Mountain River Venison organised a tasting event for the New Zealand Embassy in Sweden for the visit of our Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, and Minister of Trade and Agriculture, Damien O'Connor.
Last week's event was highly notable as they met with their trade counterparts just a day after officially signing the NZ-EU free trade agreement (FTA).
Gustaf Kugelberg organised the event at Hasselbacken Restaurant, the same venue where we tried a new cut earlier in the year. The 45-minute food and tasting event, was hosted by the New Zealand Ambassador to Sweden, David Taylor.
Swedish Trade and Development Minister Johan Forssell, the New Zealand Prime Minister, and O'Connor were among 35 guests at the select event from the worlds of diplomacy, government, and media ahead of the Prime Minister's attendance at the NATO Leader's Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Mingling guests sampled New Zealand venison canapés alongside New Zealand Pies and various New Zealand wines.
The event aimed to "support business involved in the promotion of New Zealand food and wine in Sweden and beyond in the Nordic region," explained Taylor.
He said that Hipkins, who was reported to have also liked the Canapés, thanked Sweden for its support for the NZ-EU FTA, which is "going to open up so many more opportunities" for EU and New Zealand companies importing and exporting to the bloc. This will happen once the FTA comes into force, probably in the middle of 2024, after ratification by both Parliaments.
John Sadler noted that DINZ' support for its marketing efforts in Sweden has been very helpful, and the additional support and focus from the government on marketing New Zealand products in Scandinavia "will be beneficial." He expects the "accumulation of effort to pay off over time." The Ambassador and trade commissioner Hearsey "are very helpful," he says.
Kugelberg and DINZ contract chef Shannon Campbell attended a round table discussion with the trade minister at the embassy after the event, "where we talked about what we do at DINZ and how we think they could help as well as the opportunities opened up through the FTA," reports Campbell.
The agriculture minister was "impressed with our farm-to-plate concept, and our retail concept," reports Kugelberg, who felt "well supported" by New Zealand agriculture minister Damien O'Connor's enthusiasm for what Mountain River is doing in Sweden. O'Connor proposed further discussions on "the farm to plate concept."
This event and the meetings are one of many opportunities taken this game season in Europe to present our New Zealand venison to existing and potential customers.
Find Out More:
Learn more about the event in the full article in DINZ News later in July: www.deernz.org/home/our-stories/new-zealand-venison-gets-boost-from-sweden
New product trial earlier in the year at Hasselbacken Restaurant www.mountainrivervenison.co.nz/community/market-news/pioneering-new-cuts-with-the-historic-hasselbacken-restaurant-in-stockholm-sweden
Hasselbacken Restaurant: www.hasselbacken.com/en/restaurant
Mountain River Venison Sweden: www.mountainrivereu.com