Napier begins review of District Plan

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Napier City Council has recently launched its District Plan review process, which at this early stage is looking to be based around the following six key outcomes:

1. Putting people first,
2. Open for business,
3. A port and coastal city, 4. Our people our stories, 5. Ecological excellence, 6. Pedal power.

Too often the Plan development process falls into an academic exercise where the direction of a District Plan gets forced to respond to only resource management issues, which risks a framework focused around the status quo, or worst still, the past.

The District Plan development process is supposed to be a creative exercise, where we can do some blue sky thinking and dare to be bold and consider what could be.

The way Napier City Council is approaching this review is refreshing, and while there are obviously certain processes and legal frameworks that need to be followed, this doesn’t mean one can’t create or feel free to suggest ideas, after all, that’s what Planning is all about.

All too often we fall into the trap of thinking it’s all about creating and ticking boxes and following the way it was done in the past, or trying to put different issues or proposals in the one box as we think we need to drive towards the same sort of outcome for everything in the one environment. This happens when the theme or tone of a process or planning document is inherentlyuncreative or not interested in thinking about things. The result is often a regulatory environment where it seems hard to get things done or to introduce new ideas, let alone get excited about them.

Napier has some great opportunities. We have people visiting from all over the world, and having been to a few different places in the world myself, Napier is right up there through the lens of a tourist, and easily comparable to memories of the Mediterranean with its small towns, novel architecture, vibrant centers, coffee shops and eateries. Napier has this potential.

The ecological excellence idea is a great opportunity. Although some may think this gets borne out in greater regulation, its actually the clean streets, water bodies, harbour and coastline, and the well- developed and planted parks and reserves that we all enjoy spending time in. Focusing on ecological excellence is actually one of the easiest things to do to enable our community to unload and spend quality time with our friends and family. Ecological excellence benefits all of us.

So what can you expect in a District Plan process. Well Napier City Council have announced it intends to notify a draft plan in 2020. Between now and then there will be a number of informal ways to contribute ideas and feedback to inform that initial draft. There will then be time to make a submission on the draft prior to the formal Plan being notified.

Once formally notified, the process gets a little more organised. A first round of submissions enables you to make a submission on the plan. A summary of these submissions is then notified, and there is an opportunity to make a further submission as to whether you are in support of, or in opposition to an original submission. There may be opportunities to discuss or mediate on different issues to reach a resolution, but the next step is generally for a report, or series of reports to be prepared that makes a recommendation to a hearing panel. A hearing, or series of hearings is then held where all the outstanding issues are heard and decided on. The Plan will then become operative as all appeals, if there are any, are resolved.

Although managed in a quasi-legal sense, the process is purposely informal so as to encourage participation. This is important, as while the more academic part of a District Plan review sets down what ‘must be’ included, it’s an opportunity to think about what we ‘want’ to include for our City – and who knows, this may influence how we manage those things that must be included.

I think the direction Napier City Council is looking to take our city, and more importantly the manner in which they are wanting to do it, is the way it should be, and while there will no doubt be competing interests and debate around the detail, future outcomes seem exciting – and they’re the ones we can only imagine at the moment.

Dentiq – new dental care for Hawke’s Bay

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A dollar a day for your annual dental care is just one initiative Dr Sundar Jagadeesan is introducing to his second and newest Hawke’s Bay dental clinic, Dentiq.

If his approach to growing bis first practice in Wairoa is anything to go by, Dr Sundar is sure to make a success out of his new state­ of-the-art practice on Gloucester Street in Greenmeadows, which opened in late December.

Dr Sundar arrived in New Zealand in 2004. He lived in Auckland for a couple of years before completing bis New Zealand dental licence in Otago in 2007. He then practiced in Greymouth and Hamilton before buying an already established practice in Wairoa in 2012.

T he practice had limited active patients when Dr Sundar bought it from the previous dentist, but with a mantra of ‘beautiful smiles begin here’, he quickly built the practice up to over 2,800 patients.

Dr Sundar is focused on creating a dental wellness pathway for patients, something that he learnt while studying in Seattle. He wants to sec dentistry as affordable for everyone and create long-lasting relationships with his patients.

“The framework is mainstream science-based dentistry but taking a medical model of delivering dental care rather than a masonry model. We treat the teeth in the context of the person behind the teeth and just not the teeth”.

“Regular routine dental care is less expensive than if you wait until it hurts!”

One concept to achieve this is by introducing the dollar a day subscriber model. He says a new patient gets about $650 of dental care in the first year for just $365.This includes two checks-ups during the year, x-rays and a fluoride application.

“Did you know that just 30 percent of the population go to the dentist regularly – which is one to two times a year – while 44 percent go every two years.”

When people come into the clinic they arc assessed over five measures using a traffic light system moving them from red to green: how comfortable they are with dentistry; what is their gum health; their individual condition of teeth; their bite and jaw joint; and aesthetics, that is, how good their teeth look.

“We risk analyse the patient’s oral health care across these five measures and move them into a wellness model, not into a repair model.”

The move from single tooth  dentistry to comprehensive care requires a great understanding of risk factors and the ability to manage them effectively.

The comprehensive examination, the initial patient engagement focuses the clinician and patient on the variables most likely to ensure a predictable and excellent outcome.

The examination will be carefully examined to the patient understand it’s most diagnostically useful elements, including an insightful look at your medical and dental history, how to better account for a patient’s agendas and expectations, intelligent use o f radiographic and photographic documentation, and gum health (periodontal), teeth (biomechanical), bite and jaw joint (functional) and appearance of teeth (dento facial) presentations.

“It’s a refreshing way to approach one’s dental care and yo u will understand that we are interested to partner with you for a longterm dental wellness outcome rather than to fix a single tooth with less predictablity.”

Dr Sundar was personally trained by Dr John Kois a master clinician cum -teacher in Seattle, Washington, USA over three and half years. I t was a major commitment as he juggled his practice, young family and studies which all finished up well.

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” – Aristotle

The main focus of Dentiq is to empower our clients to make the right decisions based on the latest evidence based dentistry which will improve their lives holistically.

When you arrive at Dentiq, directly opposite Greenmeadows New World, you’re met by a welcoming team matched with beautiful smiles showing off their shiny white teeth.

White is also the predominant colour of the clinic and it’s noticeable that Dr Sundar has spent a lot of time designing the look of the clinic as well as its flow – from the comfortable reception area through to the dental care rooms.

“I wanted a large space. We have a dedicated room to risk analyse and diagnose the situation, and then two restorative rooms, one hygiene room and one denture making roo m. These are custom made for each procedure. We also have a fully fitted out dental laboratory on site and a client recovery room with a fully body massage chair. A client can rest and recover fully before they head out into their lLives .”

Dr Sundar says he’s regarded as a big dreamer and is looking forward to his dream coming to reality in his “new home” Dentiq.

Watch this space!

www.dentiq.co.nz

 

Connecting youth and business

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There’s plenty of youth looking for work says Hastings District Council social and youth development manager Dennise Elers, “they’ve just got to be given a chance”.

That’s what Orsborn Roadmarkers has done becoming one of the first local businesses to employ a Hastings youth from the council’s Youth Connectors programme.

Orsborn Roadmarkers  owners  Angela and Lucas Orsborn bought the family business two years ago and decided when the opportunity arose, they would   look to provide jobs to local youth. Their first Youth Connector employee Keanu has been such a success they’re keen to employ more youngsters.

Hastings District Council started the Youth Connector programme in 2017 and it was given a $460,000 funding boost last year from the Government tO build on its already successful Connector model programme, which connects employers, local youth and whanau.

Since then council has engaged with 89 youth with 45 going into work and two into training. The remainder are being mentored in the programme to link them to employers like Angela and Lucas.

“We have a workforce here now, we just need to do a bit of work with them to prepare them. It’s about giving them a chance.”

Angela and Lucas have been busy building up their business which over the years has painted road markings on nearly every road across the Central East Coast of the North lsland.

Angela says the y were keen to employ youth both as the business grew and when the time came replace retiring staff.

“We’ve heard about the Youth Connectors programme and decided to give Hastings District Council a call and it was a good decision,” Angela says.

As part of Youth Connectors, both parties – the employee and the employer are connected with the council’s Youth Connectors team.

Dennise says there is a strong emphasis on pastoral care, both in preparing youth for employment opportunities as well as follow ups once they’ve been placed in a job .

”We also offer this co the business to make it as easy as possible for them to give someone a chance,” she says.

Already you th have been placed with a good mi.” of businesses across Hastings from fencing firms, to horticulture businesses

as well as being placed in council managed facilities such as Splash Planet and the libraries.

“We get employee referrals from City Assist, community centres, Work and Income and we’re trying co strongly engage with local businesses.

“Business people are busy and sometimes they don’t have the time to provide support for a young potential employee.”

Based on the success with Keanu Angela and Lucas arc keen to employ more youth from the programme.

“Without a doubt, we would give other youngsters a chance and we’ve also referred Youth Connectors to other local businesses.

 

The land of milk and honey

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Relationships have been the key ingredient to launching the world’s first milk and Manuka honey drink, Moonuka Milk.

Relationships have been the key ingredient to launching the world’s first milk and Mānuka honey drink, Moonuka Milk.

Hawke’s Bay’s Steffen Kara has partnered with long-term work colleague Gareth Wynyard and mutual friend Greg Hayhow to bring an idea first dreamed up in Gareth’s Auckland apartment in 2012 to life.

It’s been a long journey but the three friends have now found the perfect milk-to-Mānuka honey formula and have created and trademarked the drink that has been strongly influenced by several Hawke’s Bay businesses.

Steffen says that although he thought the idea of a milk-based drink was not necessarily a moneymaker, Gareth thought otherwise and spent many nights in his apartment kitchen trying to find the perfect balance of milk and honey.

“It was back in 2012 when we sat in Gareth’s apartment in Auckland and brainstormed a wide range of ideas, one of which was a milk and honey drink, which I didn’t think that much of but Gareth did.”

However, nothing came of any of the ideas for about four years until Gareth decided to start mixing milk and Mānuka honey in his kitchen. He then convinced Steffen that it was worth further developing and backed his hunch by trademarking the product in China.

The product was taken to Massey University’s FoodBowl, an open access food processing facility operated by NZ Food Innovation to perfect the flavour and undertake a full trial.

Food science technicians tested a range of milks from low fat to standard and various concentrations of Manuka honey, before settling on standard pasteurised milk blended with three percent Mānuka honey.

If it hadn’t been for Steffen’s relationship with a former neighbour, Moonuka may have ended up with a different taste profile to the finished product, which is currently being taste-tested by friends in New Zealand as well as samples being passed around to distributors in China and parts of Asia.

“We were pretty happy with it [the taste] but we wanted the drink to be in a bottle rather than in a Tetra Pak carton.

“We had created a high-value product using Mānuka honey and it would have been a shame to then put it into a carton.”

Steffen went to see Neil McGarva, his former neighbour and the founder and owner of Envictus Diary NZ based in Whakatu, Hastings.

Neil established New Zealand’s first state of the art UHT aseptic PET bottling line for dairy, juice and water in 2011 and Steffen was keen to see if Moonuka Milk could be bottled using Neil’s technology.

A key benefit would be to use UHT heat treatment to extend the shelf life of the drink from around a week to at least 12 months.

It would also enable the PET injection moulding to create a ‘milk bottle’ look that Steffen and Gareth desired.

What they didn’t expect from Neil was a suggestion of changing from standard milk

to full cream milk, a decision that they believe will be the export success of the product.

“Neil liked the mix of milk and honey but he asked what our target markets were, which we named as South East Asia and China, to which he suggested we use full cream milk instead.

“He said they liked the taste of full cream milk, so we did a batch at Envictus and it was perfect.”

Working with Envictus enabled Gareth and Steffen to keep true to their brand’s vision of using recyclable packaging.

Two other local businesses have also been instrumental in the product’s development. An old work colleague of Steffen’s created the brand and the bottle design, based on a brief of being authentic and having a strong Maori culture focus. The Mānuka honey has also been sourced locally from Melita in Manchester Street, Hastings.

“George Williams from Blackdog Design did the branding and has brought our vision to life and created an amazing looking bottle.

“We also decided that if we were going to make the product in Hawke’s Bay then we should try and find a local honey supplier. Hawke’s Bay is the food bowl of New Zealand and I wanted to be able to promote as much of the region’s products as possible.

“Mānuka honey is a big cost, especially when it comes to formulation when you’re doing big volumes, and it was great that we met the guys at Melita, who’ve been really helpful in getting our trial up and running. To be honest, the Mānuka honey from Melita is the star ingredient,” he says.

A trial batch isn’t about taking a few dozen bottles around to supermarkets; they needed to produce the equivalent of a 40-foot shipping container of Moonuka Milk, which costs, as Steffen says, “a heck a lot for our first production run”.

This is where Greg became part of the mix as the money man and also his experience in business ownership and sales acumen. Greg, a semi-retired Aucklander, approached Gareth and Steffen after tasting the product, seeing the brand and then engaging in some “tough” negotiating on his shareholding.

“Greg’s decision to work with us was like the stars aligning and perfect timing for us all; it enabled us to quickly do our first full production run with Envictus.”

Now the hard work begins in convincing international distributors to promote it and New Zealand retailers to stock Moonuka Milk on their shelves. They have successfully gained a contract to supply all Farro Fresh food stores in Auckland and some speciality food stores like Haumoana Burger, Pixie Bowl and Switch Coffee in Napier, just to name a few.

“Our aim is to produce four container loads a month, or about 250,000–300,000 bottles, that’s our target. We have got to get China’s CIQ accreditation, which will enable us to export Moonuka Milk, and then that will enable us to get further access into Asia.”

Steffen also hopes that Moonuka Milk can join the Hui Māori Collective, the first Maori business collective to have a presence on one of China’s main e-commerce platforms, Tmall Global, which is part of the Alibaba Group.

The collective comprises 13 companies that together sell a range of premium products including wine, Mānuka honey, dairy (milk powder), fruit bars and Kawakawa soft drink.

“It will be great if we can join the collective as it will enable us to further tell our brand story, Tehei Mauri Taiao, which has several meanings including ‘a breath of nature’s elixir’ and ‘cheers and good health to all’,” Steffen says.

For Gareth, Greg and Steffen, the horizon above the land of the long white cloud looks more like a sea of NZ’s finest white creamy milk and golden Mānuka honey.

www.moonukamilk.com

Hawke’s Bay Airport’s new arrivals hall open for business

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The new arrivals hall at the Hawke’s Bay Airport has been well received by passengers as it opened.

After a 36 hour flight from Sweden Araminta Wilson was the first passenger to collect her bags from the new automated baggage system. Araminta  from Otane, Central Hawke’s Bay, initially thought someone famous was on the flight due to the ‘paparazzi’ snapping photos as she grabbed her bags.

She was presented with a $500 Ovation NZ Lamb gift voucher from HB Airport Commercial Manager Dean Smith and Ovation’s marketing executive Renae Burridge.

“I’ve flown in from probably the most furthest place from Hawke’s Bay.

“I had no idea what was happening, I just thought the airport was looking pretty swish. I haven’t been home for a long time and I just thought ‘wow the airport had expanded quite a bit’.

“I thought there was someone famous on the flight, and then I was tapped on the shoulder and told that I was the first passenger to collect a bag in the new arrivals hall.

Hawke’s Bay Airport chief executive Stuart Ainslie said it was fantastic to see the first passengers arrive and enter into the new arrivals hall and collect their bags from an automated baggage reclaim system.

“It was exciting to see visitors and locals returning home walk into the arrivals hall for the first time and there has been a lot of hard work put in by the construction project team and sub-contractors and the airport team to meet today’s deadline.

“It’s a big milestone for the airport to get to this stage but there’s much more to come as a new-look airport becomes a gateway for the region that will be much more culturally connected.

As well as the new baggage reclaim system the arrivals hall also has vehicle rental kiosks and a pop up café. The arrivals hall was blessed by local hapu Mana Ahuriri early Sunday morning.

The arrivals area will remain separate from the remainder of the existing terminal. Stage 2 construction will continue at the southern end  to include the new check in area,  with the final stage 3 delivering the centralised hospitality and commercial hub opening mid 2020.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton attended the blessing on Sunday and expects the new arrivals hall to be busy over the next couple of months as the region hosts many major events.

“The airport redevelopment is fast taking shape and we are starting to see a first class provincial airport that we can all be proud of.

“We are in our busy tourism period with the Art Deco Festival and Mission Concert and the new arrivals area will be very busy over the next couple of months.

“There has been great collaboration between the airport and Mana Ahuriri which was well evidenced at the blessing on Sunday morning and I look forward to the next two stages and the completion of the project in 2020.”

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst also welcomed the opening of the new arrivals hall.

“It’s great to see stage 1 of the airport expansion open and welcoming visitors to Hawke’s Bay.

“There has been significant progress, firstly with the opening of the new Watchman Road entranceway and now the new arrivals area in the terminal. The airport is an important gateway to the region and with passenger numbers well in excess of 700,000 a year, we will have an airport that can cope with current and anticipated growth.”

Mr Ainslie said the “big wow” of the redeveloped airport will not be realised until the $20.2m project is completed in mid 2020.

“The arrivals hall is only about 20 percent of the entire project. We are pretty much building a new terminal on part of site of the current terminal and increasing the footprint by 74 percent.

In August the Hawke’s Bay Airport company announced upgraded its terminal expansion due to a revised passenger forecast of 1 million passengers by 2025.

“We added another 500 square metres and revised the budget from $15.7m to $20.2m so that we could meet the anticipated growth as well as create additional retail and commercial offerings.

“We have been able to finance the expansion from our strong balance sheet, which is a great position to be in.”

Finding a niche in a large global market

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Global and national interest in hemp seed products may be growing but when Kanapu launched into the market, its founders knew they needed to establish a unique selling proposition to ensure success.

At that point, the market was focused on hemp seed oil as a nutraceutical and it was commonly found on the shelves of health stores, particularly in pill form.

But Kanapu co-founder Isaac Beach says at the time there was also growing national and international interest in ‘functional hemp foods’.

“We decided to enter the market from a culinary point of view, focusing on the associated benefits of consuming hemp in the form of a functional food.

“That was a big gap in the market we identified. No one was in that space and yet it was perfect for us because not only is Hawke’s Bay the best part of the country to cultivate industrial hemp, it’s also full of expertise and business support in the area of food. We have some of the nation’s best culinary experts and chefs.

“We partnered with some of them and they came up with these brilliant ways of consuming hemp seed oil, and that led to the community understanding hemp food products are not drugs, they are safe and these expert chefs are using them in their meals at high-end restaurants, in high-end cuisine.”

Among the chefs championing the company’s oil have been Hawke’s Bay’s Kent Baddeley (best known for his restaurant 1024) and Jackson Smith, executive chef at Havelock North’s Malo.

Another aspect of Kanapu’s business strategy has been focusing on supplying the highest-quality product to local markets, given that hemp seed products degrade over time once they’re processed.

“In terms of quality and the realisation of functional benefits of hemp foods, consumers are wanting to consume them within the shortest time since they’ve been processed,” Isaac says.

“We’re better positioned to supply the local market than producers in other countries because of our shorter distance and time to market. We can compete effectively locally, and also in Australia, with regards to providing quality product.

“That, combined with the fact that we’re growing in Hawke’s Bay, is a significant unique point of difference from a quality standpoint.

“Our goal as a company is to focus on functional hemp foods and minimise the distance as much as possible from process to plate, and that’s essentially what we’ve achieved.

“Consumers are raving about the colour, the texture and the taste of our oil versus other oils on the market.”

 

Mastering the plumbing business

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Tim had been working as a contractor in Hawke’s Bay before making the decision to move to Port Headland, travelling around the Pilbara in Western Australia, setting up massive infrastructure for satellite mining camps – housing developments for between 2 to 5 thousand people. The money was amazing and the driving eye-opening.

“I covered some huge km’s, often driving 5-6 hours to fix a tap. It was the Australia that you wouldn’t otherwise see – vast desert. It was awesome.”

Coming home in 2012 Tim knew he wanted to set up on his own. He opened an office in King Street in Hastings, with a part-time office person and one other plumber joining him. There was plenty of work and it was hard to know which jobs to take and how to manage the business growth, having had no business management training.

“I went to an event and listened to another owner speaking about his experience with The Icehouse and thought it sounded practical and could work for me.”

Tim was able to access NZTE funding from the Regional Business Partner in Hawke’s Bay which gave him the extra push to get into the local Owner Operator Programme, facilitated by Michaela Vodanovich and incorporating one on one business coaching with monthly workshops and action groups.

“Getting started with The Icehouse, I realised how naïve I was, but I quickly picked up more and more skills from the workshops and the other people on the course. I had been a bit worried about paying

Jay Jay Kettle and Tim Masters at their new offices in Hastings.

for the programme but the funding we were able to access did make a big difference. I started pushing ahead and was gaining clarity as well as momentum so the cost wasn’t an issue – looking back it was a no-brainer – suddenly I was adding another plumber and another plumber.

One of the first things I learnt from the Icehouse was, if you want to be a bigger business then you need to act like a bigger business so we invested in software that could run massive crews, even though at the time we only had a few staff.”

Tim also learnt about the importance of high-quality customer service to the business and what that looks like.

“I know that’s one of the key reasons we are so busy today, together with top notch, quality workmanship – customer service remains our focus.”

Now the business has 10 staff, including plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers, a digger and truck driver plus apprentices and two office staff in a bigger office in King Street. They cover a mix of commercial and residential services for Hawkes Bay’s top builders and Masters is one of only a few local companies to offer central heating – a feature that many people moving to Hawke’s Bay from Europe can’t be without.

Jay Jay Kettle is the face of the business as the office manager and is taking more responsibility from Tim. A need to understand strategic aspects of the business meant Jay Jay required new skills and management tools. Tim enrolled her in The Icehouse Effective Leadership Programme at the Business Hub, a three month programme of workshops and coaching, to support and develop managers in their individual roles.

Over the last year or so I have been picking up a lot of work that Tim used to do and now I feel like Tim can focus on growing the business and I have the confidence to take on more responsibility, including recruiting staff and dealing with issues that come up.

Learning how to be a better communicator and take positive and different approaches to day to day challenges was valuable and we all learnt so much from each other on the Programme.

Sometimes you think you’re the only one dealing with complex issues but The Icehouse makes you realise you’re not alone.”

For Tim, the chance for Jay Jay to do an Icehouse programme was perfect timing, not only just for the business but also allowing him to plan for some much-needed time-off.

“The leadership training has given Jay Jay a deeper understanding of the business, allowing me to focus on the jobs I need to be across and the big tenders.

“I’ve also got a trip planned to the States later in the year and to be able to leave the country with confidence that everything will be ok is pretty cool – we’ve come a long way.”

Working as a travelling plumber in the Aussie mines gave Tim Masters the experience to manage large scale projects but it provided little guidance through the minefield that is owning your own business.

 

Growing a market for hemp foods

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Having to ramp up your target production because product demand significantly exceeds initial forecasts is one of those business headaches it can be nice to have.

It’s the situation Isaac Beach and Simon White of Otane-based Kanapu Hemp Foods found themselves in this year.

Kanapu has been growing hemp on Otane’s Ludlow Estate, Simon’s family’s farm, and the cold-pressed hemp seed oil they’ve been producing has been in hot demand.

Targeting the premium end of the hemp food market – both locally and internationally – the company is also close to launching a packaged hemp flakes product.

“Following our marketing launch earlier this year, and as a consequence of the response from around the country, we’ve had to adjust some of our forecasting around demand for functional hemp foods in New Zealand,” says Isaac.

“It’s resulted in us increasing our target production for this year (the 2018–19 summer growing season) to around twice what we’d originally intended before the launch.”

The new production target is about 250 hectares of hemp, which the pair admit could be challenging to achieve. It will involve extending production beyond Ludlow Estate, using contract growers across Hawke’s Bay – potentially from Wairoa down to Dannevirke.

The hemp varieties being harvested by Kanapu have zero tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), so are completely non-psychoactive.

They contain about four percent gamma linolenic acid (GLA), a bioactive fatty acid known for its anti-inflammatory qualities, and two to three percent cannabidiol (CBD), which has been shown to be therapeutically useful in treating pain and epilepsy.

Isaac says the company is looking to commence growing trials this season with high CBD hemp varieties, containing 8.5–13 percent CBD.

Hemp production is regulated, meaning Kanapu needs to have its licenses amended in order to achieve its growth plans.

“We’re working with the Ministry of Health to first enable the increase in cultivation area within a short time frame. That process will impact on whether we can meet the target or not,” says Isaac.

“The Ministry have indicated we need to provide justification for the increase, and the justification is that people want to start consuming this product more readily.”

At around 700 hectares, Ludlow Estate is predominantly a mixed-cropping farm. Simon says he became excited about hemp’s potential following an initial meeting with Isaac.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities. And this was a very new opportunity that came to our attention. We researched it and Isaac and I put a three-year plan together. We had targets and key goals within that three-year plan. We achieved all those goals and targets and from there we launched on a commercial scale.”

Simon says a key aspect of the business is that Kanapu is working on a model under which the company controls all aspects of the product, from growing the hemp right through to sale of the product.

“We’re involved in the process the whole way through, which is a key part of making it a successful premium product. That way you’re guaranteeing quality of the product, which is really satisfying,” he says.

“The other thing that’s really hit home recently is the number of testimonials we’ve been receiving from people who’ve been using our product. They’re telling us they’ve been able to stop taking pills [for pain and arthritis] and are instead just using this sustainable product that’s actually helping them.”

Isaac says Kanapu was strongly focused on developing the hemp food industry as a positive economic driver within the Hawke’s Bay region and the Ngati Kahungunu rohe.

“In that regard, we are already establishing relationships with existing cropping farmers to assist in developing this industry because we realise if it’s going to become all that it can be in Hawke’s Bay, it’s going to require a joint effort from multiple farming interests – from the farming side of the value chain

right through to manufacturing, et cetera,” he says.

“From a manufacturing point of view, we’re already positioning ourselves to support that development, and there are some key steps that need to take place between now and this summer’s harvest to enable us to really get a good foot in the door from a national perspective – and even with a view to going international – in terms of establishing Hawkes’ Bay’s potential within this industry.

“We’re almost unashamedly biased to supporting farming interests in Hawke’s Bay, from Wairoa to Dannevirke, and even further south into the Wairarapa region.

“From a business point of view, that’s where we need to focus our energy. If we are to be a region that has a significant competitive advantage in this sector, we need to partner like that. And we need to get all of the expert growers in this region onboard.”

As well as doing what it can to position Hawke’s Bay to take advantage of hemp’s business potential, Kanapu is also helping with efforts to strengthen the industry at a national level.

The company has been at the forefront of the formation of a coalition of businesses involved in the hemp industry.

That entity is called MIHI (Movers in Hemp Innovation) and is focused on identifying opportunities within the sector.

“We’ve identified there is a significant need for government and private sector resources to be dedicated to establishing a sound understanding of the market trends offshore so that we understand as a country where our unique point of difference can be best had,” says Isaac.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to understand the growth of the industry on an international scale but also to understand where, within that global industry of foodstuffs, New Zealand has its unique point of difference. As a coalition partner we’re working towards that in conjunction with government.”

Isaac says the first meeting of MIHI founders was held at Ludlow Estate earlier this year and about 30 companies have now become involved in the grouping.

“Since then we’ve developed a memorandum of understanding and formalised a coalition as a government partner, representing industry in this area.”

Kanapu.co.nz

Hawke’s Bay Breeding Brilliant Youth in Business

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A team from Woodford House has won this year’s Young Enterprise Scheme for their product – an environmentally friendly fruit label.

Sarah Wixon, Rylie Bensemann, Zoe Rookes and Maggie Peacock featured in the previous issue of The Profit and took out the top award for their water soluable sticker that aims to reduce waste and encourage consumers to wash their fruit.

65 Hawke’s Bay YES (Young Enterprise Scheme) teams started up a business this year with each team coming up with an idea of a product or service and then undertaking market research to see if their great idea would sell and then took it to market.

The teams came from 15 Hawke’s Bay secondary schools and were either year 12 or 13 (6th & 7th form). Over the course of eight months students completed three YES challenges which determined the top six teams in the region. These top six teams competed in the YES finals on 24 October at EIT.

The top six Hawke’s Bay teams were;

  • Empressa Central Central Hawke’s Bay College
  • MyTapp Woodford House
  • Poncho Me Iona
  • Project Rangatahi EIT Business Enterprise Unit
  • Bayuble Woodford House
  • Lightning Lock Hastings Christian School

The competition was fierce, and the judge’s decision was a tough one as the team results were so close.  “We didn’t know who the Hawke’s Bay Champion was until the last moment as the judges were torn and therefore had many discussions before a winner was chosen” says Karla Lee, Hawke’s Bay YES Regional Coordinator.  However, there could be only one winner and the team who took the overall title was Bayuble from Woodford House.

Bayuble have created an alternative label to stickers for fruit.  The team impressed the judges with their strong presentation, innovative product and commitment to research.  Bayuble will now be offered the opportunity to pitch at the Pan Pac Hawke’s Bay Business Awards on Friday 16th November to fine tune their delivery before heading to Wellington to represent Hawke’s Bay on Thursday 6th December where they will compete against 20 other New Zealand regions.

Hawke’s Bay also have two teams that won National Excellence Awards.  The teams were not told which award they have won but they are both invited to Wellington in December to accept their respective award.  These teams are;

  • George St Johns College
  • Letz Lead Hawke’s Bay Prison

The finals and awards are a celebration for YES teams “the awards evening highlights the brilliant work of our youth in Hawke’s Bay and what the future holds.  It takes courage and hard work to achieve the results these teams have accomplished and I couldn’t be more proud of these amazing young entrepreneurs” says Karla Lee.

If you were unable to see the evening in person, you have the opportunity to see it on the Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/hawkesbaychamber/

You can also see Bayuble pitch at the Pan Pac Hawke’s Bay Business Awards that are open to the public.  For tickets please go to https://www.hawkesbaychamber.co.nz/

Hawke’s Bay Airport sets date for stage 1 opening

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The first stage of the $20.2 million Hawke’s Bay Airport expansion will be ready to welcome passengers to the region on January 15.

Hawke’s Bay Airport chief executive Stuart Ainslie said the finishing touches are being made to the new arrivals hall which will include the airport’s first automated baggage system that will have the capacity of 2.5 million bags/annum.

Mr Ainslie said stage 1 of 698m2 could have opened prior to Christmas, but with it being the airport’s busiest period, it is better to open in mid-January.

“We’re now doing the internal fit out, but it’s important that we don’t create any unnecessary stress at this time of the year for passengers, visitors and our commercial partners. The new arrivals area is in the new-build part of the airport which has enabled the current airport to operate smoothly without disruptions, so it’s best we continue as is.

“We can open when it’s a bit quieter and if there’s any problems we can resolve these without too much pressure,” Mr Ainslie said.

The airport recently announced a record turnover of $6.6 million and annual passenger numbers of 715,000, up 8 percent on a rolling year.

The continued growth and confidence enabled the terminal upgrade to be revised from 2500m2 to 4340m2, a 74% increase including new commercial/retail opportunities within the terminal at a budget of $20.2m.

“We have been able to finance the expansion from our strong balance sheet, which is a great position to be in.”

Mr Ainslie said along with the baggage reclaim system the new arrivals hall will incorporate rental car kiosks and a pop-up café.

The automated baggage system spans 14 metres in length and has the capacity for over 350 bags an hour. It can be modified into a T shape conveyor to increase capacity as the airport continues to grow.

There will be no direct access from the new arrival’s hall to the departures area of the terminal during the next stage of construction. While this is not ideal the distance between the two areas is not extensive and the airport is confident that passengers will be understanding of this temporary situation.

Mr Ainslie is also quick to point out that although it is very exciting to open the first stage of the terminal the “full wow” of the Airport Expansion Project will not be revealed until the redevelopment is complete in mid 2020.

“We have a fully operating airport that is being redeveloped in stages, which does build excitement and anticipation of what will be the final reveal in 2020 but at the same gives glimpses of what will be the end result.”

“We’re spreading the airports wings and we want to deliver a place that provides visitors with a true taste of Hawke’s Bay and we are working on some exciting projects which will help create something that showcases the best of what Hawke’s Bay has to offer whilst enhancing customer experience.”

The company has also commenced work on a 20 Year Airport Masterplan with a vision of being New Zealand’s most vibrant and successful regional airport and reaching 1 million passengers a year by 2025. The masterplan will include wide community and stakeholder consultation over the next 12 months.