Food innovation leaders up for national award
The two leaders of Marlborough’s Food Innovation Cluster have been short-listed for a national award within the food
industry.
Marlborough Research Centre chief executive Gerald Hope and general manager of the Riddet Institute at Massey University
Mark Ward are finalists in this year’s New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology’s Food Industry Excellence
Awards.
The awards recognise leadership, innovation, eco-efficiency and service to the food industry and are open to any company
or employee from across New Zealand’s food and beverage sector.
The two men have been leading a group of Marlborough businesses who have signed up for the Marlborough food and beverage
innovation project.
Although the MRC is the smallest independent charitable research organisation in the country, it is now going into its
30th year supplying scientific research and advice to the pastoral, viticulture and horticultural sectors of Marlborough
and, for the last year, the MRC has been working in partnership with the Riddet Institute, an independent centre of
research excellence, to support a cluster of 11 food and beverage businesses centred on Marlborough to work in
collaboration, sharing ideas and accessing support from outside the region.
Mr Hope says it’s very gratifying to have it confirmed that the work being done here in Marlborough is breaking new
ground by bringing together a diverse group of local and international businesses under the Marlborough Food and
Beverage Innovation cluster. “This is a first for Marlborough and it coincides nicely with the upcoming 30th Anniversary
of the establishment of MRC”
“Business growth is the goal by extracting greater value from cluster companies that will lead tobetter paying jobs and
a broader manufacturing base in the region”
“We’re leading a new way of working together by using innovation and collaboration in a regional area and that’s now
been recognised with the selection of our project as a finalist in the food industry excellence awards.”
The 2014 award winners will be announced at the NZIFST Annual Conference on Wednesday 2 July in Christchurch.
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