Thriving in 2025: He rā ki tua – better times are coming

In that wonderfully lazy New Year’s period, when no one really knows what day of the week it is – unless you’re working hard on the job – news that a single male oriental fruit fly had been found reminded us of our vulnerability to such an incursion here in Aotearoa NZ. The implications, if not contained, could be catastrophic for our agricultural exports, on which our economy is highly dependent. Over 150 people jumped into action, with an impressive response from Biosecurity NZ and Papatoetoe locals. Fortunately Biosecurity NZ were able to stand up good response systems quickly because of the 12 previous times there’s been successful eradication. We saw the same from the Ministry of Primary Industries with the bird flu outbreak just before Christmas, ensuring the outbreak was contained to a small number of poultry farms. While these situations are never desirable, they’re examples of how industry, the public and government can and must work together to protect our food and beverage industry, and proof that we can do it. It’s also a timely reminder to prioritise response planning.

We’ve also had a particularly damp start to 2025 in places around the country, with a La Niña watch in place. Forecasting the year ahead it’s almost certain weather and biosecurity vigilance will continue to present challenges along with ongoing unpredictable international geopolitical shifts. There seems to be agreement that we need to make some serious inroads into lifting our productivity and attracting more capital to support the economy, though winning strategies to achieve this have alluded successive governments. Reducing red tape is one lever available and NZFGC supports this so long as it maintains access to some highly regulated trade partners for export. What ‘thriving in 2025’ looks like will be a little different to everyone. The data delivered before the break hinted at growing confidence, that we might be on a better trajectory

for tangible improvement. However, there’s a conflict between optimistic expectations and mixed performance data. We will have a better sense soon whether there’s been further recovery and how international politics and conflicts will impact 2025. He rā ki tua – better times are coming – reflects the sentiment expressed by NZFGC’s members, that 2024 was another tough year but more positive signs are emerging. Our second season ‘Shared Horizons’ launched before Christmas for mindful summer scrolling. We embarked on this series to celebrate the positive stories in our industry after the past few years, across four key themes that will continue to shape industry in the year ahead: sustainability, the future of manufacturing, reformulation and innovation, and engaging communities. Into 2025 NZFGC’s mission continues – supporting our members and industry to produce great outcomes for our people, products, community, and environment. This includes reducing plastic and food waste, improving recycling systems, and advocating for win-win packaging solutions. A big focus will be securing a ‘road map’ for industry through The Ministry for the Environment’s industry-led Recycling Leadership Forum. We still lack clarity on packaging requirements and recycling systems from government and key international markets and, while good work is underway, we will be pushing hard to get a clear picture for members, industry, and consumers in this space. Developing our talent pipeline also remains paramount. Over the summer we saw top University talent working in our leading FMCG companies through the FMCG Futures Intern programme. But we need many more employers to provide places for these bright sparks next summer, who contribute as much as they learn. So here’s a new year’s challenge: can your company accommodate a smart and dynamic intern next summer? Here’s to 2025, NZFGC will continue to champion FMCG – and if you want to join us in this work, get in touch!