Fonterra to exit Russian businesses
Fonterra has announced it will exit its businesses in Russia. This follows the Co-op’s decision to suspend shipments of product to Russia at the end of February.
CEO Miles Hurrell says “our first step following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to establish the safety of the team in Russia, and our priority through this process continues to be doing the right thing by our people.
“We then suspended shipment of product to Russia while we assessed the impact of economic sanctions and discussed our long-term plans with our customers and joint venture partner.
Fonterra exports a small amount of product to Russia, primarily butter, totalling about 1% of its annual exports.
“Given the current strong demand for New Zealand dairy, we are confident in our ability to re-allocate this product to other markets,” says Mr Hurrell.
New Zealand has been exporting butter to Russia for more than 40 years. Fonterra entered the joint venture Unifood in December 2018.
Business 180 provides a lifeline for struggling business owners
Haylee Wrenn has seen it all – from business owners who can’t understand why they are making a loss, to those who don’t realise they are making a profit.
Some businesses are structured inefficiently, while others are too lean. Every week she speaks with someone whose mental health is severely affected by their business position.
In a worst-case situation, Haylee has been called in to help a business in peril, only to find her client just lost his desperate business partner to suicide.
The award-winning accountant says seeing too many anxious, stressed and burnt-out clients giving up on their businesses during Covid made her decide she needed to be part of the solution, developing an affordable online programme called Business 180.
“Far too often, I’ve watched accountancy fail small businesses” the former IRD debt collector explains. “Doing tax returns is one thing, but nobody teaches you how to go into business and do it well, providing essential, practical information to help people really look after themselves. I couldn’t find anything else in the market to capture business owners when they’re in a dark place, especially in such challenging times.”
But Business 180 does. The programme delivers a helping hand to anyone needing financial management, work-life balance and mental health support tools.
Haylee, who was crowned New Zealand Bookkeeper of the Year 2020 and won the NZ Bookkeeping Partner of the Year at the Xero Awards in 2021, launches her pioneering concept to the public this week, having trialled it through a pilot. Broken into separate modules, which can be undertaken online at business owners’ own pace, the Business 180 programme begins with ‘Is Your Business in Trouble?’
“It’s designed to assist businesses under immediate threat, covering topics such as assessing business health, company viability, as well as exploring exactly what happens when a business is liquidated or bankrupted,” says Haylee. “Importantly, it outlines what mechanisms are in place to support people’s mental wellbeing. The content is innovative and interactive, provided through quizzes, self-assessment tools, case studies and interviews.”
The module also offers professional psychotherapy guidance around managing stress and encouraging business owners to prioritise themselves and their wellbeing. “Many of my clients struggle with mental health, which has a knock-on impact on their physical health such as high blood pressure,” says Haylee. “In the most severe and heart-breaking cases, I’ve seen stress-related suicide, while others have lost their livelihood due to stress-induced illnesses, impacting their children and eventually ending their marriage.
“While there are many factors that contribute to such a desperate scenario, I am committed to ensuring that business owners can receive mental health support. That is why Business 180 partners with a psychotherapist to deal with this important area. It’s about getting business owners back on track, rather than them reaching a stage where they feel desperate.”
Following the ‘Is Your Business in Trouble?’ module, subscribers can choose to move on to a range of other modules. ‘How to Business’ unpacks areas such as understanding financial accounting, payroll and holidays, tax and how it is worked out. ‘People, Productivity and Profit’ tackles topics such as resourcing, marketing, and measuring performance.
All modules also offer regular access to Haylee’s expertise and a closed Facebook group providing valuable peer support. And it’s already making an impact on entrepreneurs.
Each Business 180 module takes between three and five hours to work through, and there are various pricing options available, including the Business 180 bundle which includes all three starter modules for $1000.
“It’s the best investment business owners can make in themselves,” says Haylee, “and after completing Business 180, they’ll recoup it so quickly.
“This really is what I’m passionate about and my life’s work – empowering small business owners through education and practical assistance.”
Jamie Oliver joins hotel exodus from Russia
Jamie Oliver is shutting his Jamie’s Italian restaurant and franchise operations in Russia as he joins a raft of Western companies, including major hotel chains, fleeing the country in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.
A Jamie Oliver Group spokesperson has confirmed the company was exiting its franchise agreement and all operations in Russia will cease trading. The business is scrapping an agreement with franchisee Ginza Project, which will see the Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Moscow remove its branding.
Hotel groups including IHG, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott International have announced they will suspend future investments, development activity and new hotel openings in Russia as well as close corporate offices in Moscow, but will continue to support staff. Hilton said it would donate any profits from business operations in Russia to the humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine.
In a statement, Marriott said its properties in Russia were owned by third parties, “and we continue to evaluate the ability for these hotels to remain open”.
Hyatt said: “As this complex situation unfolds, we will continue to evaluate our existing management agreements with the third-party entities that own Hyatt hotels in Russia, while complying with applicable sanctions and US government directives, and keeping our purpose of care at the centre of any decision we make.”
Radisson has temporarily suspended new partnerships and new investments. A statement from the company said: “All our Radisson Hotel Group properties in Russia are owned by third parties and we continue to operate in some capacity as we play a key role in supporting employees and local communities.
“While we continue to evaluate the hotel operations in Russia against the backdrop of applicable sanctions and government directives, we remain committed to our people and the communities we serve.”
Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Starbucks, announced earlier this month that the company had decided to suspend all business activity in Russia, including shipment of all Starbucks products, while its licensed partner had agreed to pause store operations and would provide support to the nearly 2,000 employees in Russia.
McDonald’s has decided to temporarily close all its restaurants in Russia and Yum! Brands is suspending operations of KFC company-owned restaurants in the country. At the time of writing, the company was also finalising an agreement to suspend all Pizza Hut restaurant operations in Russia.
A statement from Accor, which has 57 hotels in Russia, said: “Accor has made the decision to suspend all planned openings and all future developments in Russia as well as loyalty partnerships with Russian counter parties. In addition, the group is fully complying with the list of sanctions enforced by the EU, the US and the UK. All management booking distribution loyalty and procurement services to hotels, to which owners are included on this list of sanctions, are suspended.
“However, Accor will continue to operate in Russia in some capacity as the group plays a key role in supporting its 3,500 employees, their families and local communities. In times of turmoil, Accor hotels remain shelters to many people, including foreign citizens, NGOs and media, as has been the case for the past 50 years.”
The celebrity chef’s restaurant company, Jamie Oliver Group, is scrapping an agreement with its franchisee partner Ginza Project, which has operated a Jamie’s Italian in the centre of Moscow for almost a decade.
Ginza this weekend was ordered to strip out all Jamie’s Italian branding from the site and will also be required to shut down all branded social media.
It must also close the Jamie Oliver cookery school in Moscow that has been open for just over six years.
A spokesman for Jamie Oliver said: “We are exiting our franchise agreement and our operations in Russia will cease trading.”
Jamie’s Italian restaurants almost entirely disappeared from UK high streets in 2019 after the business collapsed into administration.
However, there have still been branded restaurants abroad in countries including Hungary, India and Portugal, as well as Russia.
The step to end the franchise deal in Russia puts Mr Oliver as the latest to exit the country following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
McDonald’s, Starbucks and KFC last week all confirmed they would be pulling their operations, condemning the Kremlin’s actions amid growing pressure from customers who were threatening to boycott brands who continued to keep stores open.
Schnitzel love stakes hit new crumbed high
Schnitzel has hit hero status in New Zealand after a casual Twitter conversation went viral causing the internet to erupt in support of the crumbed cut.
New Zealand-based Twitter user and prolific pollster @Chamfy, is the accidental architect of Schnitzelmania, which started on Sunday evening as she sat down at the Bavarian in Newmarket to have her first memorable schnitzel since 2005 (in a tiny German town).
A casual Twitter poll about the wildness of the Aussie obsession with schnitzel, led to a frenzy from Kiwi tweeters not to be outdone in the Schnitzel Love Stakes (steaks?) by their Trans-Tasman rivals posting pictures and stories of their most recent schnitzel, swapping schnitz recipe tips and generally celebrating the ‘flat meat’. Many reflected on how it was a staple growing up.
The conversation took a life of its own, with ‘Schnitzel’ trending at number 12 in New Zealand, ahead of Ronaldo, Kainga Ora and working its way up to Kanye.
@Chamfy, a first generation Asian New Zealander who has spent nearly 25 years in Aoteaora, said she was amazed that nobody has ever mentioned the ubiquity of the schnitzel to Kiwi life.
“Just feel extremely baffled that for all our national conversations about identity, nobody ever mentioned all the schnitzel everyone has been having. Like, why I have been pretending to like pavlova each time I go to renew my citizenship, when it could’ve been schnitzel instead?,” she tweeted
“I’ve spent over a decade of working in middle New Zealand, people have come at me on Monday morning with stories of birds they saw, every part of their body bitten by sandflies, updates on their deck, something, something rugby, something. But not a single person ever mentioned schnitzel. Yet here we are, all these Kiwis are just casually having it and not telling anybody,” she tweeted.
The rise in demand as a result of this innocent Twitter conversation has been so acute, butchers are seeing their schnitzel stocks fly out of the window, bringing back scenes only last seen when Kiwis discovered Lewis Road Chocolate Milk.
Reuben Sharples, owner of Aussie Butcher New Lynn in West Auckland, says schnitzel is always a star seller in his store, but the level of demand this grass-roots movement has caused is putting his stock levels under stress.
“Kiwis normally go ‘schnit yeah’ for schnitzel but over the past few days we’ve seen demand go through the roof. At this rate, if you don’t move fast it schnit gunna be your day.’
The humble schnitzel is a thinly sliced piece of beef thick flank that is usually pounded with a meat tenderiser, then crumbed before frying. The dish is often associated with European countries including Germany and Austria but is in fact a firm favourite across the world.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has now given @chamfy and 10 other Kiwi tweeters the ultimate Schninfluencer challenge: to compete in a cook-off to see who will be crowned the inaugural Schnitzel Champion of Aoteaora New Schnitzealand.
Head to Twitter to keep across the latest developments in New Zealand’s love affair with schnitzel or for a definitive list of favourite kiwi recipes head to recipes.co.nz
Alto-Shaam appoints new regional sales manager
Alto-Shaam, a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry, has appointed Mark Caplin as Regional Sales Manager for New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
In his new role, Mark, a former head chef, is tasked with leading, implementing and growing Alto-Shaam’s sales growth strategies in the region, as well as providing customer support and service.
He will also be responsible for building and maintaining long-term working relationships with channel partners, consultants, key accounts and end users.
With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, including National Business Development and Head of Sales roles within the refrigeration, equipment and commercial kitchen sectors, Mark is looking forward to the task ahead.
“Alto-Shaam is recognised as a true family business that delivers the very highest level of support and service to its customers. Its complete range of kitchen equipment solutions are designed to deliver the greatest flexibility and cooking performance, and I look forward to helping partners and customers across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific’s understand how the benefits of these solutions can convert to profits.”
NZ hospitality on road to recovery says new research
New Zealanders are feeling positive and ready to support the hospitality sector in 2022, according to a new report from CGA, the global On Premise data and insights consultancy.
As part of CGA’s global expansion programme, a host of best-in-class insight solutions are being launched in New Zealand, all dedicated wholly to the On Premise channel.
The first of these research programmes to launch in March 2022 is their monthly On Premise Consumer Pulse, which checks in on around 500 New Zealand On Premise visitors to understand their recent behaviour, how they feel about the channel (including any COVID-related restrictions), and their intention for visits in the month ahead.
Key research findings:-
- 89% of New Zealand consumers surveyed have visited the On Premise already in 2022. While there are lingering concerns around COVID-19, the vast majority of these consumers are eager to get back to bars and restaurants – with 78% planning to visit the same or more often than they did in 2021.
- 51% of New Zealand consumers would feel more comfortable visiting the On Premise if social distancing was maintained, while mandatory masks (49%) and table service only (32%) also ranked highly. Keeping these standards high has never been more important.
- However, the vast majority of Kiwis surveyed are keen to engage with the channel right now and 1 in 5 (21%) intend to visit the On Premise more over the months ahead than last year.
CGA’s managing director, Americas and Asia Pacific, Scott Elliottsaid: “There is little doubt that the hospitality industry in New Zealand has been hit hard by the pandemic but this latest research suggests that consumers do want to come back and the tide is beginning to turn.
“Right now, the key to success for suppliers will be to take learning from other markets a little further down this path. In other developed On Premise markets, the suppliers who have been able to best help their customers navigate a new guest path to purchase – especially in the areas of maximising visit spend via digital and server advocacy/upselling – have gained space, share and loyalty.
“Now is the time though, not in 12 months. Based on our experience around the world, there is no doubt that once the hospitality sector has returned to a more traditional trading pattern, the suppliers who were most proactive in their investment at this resurgent stage have seen the greatest benefits. These gains are proving hard to displace by the late-returners.”
In June, CGA will launch BeverageTrak, a sales tracking solution that will allow suppliers to understand how their brands sell in bars and restaurants across New Zealand by the hour.
This advanced sales tracking solution allows supplier to understand the brand-level performance and competitive opportunity by trading period (Happy Hour, Weekend Brunch etc), day of week and for specific events (holidays, sporting events etc) to help build local sales and activation strategies.
Data source:
Consumer research: Survey conducted over 9 – 14 February, 2022 of 503 respondents across New Zealand, who have visited On Premise venues since the start of 2022. The collection was a nationally representative sample of consumers across age, gender and region.
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Holiday parks grateful for Kiwi support
Kiwi holidaymakers have helped keep hundreds of people in work and supported the survival of holiday parks around the country, new statistics show.
Accommodation statistics for January show that more New Zealanders than ever have been enjoying a traditional Kiwi summer holiday since the pandemic started in 2020.
“We have always had a solid base of domestic visitors and this base has grown over the peak periods in the last two years,” Holiday Parks New Zealand Chief Executive Fergus Brown says.
HPNZ represents 280 holiday parks around New Zealand. These parks employed about 2500 people pre-COVID and contribute millions of dollars to their local communities.
In January 2019, holiday parks recorded 1.7 million guest nights of which 412,000 were international visitors.
No data is available for January 2020 but in January 2021, holiday parks had 1.8 million guest nights – all domestic. This fell slightly in January 2022 to 1.7 million guest nights, likely due to the move to Red took effect on 23 January 2022.
Areas that did well are those close to major population bases and those that have loyal repeat visitors. These included Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Taupō, Hanmer Springs and Nelson Tasman.
However, some regions such as the West Coast, Queenstown, Fiordland and Kaikōura continued to be severely impacted by the lack of international visitors, Mr Brown says.
The holiday park sector is grateful for the ongoing support of Kiwis and will be working hard to encourage them to return in future. But they still desperately need international travellers who would traditionally visit through February-April, after New Zealanders have gone back to work and school, he says.
Pre COVID, holiday parks’ guest nights comprised 65% domestic and 35% international visitors, with many of the international visitors being high spending travellers from Europe and Australia.
“We are looking forward to being able to welcome back international holidaymakers. One good January is not enough to support a business through the other 11 months. We need our borders to reopen as soon as possible,” Mr Brown says.
McDonald’s closes 850 outlets in Russia
McDonald’s has announced it is temporarily closing all of its 850 restaurants in Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The burger giant said it will continue paying its 62,000 employees in Russia “who have poured their heart and soul into our McDonald’s brand”. But in an open letter to employees, McDonald’s president and CEO Chris Kempckinski said closing those stores is the right thing to do for now.
“Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine.”
Kempczinski said it’s impossible to know when the company will be able to reopen its stores.
McDonald’s has also temporarily closed 100 restaurants in Ukraine and continues to pay those employees.
The company could take a big financial hit because of the closures. In a recent regulatory filing, the Chicago-based company said its restaurants in Russia and Ukraine contributed 9 per cent of its annual revenue, or around $2 billion.
Unlike other big fast-food brands in Russia that are owned by franchisees – including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Burger King – McDonald’s owns 84 per cent of its Russian locations.
Pressure has been mounting for McDonald’s and other companies like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo that remain in Russia to pull out. Many corporations have ceased operations in the country in protest of the Ukraine invasion.
It’s toastie competition time again!
Do you think your restaurant, bar, café, hole in the wall eatery or food truck has what it takes to make a competition worthy toasted sandwich?
The Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, New Zealand’s only national toasted sandwich competition is back for a fifth consecutive year and organisers, Cook & Nelson are working hard behind the scenes to get ready for this year’s delicious entries!
There are, of course, a few competition rules. Each toastie creation must be sandwiched between two slices of bread and able to be eaten by hand if necessary.
The toasted sandwich must also contain cheese (vegan cheese substitutes accepted) and some tasty morsels from the McClure’s Pickles range. Everything else is up to the toastie maker’s imagination.
Each entry must be on the establishment’s menu for the full duration of the competition (mid-April to end of May) and be available to customers during lunch hours.
Like previous years, each toastie will be scored on a set criteria, including presentation, effectiveness of preparation technique, eatability, taste, innovation, and originality.
The entries are whittled down to 12 finalists who are again judged by a national judge who determines the supreme winner.
All finalists will receive a case or pail of McClure’s pickles and a set amount of dine-in vouchers which will be given away to locals via social media.
The supreme winner will walk away with a year’s worth of pickles, another set amount of dine-in vouchers, a toastie trophy and, most importantly, bragging rights to the best toasted sandwich in the country.
Entry is free so register your interest today or request more information by emailing deirdre@cookandnelson.com.