New Zealand Coastal Lamb heads to China

Chef Scott Kennedy and Coastal Spring Lamb founder Richard Redmayne prepare lunch at the brand's 2016 launch. PHOTO/ FILE

A first shipment of the Coastal Lamb brand founded by Turakina farmer Richard Redmayne was shipped to Shanghai about a week ago.

The meat was slaughtered and processed in Feilding by Ovation, a lamb sourcing, slaughter, processing and exporting business.

The shipment of 1400kgs included a full range of cuts, Mr Redmayne said. In Shanghai it will be used by six star, fine dining restaurants.

Richard and Suze Redmayne have worked hard and travelled far to market their Coastal Lamb and Coastal Spring Lamb brands.

They sent some samples to a Chinese business, and followed up by going to Shanghai in in August and meeting meat distributors, sales people and several chefs who sampled their product.

"They decided it was fantastic and determined to start doing business with us," Mr Redmayne said.

Supplying China is part of the Redmaynes' strategy to have a diversified range of markets. They now have a project underway for Japan as well.

They will be hosting a party of Japanese businessmen next Wednesday, at the Hansen family's Haupouri Station in Hawke's Bay. It's one of those supplying lambs for the brand.

On Tuesday Mr Redmayne was in Auckland, preparing to talk to people from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise about some Chinese possibilities.

He said all kinds of opportunities were opening up since Coastal Spring Lamb won the 2016 NZ Food Awards Supreme Award last month.

"Everything from its inception in 2010 until now has been slowly gathering momentum."

In the Coastal Spring Lamb brand 30,000 lambs are supplied by 12 farms for early season killing. The Redmaynes' export brand, Coastal Lamb, started last year. In it 60,000 lambs from eight farms are killed and processed for export.

People buying the meat can trace which farm it was raised on.