To meet the growing international demand for its added-value dairy products, Canary Enterprises Ltd moved into a new, purpose-built factory earlier this year, giving it four times the capacity of its original plant.

he export-focused business has grown rapidly since it was set up in the Waikato – heartland dairy country – in 2001. In 2007/08 it achieved $7.5 million in sales and is expected to pass the $10 million mark in 2008/09, with staff numbers growing from several people to around 20.

Director Derek Bartosh says Canary supplies top-end clients in the airline catering, retail and hotel sectors, and is exporting to Australia, the United Arab Emirates and markets across Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea.

Clients include all the major airlines operating out of Australasia, among them Qantas, Emirates, Malaysian Airlines and Air New Zealand. Canary recently won a significant catering contract with SATS, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.

Canary’s main products are butter medallions and rosettes, flavoured butter, butter pastry sheets, butter ingots and briks, and its latest innovation – pastry sheets made with a butter/vegetable oil blend. This is a cost-effective product for bakers, produced in response to rapidly rising butter commodity prices, says Bartosh.

Canary’s key strengths are its ability to respond to customers’ needs and product innovation built on a foundation of stringent food safety systems and the quality of New Zealand butter.

“The relatively small size of our business provides us with the flexibility to develop functional products quickly, customise them and produce them in short product runs, Bartosh says. “That gives us a significant competitive advantage over major dairy manufacturers and has led to our strong reputation for service.”

Canary limits itself to the value-added part of the market.

Its “better butter” medallions and rosettes, for example, enable clients to provide a sharp butter presentation with less wastage. The 10gm portions can be tailored for clients using a unique application that embosses each portion with a company logo, particular event or theme. The way Canary produces the product ensures that although it is 100 percent butter, it is also highly spreadable.

Canary’s pastry butter sheets and butter blends provide a functional sheet for bakers to make croissants, Danish and puff pastries. Bartosh says there are few suppliers of pastry butter sheets in the world, and its product can be used directly from the chiller, whereas most of its competitors' products need to be taken out of the chiller and tempered before baking.

Canary exports directly to some clients, and also works through distributors and agents. Staff travel regularly to meet with clients, potential clients and to support distributors.

“We will continue to develop new and innovative value-added dairy products from delicious New Zealand butter,” Bartosh says.

Canary Enterprises Ltd has received New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Enterprise Development Grants since 2005 to help it enter new markets, find new customers and develop its products in those markets.

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