Three Mountain River Venison New Zealand team members recently joined Angus Cleland on North American customer visits. John Sadler, Rob Millar, and Donald Whyte visited foodservice outlets and restaurants with Angus to share the Mountain River Venison story and learn from customers.
These included Sunshine Foods in Saint Helena, Napa, California, H-E-B Texas, Whole Foods, and Sprouts. Whole Foods Market is the largest American supermarket chain specializing in natural and organic foods. Corporate headquarters are in Austin, Texas, and in 2017 Whole Foods was acquired by Amazon.
Positive Partnership with Force of Nature: We met with the team at Force of Nature, a key distribution partner in the USA. Our partnership is thriving, and we have witnessed significant growth in our market presence and sales in the region. The Force of Nature team has been instrumental in expanding our reach and promoting our products effectively.
Force of Nature has built a brand around land stewardship and human health. They embody the regenerative revolution. Their mission is to build the market for regenerative meats, and we are aligned with the trend. Regenerative is not prescriptive (compared to organic), and systems fit with land, environment, etc. We continue to investigate opportunities to make claims in this market and will maintain a focus on this.
Our relationship with Force of Nature goes back to Epic Provisions, which General Mills purchased. They have a proven track record of building high-value retail brands, and Force of Nature is showing this with its growth in market share.
Product Innovation
Force of Nature is highly innovative and an excellent partner to work with. They continue to introduce new products, the most recent being Ancestral Blend.
This approach enables us to have year-round sales, more or less, with seasonal promotions to maximise impact.
Outstanding Results
The Force of Nature sales have seen a 500% growth in two years, from 40t to 200t trim & cuts. This underscores the importance of trips like this and maintaining close working relationships with the Force Of Nature team.
To learn more about the North American visit, see the links below:
Find out more:
Customer Visit - Hearthstone Restaurant in Rocky Mountain Region, Colorado
Customer Compliment: Thank You to Farmers - And They Love Our Elk
Sunshine Foods: www.sunshinefoodsmarket.com
H-E-B: www.heb.com
Whole Foods Market: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Foods_Market
Sprouts Farmers Market: www.sprouts.com/stores