareness grows. Tasman Bay Food Co’s core focus remains products that appeal to children, such as the Moosies range, a popular dairy- based frozen treat. For years, the Hirsts sold their products through school canteens, adding baked goods to their range of healthy canteen options in the 1990s with the purchase of a bakery, and also supplying to contract customers in a diversification that serves the company well. “As the school canteen business changed, the bakery concentrated on bars, cookies and sweet products, making premium baked products like muesli bars and centre-filled fruit bars for contract customers and other brand owners,” explains business administration manager Ainslie Pomeroy. While they still sell into school canteens, they have continued to expand their markets selling into a range of channels over the years. Now Tasman Bay Food Co products, such as their Tropical Juicies, are available in 100 % of New Zealand’s supermarkets, as well as in Coles and Woolworths in Australia. They continue to diversify with their range of products as well, explains Simon. “Using apples that otherwise won’t be sold means their nutritional value isn’t wasted, and sustainability and reducing food waste is increasingly important for us as a New Zealand
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