kaipara kumara news

kumara news

kaipara kumara Quality Assurance Programme
29 September 2009

Kaipara Kumara is proud to announce that it has successfully integrated a new Food Safety & Quality Programme into its business. The programme covers all inputs and processes - from seed selection, growing, harvesting, storage, washing, grading, packing and marketing.

The programme meets all the requirements of Progressive Enterprises (NZ Ltd.) new Woolworths Quality Assurance standard (WQA). Woolworths (Australia Ltd.) is Progressive's parent company.

Kaipara Kumara will be certified in the coming weeks, with the WQA Certification Audit passed successfully on Tuesday 22nd September 2009.

Kaipara Kumara' s Managing Director Anthony Blundell had this to say. "WQA Certification is a first for the kumara industry. The entire team at Kaipara Kumara can be very proud of their efforts and the level of achievement reached. Whilst our company has always focussed on food safety and quality, the programme has helped us to more accurately document and benchmark all the processes. It means, that more than ever, we can clearly identify and develop the areas for continued improvement. This will help ensure that the end customer can continue to have a great experience when consuming our kumara."

kaipara kumara featured in april/may issue of foodtown magazine
18 April 2007

A visit from Foodtown Magazine to Ruawai, the home of Kaipara Kumara, resulted in a double page feature and photographs in the April/May issue of the magazine. Writer Sarah Beresford and photographer Sally Tagg took a journey to Ruawai and interviewed the Blundell family, took a tour of the packhouse and visited the growing areas on the Kaipara plains.

Many thanks to Foodtown Magazine for featuring Kaipara Kumara in this issue.

View a copy of the article 'Purple Passion' >>

March harvesting off to a good start, although crop yields are down
10 March 2007

If we experience favourable weather conditions (not too much rain) in the next 3 weeks or so, it will make our job of finishing the harvest of the 2007 kumara crop much easier – quality will also be better.

The 2007 kumara crop is significantly down on yield from last year’s harvest. A cold November and early December during the plants early development stage, has decreased final yield tonnages.

Photo shows Kaipara Kumara growers harvesting early March 2007. The kumara rows are being turned over by tractor and plough, exposing the kumara on top of the soil. They are hand-collected by people sitting on the harvester, conveyed to bins, then transported away for storage. It’s back-breaking work for the people involved!!

kaipara kumara, preferred supplier for progressive enterprises house brand fresh zone
26 October 2006

Kumara supplied by Kaipara Kumara are now available under the Fresh Zone brand in Foodtown, Woolworth and Countdown. The Fresh Zone brand is used for fresh food departments to help identify and benchmark quality for fresh foods.

A quality guarantee programme associated with the brand increases customer confidence. All Fresh Zone products carry the Quality Guarantee symbol. If customers are not fully satisfied, the product can be returned to the supermarket for replacement and a refund.

Red, orange and gold Kaipara Kumara are available in handy 1kg pre-packs.

View Foodtown magazine advertising >>

kaipara kumara trucks
17 September 2004

The beginning of September 2004, saw the introduction of the new Kaipara Kumara trucks. The trucks were officially welcomed on to the site at Ruawai by the Kaipara team and family, along with local iwi, Mick and Emily Sarich, who performed a very moving and traditional Maori welcome and blessing.

These trucks will service Kaipara Kumara’s grower / suppliers – providing all the transportation of kumara and other produce packed at the premises in Ruawai.

Read more...

new pre-pack machine
23 July 2004

At the beginning of July 2004, Kaipara Kumara integrated a new automatic pre-packing machine to its production line. Previuosly all kumara that was pre-packed into bags, was individually sorted, weighed, packed, bagged and labelled by hand. The new machine has replaced all these tasks, allowing Kaipara Kumara to focus its team more on other tasks within the business which has resulted in efficiency gains.

"The new machine has been a significant investment for our company. It has been a very positive step forward for us as a business and will help ensure we meet our customers requirements and expectations for the future." reports Anthony Blundell of Kaipara Kumara.

Ruawai was the scene of the national launch
of 5+A Day, a healthy eating programme aimed
at school children. All Ruawai College, primary
and kindergarten kids turned up for the promotion.

ruawai firm praised for promoting healthy eating
25 October 2003
Wow - there's a healthy eating campaign happening in Ruawai and it's tied in with the national 5 + A Day week.
Local packing and distribution company Kaipara Kumara Limited is illustrating its support for the campaign with 10 'Wows' - mechanised singing and dancing fruit and vegetable figures which in a previous life adorned the produce departments of a supermarket chain. Those mechanical figures are adding a 'wow' factor to the 5 + A Day campaign from the roof of Kaipara Kumara's Ruawai premises, to which they were attached during the week.

But lending an even louder, livelier edge to events, around 380 Ruawai kindergarten, primary and college children also took part in Friday's launch of the eat-more-fruit-and-vegetables campaign.

"Kaipara Kumara Limited sees the launch event as a one-off, but the event itself will be the catalyst for KKL and the educational enterprises of Ruawai to integrate their approaches in the promotion of healthy eating for their kids in the future", Kaipara Kumara Limited Managing Director Anthony Blundell said.

All youngsters and adults participating in the lively launch received a bag of fruit and vegetables, plus stickers and other goods, courtesy of the 5+ADay campaign's national sponsor Progressive Enterprises Ltimited (PEL). Kaipara Kumara Limited shared a 35 year association with Progressive Enterprises Limited and its parent companies, Mr Blundell said.

Local educationalists have applauded the company's involvement in the national healthy eating campaign. Ruawai Primary principal Vern Stevens said the school studied healthy eating as part of its health curriculum, and the 5+ADay was an excellent resource.

"It's fantastic that Kaipara Kumara have been proactive in promoting this concept" Mr Stevens said.

Ruawai Kindergarten teacher Sara Harrison also praised the company's initiative and the opportunity it offered for wider community involvement in support of healthy eating habits for local children.

credit Northern Advocate

red, gold and orange kumara now available in new 'breathable' packaging
2 September 2003

After the successful introduction of new Ventfresh 'breathable' packaging for red kumara, Kaipara Kumara have re-packaged their complete premium range in this beneficial new type of presentation.

Red, gold and orange kumara are available in the distinctive packaging featuring mesh panels which allow the kumara to 'breath', helping keep them fresh and dry. The mesh/poly bag composite has been developed by Epic Packaging specifically for the fresh produce market. Kaipara Kumara are the only kumara marketers in New Zealand using this new material.

Kaipara Kumara worked with the developers of Ventfresh to ensure the new bags are strong and robust, easy to pack and provide the right amount of air flow through the packaged kumara during distribution, transit, at the point of purchase and in the pantry.

Ventfresh Packaging
- reduces moisture
- improves product freshness
- increases air movement
- allows the kumara to be clearly seen and inspected

These new bags are available throughout New Zealand from Foodtown, Woolworth and Countdown supermarkets.

new name for kumara company
Kaipara Kumara Ltd is the new name for the leading kumara distributors of Ruawai.

The family business started by Gary Blundell and now managed by his son, Anthony, has been re-structured with Anthony as principal shareholder alongwith grower/supplier partners. This places the new company Kaipara Kumara in a strong position to grow the business through established supply chains.

Gary's many years of experience will be invaluable through his new consultancy role.

The new company has adopted a new branding/logostyle and colours in keeping with its core business - kumara.

Kaipara Kumara Ltd commenced trading on 1 March 2003.

kaipara kumara supplied to Team New Zealand
Kaipara Kumara Ltd supplied kumara to Team New Zealand during the 2003 America's Cup defence series. Their cook, Gretel Jack, served kumara as often as possible "Because of its many nutritional benefits, we try to include Kaipara Kumara in as many meals as possible" said Gretel. "It is a great favourite with the team and nearly all of us really enjoy your kumara ...".

"Karl's Kumara Cakes" recipe was a big hit with the lads" says Gretel and that the recipe was inspired by a request from one of the team's young grinders - Karl.

Pictured is Gretel Jack hard at work in the kitchen grating kaipara kumara for one of her famous dishes.