Keep it Kiwi, tempt the world

Craig Lieberman, of 34 Degrees: Food with Latitude.

New Zealand's food producers should forget about mimicking traditional European styles and promote their unique regional differences, says Craig Lieberman - an American who built his business on importing Australasian foods to the US.

Lieberman is in Auckland this week as one of the guest speakers at the GoGlobal export conference.

He will talk to exporters about why he chose to import food from this part of the world, what makes it popular and what they can do to cash in on that popularity.

Lieberman worked in the specialty food industry for 10 years before starting out on his own in 2003.

During his years as an employee he was struck by how similar products in the market place were.

"Customers would always ask: 'What do you have that's new and different?' I never really had anything. It was mostly European food."

Drawing on his eating experiences as a student in Sydney, he decided to start a business that dealt exclusively with gourmet foods from the Southern Hemisphere.

The result was 34 Degrees: Food with Latitude - named after the line of latitude that runs through Sydney.

Just 18 months after the launch, his business was selling to 50 US states and Canada.

His products - including New Zealand fruit pastes - have attracted attention in the food media and an endorsement from Oprah Winfrey.

The demand for New Zealand and Australian foods surprised Lieberman, although he was always confident the concept would work.

34 Degrees focuses on "around the cheese board" products. The core products from New Zealand are fruit pastes and glazes, organic honey and Marlborough olive oils.

Lieberman is intent on adding New Zealand cheese to his range and is already talking to two specialty cheese companies.

Specialty cheese was the fastest-growing gourmet food category in the US now, he said.

The key was to find cheeses with a connection to New Zealand, rather than copies of European varieties.

"With all my products I look for food that really represents the region it comes from."

He had talked to some companies in New Zealand where "it almost seems like you're dealing with a European supplier".

"When I mention New Zealand and Australia it really opens up the door."

Speakers at the GoGlobal conference include Prime Minister Helen Clark, jeweller Michael Hill and venture capitalist Jenny Morel.

The conference will be held at the Aotea Centre in Auckland on Friday.