Profile
The Company
Prime Foods NZ Ltd is a privately owned family business established in 1994. The modern export licensed smoked seafood factory is situated in the village of Hororata, Canterbury, nestled under the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s beautiful South Island.
The Raw Materials
Fresh salmon and mussels are sourced from the clear, fresh ocean waters of Big Glory Bay in Stewart Island which is situated at the bottom of the South Island. Strong currents from the Southern Ocean ensure the whole area is refreshed on a continuous basis.
Food Safety
Robust New Zealand Government (NZ Food Safety Authority) audited food safety (HACCP) and Risk Management programmes ensure the highest processing standards from ocean to consumer.
Smoked Salmon Products
Prime Foods NZ has two brands of smoked salmon – Prime Smoke, and Studholme. Prime Smoke is one of New Zealand’s leading premium brands with it being stocked in over 300 New Zealand and 600 Australian supermarkets. It is also marketed the Middle East, South East Asia, Japan, French Polynesia, and the USA. A Japanese client, a restaurant chain of 500 restaurants, has clearly defined the Prime Foods NZ smoked salmon as being the best they have sampled anywhere in the world.
Studholme brand is aimed at the top end and sold in New Zealand, Singapore and Dubai. Included in the pack is a sachet of Wasabi sauce to be served as a tasty addition to the salmon – yet another point of difference.
Our Hot Smoke Salmon has drawn plaudits from many clients and critics due to its delicious taste and succulent texture. It passes through the same process as the cold smoke sliced salmon – except it has the additional step of a gentle roasting at the end. This product offers a worthy alternative to the cold smoke slices.
Award Winning Marinated Salmon
In 2000 our company developed an award winning range of ready to eat marinated salmon products (they won two major awards at the New Zealand Food Awards 2000). Again they evolved from the desire to have another point of difference from our competition.
These products in the attractive Studholme brand packaging come in three variants – Japanese Style, Classic French Style and Vietnamese Style. They are made from fresh (not smoked) portions of salmon which are cured in the pouch by the marinade. They are ready to eat from the pouch and can be served in a great many ways (see information sheets).
Consumers are encouraged to utilise the marinade as an intricate part of their dish, rather than to be discarded. The marinade makes a delicious dressing that can be added to whatever dish is being prepared, like salad or rice dishes - it enhances the flavour of the salmon portion of the dish.
Brand new on the market are a new presentation of the marinated salmon – in 120g pottles. These are marketed under the “Prime New Zealand” brand and have user friendly instructions like “Ideal for Salads & Pasta, Rice & Sushi.” These products have been especially designed for the Australian market but are soon to be supplied to the Singapore and NZ markets.
Smoked Mussels
Our smoked mussel range is produced from A Grade New Zealand Green Lipped mussels, also farmed in Stewart Island. They are likewise processed using our unique technology to produce four very tasty variant flavours – chilli, barbeque, garlic and natural. They are presented in an eye catching 200g black tray and command a loyal clientele amongst regular users.
Private Brands
One area the company is keen to develop is processing Private Brands for supermarket chains. Already we produce smoked salmon for one of New Zealand’s top Private brands which sell in 46% of the supermarkets in this country. We will discuss custom processing to produce exactly what the chain is seeking to present to their customers.
Conclusion
Prime Foods NZ Ltd’s reputation for innovation and excellence has resulted in the company receiving many requests to assist in developing new specialist products for both domestic and export markets.
The company will continue pursuing this role within the industry as it has now established itself as one of New Zealand’s premier gourmet food processing companies.