Hokitika-based dairy co-operative Westland Milk Products has had a limited profile in New Zealand’s FMCG industry until recently, even though Westland’s dairy ingredients are used in some of New Zealand’s best-loved brands such as EasiYo and Cookie Time.
The company’s butter brand Westgold has enjoyed a highly successful export business in key overseas markets including Azerbaijan, Australia, China and Singapore over the last ten-plus years; and 2016 saw the brand enter the domestic market. Westgold Unsalted Butter took out the esteemed ‘Food for Chefs Champion Butter’ award at the prestigious New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards, which boosted the profile of the brand amongst trade audiences and consumers alike.
The accolade immediately accelerated Westland’s local launch plans, so now Kiwi consumers have the opportunity to experience Westgold’s award-winning butter.
Westgold has established a strong position in the butter category as an ‘everyday gourmet’ option, offering high quality at an affordable price, and backed by generations of West Coast dairy farming and manufacturing know-how.
Westgold’s Head of Marketing, Charlotte Sullivan, said that the brand has successfully retained around a 10 percent price premium over key competitors, solidifying the brand’s positioning and offering category growth to retailers.
Westgold butter has gone from strength to strength since last March, enjoying rapid growth in New Zealand across major retailers, as well as a number of speciality outlets. Within its first nine months in market, Westgold is worth over $1.5 million in retail* - the fantastic result of an extensive $400K marketing campaign across broadcast, print and online advertising. This year, Ms Sullivan said the company’s efforts will be focussed on implementing Westgold’s distribution throughout the North Island to bring the Westgold range to most supermarkets nationwide. Discover Westgold at Westgold.co.nz or contact their team on 0800 949 333.
*source: Nielsen MAT data to 1 Jan 2017
CREAM, HEART AND SOUL
