Award Spurs Tegel To Fastrack Export Opportunities

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Award Spurs Tegel To Fastrack Export Opportunities

Taking chicken into a new product category, bacon, has proved a “winner” for New Zealand leading poultry company, Tegel Foods

Tegel launched its Smoked Chicken Rashers product 18 months ago. The product’s popularity with consumers has seen it rival traditional bacon, with the 200gm pack at one stage taking the No 1. spot in the category. Now it has been recognised internationally with a gold award for innovation at the prestigious SIAL d’OR competition for innovative new grocery products.

Tegel Managing Director Bruce Scott says chicken “bacon” is shaping as the first really significant export prospect for the New Zealand poultry industry.

“The reported interest and excitement shown by food industry specialists at SIAL d’OR is making us fastrack our assessment of significant export opportunities.

Mr Scott said that value added products offered the best prospect for “serious” exports, but even then you have to have something unique.

“Our chicken bacon product is a world first, and we will soon start talking to authorities like MAF to develop protocols for export of this product .”

As a viable alternative to pork bacon Tegel’s Smoked Chicken Rashers are a product that international markets are actively seeking.

Tegel Innovation

For Tegel, driving the value of the brand into new markets and new meal occasions with new products was the spur for its “invention” of the world’s first chicken bacon product, officially Tegel’s Smoked Chicken Rashers.

Tegel continues to explore opportunities for developing new, innovative value-added products with maximum consumer appeal says Tegel’s Category Manager Marketing, Christine Cash.

“We are challenged to look beyond the traditional boundaries of the business and complement the commodity side with consumer-ready, value-added products taking chicken into new markets, such as the breakfast market.
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AWARD SPURS TEGEL TO FASTRACK EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES Continued

“In the last 18 months we have launched six significant new product innovations, among them, chicken bacon for which there were no international templates.”

The product was conceived, researched and developed by Tegel staff, and is made at Tegel’s Christchurch plant, says Ms Cash.

“These international awards confirm the product as world class. The development of chicken “bacon” was a real team effort, and one that everyone in the company can feel justifiably proud of.”

Smoked Chicken Rashers (chicken “bacon”) was a ground breaking product innovation for the New Zealand poultry industry, and has a great low-fat bacon taste, says Ms Cash.

“We spent about a year testing and developing Smoked Chicken Rashers before it was marketed. We knew that we had a great product, but to be voted the best new product from New Zealand as well as the best new meat, poultry and deli product in the world, is beyond our wildest dreams.”

Tegel is one of New Zealand’s leading food brands. The biggest change in recent years has been the transition to a true FMCG brand, away from just commodity products, to developing a wide range of exciting added- value consumer ready products. Tegel’s Smoked Chicken Rashers are such a product, as are Tegel Quick Roast (a 15 minute microwaveable roast chicken), Ready to Roast chickens, cost effective Leak Guard packaging for fresh Tegel chickens, sliced pre-packed cooked meats, and Chicken Enchiladas

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Background document for Tegel Foods and SIAL d’OR Gold Awards Success

About SIAL

SIAL is the world’s biggest gathering of food industry professionals. Held every two years, SIAL attracts thousands of visitors (looking for the latest in product trends), and exhibitors. SIAL 2002 attracted 165,000 visitors (from 188 countries), and 5,200 exhibitors from 98 countries.

SIAL highlights the biggest present and future consumer trends and divulges them by showcasing a selection of innovative products at the “trends and innovation area”. The Gold Medal winning New Zealand products will be on prominent display in a special section at the SIAL exhibition.

SIAL attracts exceptional media coverage. More than 1,400 journalists from 58 countries talk and write about the exhibition.

About Sial d’OR (Gold Awards)

The Sial d’OR jury awards are a bi-annual event that rewards products for their innovative features and for their commercial success in their national markets. Gold Medals are awarded for the best new product in 12 categories. The SIAL d’OR jury is comprised of food industry and trade press journalists (one from each of the 27 member countries) who nominate one new product in each of the 12 categories.

The nomination of products is at the sole discretion of the journalist concerned. Each journalist makes a formal presentation of their nominated products to the jury before voting takes place.

On May 27 and 28 2004, the jury of 27 international journalists met in Paris and awarded the Sial d’OR 2004 for categories and countries. Gold Medals were awarded for the best new product in the world in each of 12 categories and the best new product from each country (27 country prizes awarded).

The overall best new product in the world (selected from the 12 category Gold Medalists) will be announced during the SIAL Food Products exhibition, held in Paris from October 17 to 21, 2004.

About Tegel

Tegel Foods is New Zealand's leading producer and supplier of poultry products.
It is a fully integrated poultry producer involved in breeding, hatching, feeding, growing, processing and marketing of chicken and turkey in New Zealand.
Tegel strives to be a best practice company in terms of food safety and quality, product innovation and animal welfare.
Tegel does not utilise GMO technologies in either its breeding or livestock improvement programmes.

Tegel has put in place ingredient sourcing systems to ensure appropriate controls and verification procedures with respect to genetically modified materials. These will include contractual obligations on suppliers to identify whether their materials have been produced by genetic modification.

Tegel Foods began operations in 1966 and now employs approximately 1,200 people.

Tegel has three plants located in Auckland, Taranaki and Christchurch.

Tegel’s product range includes fresh, frozen and cooked whole chickens; fresh and frozen chicken portions; fresh and frozen value added products; such as Smoked Chicken Rashers; Ready to Roast chickens; Quick Roast; Chicken Enchiladas; Chicken Sausages; sliced pre-packed cooked meats; whole turkeys and turkey portions; and a range of serve over deli products.

Tegel chickens and turkeys, like all poultry grown for meat consumption in New Zealand, are not genetically modified.

Tegel Innovation

Tegel is one of NZ’s best known food brands. The biggest change in recent years has been the transition to a true FMCG brand, away from commodity products.

Tegel is driving incremental growth through product innovation, developing a wide range of exciting added-value consumer ready products such as Honey Smoked Chicken, Ready to Roast chicken, sliced pre-packed cooked meats, crumbed stuffed fillets, and Quick Roast chickens, and entering new categories such as the breakfast market with Smoked Chicken Rashers and chicken sausages.

About Tegel Smoked Chicken Rashers “Chicken Bacon”

Tegel launched its Smoked Chicken Rashers in November 2002.

It spent about a year testing and developing Smoked Chicken Rashers before they were marketed. The product was conceived, researched, developed by Tegel staff, and is made at Tegel’s Christchurch plant.

A world first, Smoked Chicken Rashers are made from premium chicken thigh meat.

Smoked Chicken Rashers is a great low fat bacon taste.

Smoked Chicken Rashers are 95% fat free compared to most other leading bacon products which have a significantly higher fat content.

Tegel Smoked Chicken Rashers come in 200gm and 380gm packs, retailing for approximately $3.99 and $6.99 respectively and are about to launch a 600g variant as well as three sizes of Honey Cured Rashers.

Tegel Smoked Chicken Rashers are available at supermarkets nationwide.

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