Mt Maunganui based specialty pet food manufacturer, Ziwi, has won the prestigious American Chamber of Commerce award for large exporter to the USA.
Ziwi, which has had phenomenal growth in the massive USA market, picked up the Exporter of the Year to the USA in the over $10 million category in the 2019 AmCham-DHL Success & Innovation Awards.
Ziwi’s managing director, Richard Lawrence said the United States was the company’s first export market and remains the largest and most developed.
“North American pet guardians have embraced Ziwi and our exceptional free-range New Zealand ingredients. We continue to invest in growing our North American business as we expand around the world.”
The judges commented that Ziwi showed a clear detailed strategy with innovation embedded at its core. “They have taken their first-mover advantage and executed well - not only in the area of the core product itself, but in ‘whole of product’ as it relates to packaging, promotion, logistics and fulfilment. They really have worked to tick all the boxes to ensure a world-class customer journey and experience.”
Ziwi began exporting the world’s first air-dried pet food in 2004 and has grown to be New Zealand’s largest pet food exporter and the worldwide leader in air-dried pet nutrition.
“To keep up with the demand of a rapidly expanding global footprint across more than 25 countries, we are planning a brand new production kitchen which will open in 2021,” said Lawrence.