Ethan Jones Senior Adviser (Business) Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whítau Túhono
COLUMN | Thailand, a country of 71 million people with a per capita GDP of close to $11,000 NZD, is not only the second largest economy in Southeast Asia but a growing source of innovation in the food and beverage industry.
With a rising middle class – which has doubled in size over the past ten years to 45 million citizens – Thailand is experiencing a surge in shopping experience adaptation. These market characteristics made Thailand an obvious destination for the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono Māori Food & Beverage Delegation in May 2023. We selected nine of the country’s most innovative Māori business leaders to visit Singapore and Thailand for ten days to meet with distributors, and supermarkets and attend Asia’s largest food and beverage trade show THAIFEX Anuga. Our objective was to help delegates learn more about the ASEAN business environment, explore opportunities and build networks in the region.
Two highlights of the trip were visiting a mall in downtown Bangkok that housed the luxury supermarket chain Gourmet Market and the Tops Food Hall.
Firstly, the scale was massive; this supermarket was easily three times the size of your local New Zealand supermarket, but more interesting was the layout and shop design. Unlike the rows of narrow head-high isles we have at home, the supermarket was based on product experiences. In the fruit and vegetable section, for example, there were stands where the supermarket staff let you taste a range of produce. The modern-day equivalent of the old Thai fish markets was also impressive, where customers can purchase fresh products, and then visit a nearby restaurant that will prepare and cook them. These service offerings are directly incorporated into the supermarket’s customer service under the catchy slogan “You hunt, we cook”.
Such bespoke services cater to busy upper-middle-class professionals who don’t have the time (or desire) to cook. Supermarkets have rapidly adapted to their customer’s lifestyles, providing convenient options that address the needs of local office workers. This includes a range of pre-peeled fruit portions, such as sliced pomelo or a bite-size piece of durian. For New Zealand companies exporting to Thailand, understanding these consumption preferences is crucial to becoming a relevant and preferred brand.
Secondly, the delegation better understood the value of regional hubs such as Singapore. As the richest country in Southeast Asia, with a GDP per capita more than 1.5 times that of New Zealand, Singapore is well known as a springboard to the rest of Asia. Both geographic and demographic factors – such as its small wealthy population, rule of law, English as an official language and strong business incentives – make it an influential market. However, the aspect that really stood out to the entrepreneurs was the innovative nature of the food sector.
An island the size of Lake Taupō, Singapore currently imports around 90 percent of its food from 183 countries, however, recent supply chain issues due to COVID-19 and export bans by countries such as Malaysia have provided significant challenges. We heard from the Singapore Food Agency that the government has committed to a plan of 30 percent self-sufficiency in food production by 2030. The country is also focused on reducing its vulnerabilities by increasing the diversity of its supply chains to ensure a consistent supply of critical nutrition sources.
We saw these innovative ‘grow local’ initiatives in action while visiting Shiok Meats, which is the world’s first company to grow crustacean meat (such as shrimp, crab and lobster) at scale from natural stem cells in a lab. Understanding emerging technologies such as these will be critical to New Zealand’s export future, as it can potentially reduce the demand for land and sea-grown meats. There is also clearly potential for New Zealand businesses to develop partnerships that leverage our clean green providence story, expertise in food research innovation as well and proven capacity to deliver safe and healthy food products globally.
On-the-ground learnings such as these provide crucial in-market insights that the Foundation utilises to equip a diverse range of New Zealand businesses to thrive in Asia. My key takeaway from this ten-day food and beverage delegation was that while we need to engage more with partners in Asia, it’s important that we value them not only as potential export markets but also as innovation powerhouses in the food and beverage industry.
Ethan Jones Senior Adviser (Business) Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whítau Túhono
