Cookie firm's time to go global

Lincoln Booth, general manager of Christchurch's Cookie Time, sees licensing its intellectual property to overseas food manufacturers as the way to go. Photo / Supplied

A major disaster and tepid consumer demand has made 2011 a tough year for Christchurch food manufacturer Cookie Time, but instead of retreating into survival mode the company is gearing up for global expansion and an overhaul of its brand.

The firm's Templeton factory suffered structural damage in the city's February 22 earthquake, but was up-and-running again just a few days later.

However, Cookie Time general manager Lincoln Booth said the disaster took a heavy toll on demand for its products, especially during the first half of this year.

Despite the challenges, the company is forging ahead with licensing its One Square Meal brand to overseas manufacturers.

Trademarks for the meal replacement bar are in place in Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States and European Union. The firm said it also had trademark applications pending in additional markets including South Korea, Singapore, South Africa and China.

Booth said the company had a few potential One Square Meal licensees lined up in the United States, Canada and Britain, and licensing its Cookie Time chocolate chip cookie brand was also a possibility.

"Licensing is the holy grail in terms of a business," Booth said. "It confirms that you've got incredible intellectual property and that somebody else is wanting to utilise that."

He said Cookie Time's future lay in licensing. "With food you've got a short shelf life and it's very difficult to export - our way to get to market is through licensing."

Booth said the company had also appointed an award-winning branding agency, Auckland's DOW Design, to refresh its Cookie Time brand. The new brand would be rolled out next year, he said.

"We're mindful that we don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water, but we just want to bring [the brand] up to today's branding standards and give it a really nice facelift."

Booth said the firm was also investing in market research and innovation. "We're looking at global trends and variations of bars and cookies that are working well overseas and could work in the New Zealand market."

Cookie Time, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, is owned by brothers Michael Mayell and Guy Pope-Mayell.