Next year the company marks its 120th year with plenty to celebrate.
T&G has become well known for its Jazz and Envy apple varieties alongside burgeoning asparagus production in South America, plus citrus, berry and stonefruit growth in other regions.
"Asparagus and grapes are just two of our key global categories," says Sarah McCormack, Executive General Manager - International at T&G. "For a product to become a global category we need to be vertically integrated in that product outside of New Zealand. Asparagus became a global category last year when we entered into a joint venture with the biggest asparagus grower in Australia. It’s a major product for us now, given that we also export grapes out of Australia, New Zealand, Peru and Mexico."
T&G is responding to growing demand for its grapes by planting vineyards in Puira in northern Peru.
"We’re in the process of planting an additional 200 ha of grapes which will mainly be seedless varieties. It’s a significant move for us with our first harvest in November. That production will supplement our existing production from South Africa, Australia, Chile and North America giving us much bigger market reach."
Bigger presence in Asia
Central to T&G's customer-centric focus is having a stronger in-market presence.
“Asia is an important market for us,” says Sarah. “We recently opened offices in Bangkok, Shanghai and Tokyo to better service our in-market customers and assist them to grow their business. We also have people on the ground in Singapore and Vietnam. Our biggest market in the region is Thailand, with China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Japan making up the top five. Singapore, Indonesia Malaysia and Myanmar are also significant markets for us."
Branded products and competition
In recent years there has been increasing demand for branded products in Asia and T&G has been successful in this region by delivering a consistent, 12-month supply of premium branded products.
The company markets Jazz and Envy in Asia as well as Sun World grapes and Zespri kiwifruit, through a marketing agreement signed in February this year for the South East Asia region.
Ignacio Smith, Sarah McCormack and Darren Dury at Asia Fruit Logistica.
Thanks to the success of these partnerships, T&G is now in discussions with other companies.
Sarah says T&G is well positioned for further growth. “Our strengthened in-market teams are providing us with a better understanding of the day-to-day needs of our customers and also valuable consumer insights. We’ve always enjoyed good dialogue with customers but having our staff on the ground, seeing first-hand how consumers are responding to our produce and marketing, is extremely valuable as it enables us to be agile with our promotional support and make changes as and if needed.”
Sarah says T&G has some exciting initiatives planned for 2017 and that the business is looking forward to another successful year for not only itself but also its growers, suppliers and customers.
For more information:
Jo Jalfon
T&G Global Limited
Tel: + 64 27 201 2645
Email: joanne.jalfon@tandg.global
www.tandg.global