Westgold upping its presence in Australian market

Westgold is upping its presence in the Australian market after a positive response to its butter and cream products at a major Australian food show. 

Westland Milk Products General Manager Sales and Marketing Hamish Yates says Foodservice Australia 2023 was an excellent opportunity for Westgold to connect with thousands of Australian buyers from the food and hospitality industry. More than 10,000 people, including chefs and retailers, attended the three-day food show held this month in Melbourne.

“At this, our first significant appearance at a major food show in Australia, we succeeded in building awareness of our Westgold brand and products, and we are confident that we will gain new customers and boost our sales as a result,” Yates says.

Westgold has been focusing on the Australian retail market for a number of years where its butter sales have continued to increase.

“We have also seen good growth in our food service sales throughout Australia. Our products are now distributed by branches within the Bidfood, Superior Foods and PFD Food companies, who are significant suppliers in the Australian market,” he says.

“Given the growth in the market to date, the time was now right for us to further promote our distinctive, high-quality products in Australia.”

Those attending the food show were able to sample Westgold’s products, either with bread, in shortbread or with choux pastry. Westgold’s chef was also available to talk about the specifics of working with the products including their performance in certain dishes.

“As New Zealand’s second largest butter manufacturer, we were able to show the scale of our supply. Chefs and bakeries, in particular, liked the quality, flavour and creaminess of our butter and cream. A lot of people who visited our stall resonated with the Westgold story and liked that our butter is made using the traditional Fritz Churn method,” Hamish Yates says.

“The team onsite also met some of Westgold’s “super fans” – those retail buyers who already loved the product – and it was a great opportunity to speak to these consumers directly.

“We are seeing the results of investing time and money in increasing our food service sales in Australia. We have a large number of meaningful leads from the food show which we, along with our Australian importer, will now follow up on.

“Displaying our products at the food show will boost our presence in the market further and we are investigating attending another similar event later in the year,” Yates says.

Westgold retail products are available for purchase at New Zealand supermarkets. To learn more about Westgold visit westgold.com.