New Zealand x Philippines: Food Connection 2015

Milk, butter, cheese – when you talk about these products, one country will automatically register in your mind: New Zealand. Known for being one of the biggest producers of dairy products, New Zealand surely made the most of their rich environment particularly their rich pastures.

But in the recently held New Zealand Food Connection 2015, this country proved to its guests that New Zealand is not just about dairy products – perhaps, they have a lot more to offer and to be proud of when it comes to food and beverages.

A total of eight (8) food and beverage producers presented their products at the Food Connection, an exclusive trade show specifically aiming to connect New Zealand’s remarkable quality in food and beverage production to the Philippines.

First among the eight producers, is none other than Fonterra Brands. Fonterra is a globally leading brand of dairy products such as Anchor milk, butter, cream and more. The farmer-owned co-operative is the largest processor of milk in the world, producing more than two million tons of dairy ingredients.

Talking about dairy-licious products, another brand that will not surely be out of the list is the New Zealand Natural Ice Cream. This brand of ice cream “contains only the freshest, best quality ingredients available, and is made with fresh dairy cream from free roaming cows that feed on the green, unpolluted pastures of New Zealand.” New Zealand Natural, is starting to become a hit on the market because of its wider range of availability in supermarkets. With its creaminess and delicious taste, the guests at the food connection kept coming back at their stall to try their wide array of flavors offered to sweet-tooth customers.

The aforementioned brands of dairy products are no longer a surprise to see in this Food Connection. But what’s surprising is that there are three (3) wine producers who presented their alcoholic beverages in the exposition. The Babich Wines, Brumms Quality Wines, and Villa Maria New Zealand. New Zealand wanted to build an image that they are not only known to produce high quality dairy products, but also wines.

The Babich Wines, which is just a year away to celebrating their 100 years of family winemaking, brings a louder introduction of their products in the Philippines. Its brand is known to have received several awards and recognition for being one of the best wines in the international market.

Meanwhile, Brumm Quality Wines Inc. finally brings not only their Schubert Wines, but also “the world’s best water, from the world’s purest country” – the Antipodes Water. Antipodes is pure New Zealand water and available only at high-end outlets. It is available in Distilled and Sparkling.

Founded in 1961, the 100 percent New Zealand and Family owned Villa Maria operates with care to protect the resources for future generations while producing high quality wines, claiming the title of being the “New Zealand’s Most Awarded Winery” and as the “fourth most admired wine brand in the world by Drinks International.

Since the country has rich pastures, it would no longer be a surprise if they also become exceptional in the meat industry. Federated Distributors, Inc. known for Palm Corned Beef also joined the Food Connection 2015 to showcase their premium quality beef from New Zealand. At present, Palm Corned Beef has 7 variants – Plain, Onion, Garlic, Chili, Barbecue and Gold. New Zealand Beef, is the BEST corned beef!

Given the abundance of natural resources, New Zealand also showcased their fruit products – The Better Drinks Co. and Rockit Apple.

The Better Drinks Co. offers a wide variety of healthy and delicious fruit-based products under the brands Charlie’s and Phoenix Organic. Charlie’s product now includes Fruit Juices, Smoothies, Quenchers, Kids Juice Drinks and Water – all made naturally to give its customers a healthy refreshing feeling in every sip. The Phoenix Organic range of drinks are internationally certified as organic and include Soft Drinks, Sparkling Juice Drinks, Fruit Juices and Sparkling Mineral Water. And guess what? All these products have a 12-month shelf life and are now available in some supermarkets.

Lastly, there is this cute but healthy Rockit Apples! Why cute? Because these apples are specifically bred to be genetically small; as small as a golf ball. Well, not only are the apples unique in size and taste, but also in its form of packaging that stands out, making it convenient and hygienic for people to grab on the go because of its transparent plastic cylinder container with a cap. Rockit see their product as being in competition with snack items. Sadly, it is not yet available in the Philippine market, but who knows? Maybe in a short period of time, you will see these fantastic apples rolling around the supermarket shelves!

“The Philippines is a close friend of New Zealand, and it’s great to see Filipinos enjoying New Zealand products,” says Hernando Banal, New Zealand’s Trade Commissioner to the Philippines.