Connecting with Singapore
A group of Gippsland businesses keen to explore export markets for their products seized a great opportunity to meet direct with a buyer from Singapore, visiting the region this week.
Part of a tour sponsored by Invest Gippsland and coordinated by leading food and agribusiness export consultants, Export Connect, the Commercial Director of premium fresh food retailer Little Farms, Tom Gray spent some quality one on one time discussing dairy products, artisan chocolates, bio colostrum, fresh vegetables, meat and ice-cream - all from local growers, makers and processors F&FG helped bring together for the insights and networking activity held at the Morwell Innovation Centre.
Whilst it was a very quick visit, Tom loved what he saw of Gippsland and believes there’s significant potential to grow awareness and demand for the region’s diverse range of products and fresh produce.
“There’s a very clear passion for the region and its products - everyone I’ve spoken to is so proud of what they are producing”.
With the opportunity to connect open to any business, the Gippsland brands who attended on the day included:
Gippsland Jersey - milk and dairy products
Exquisite Treats - artisan chocolates
Central Agri Group - beef processor with export licenced facilities in Trafalgar
South Gippsland Dairy Bio Colostrum - tablets, capsules, powder and soap
Prom Coast Ice-cream
Select Produce - one of Australia’s leading snow pea growers
Whilst the knowledge his customers have of Gippsland is very limited right now, Tom believes there is a blank canvas of opportunity to explore and capitalise on in the future.
“Everyone knows Australia in general, everyone knows that Australia has great beef and dairy, but that doesn’t drill down into specific regions….yet”
“The sky is the limit when we are able to tell a great story about where something is from and who makes it - we’ve had some fantastic sales successes activating in-store promotions where we showcase the provenance of a product, offering samples to customers, explaining to them how we are buying direct from the maker to keep the price down - they love it, and the sales figures show that”
Tom says it’s this sort of activity that differentiates Little Farms from supermarkets that just have aisles and aisles of products - so they continue to create more experiential things in their stores; like more tastings and activation areas where they get brands in to talk about their products. They create event zones where they can tell the story of a region or products, or both - and it’s via activities like this that Little Farms is able to offer a unique experience to their customers.
The Australian product that is most in demand is avocadoes, closely followed by milk and meat, including grass fed beef and lamb, as well as Australian poultry. Fresh fruit and vegetable produce however, is their biggest category as they are known to have the freshest and best quality produce in Singapore - currently sourced and flown directly from the Sydney Markets twice a week.
Tom is enthusiastic about the potential to add some Gippsland products and produce to the Little Farms offering, as the business continues to source ways to differentiate themselves in the market.
“I’m excited about bring something to Singapore for the first time and to see the customer reaction as we introduce something new” he said.
Prom Coast Icecream co-owner Dan was delighted to connect directly with a buyer from a place he regards to be the most advanced retail market in Asia.
“The opportunity to meet with Tom from Little Farms was fantastic and if we do end up in being stocked in their freezers, it gives us great experience and awareness in a very desirable Asian market, which may then help us with further expansion across South East Asia”".
With an educated market and customer base hungry for quality fresh food, there’s plenty of scope for more conversations and to take our Gippsland Trusted Provenance brand and story into an accessible export market where premium products and produce are in demand.
