Tell us about the company?
Tanya: Tegel is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. It is the leading poultry producer in New Zealand and we’re really proud of the way we raise our chickens and the top-quality products we create from them. At present, the company’s aim is to increase its export business and move the brand into other markets around the world. Tegel has had a longstanding relationship with Spinneys, which sources fresh chickens as well as frozen products such as rotisserie chickens and the Louisiana and Nashville range of tenders and portions.
What sets Tegel chicken apart from the other brands in the market?
Craig: We offer a broad range of convenient solutions as well as plain cuts. Tegel’s chicken farms are some of the best in the world. The company also adheres to stringent animal welfare standards to ensure the birds are protected as they grow. And that’s what separates us from a lot of our competitors in the same market.
Tanya: All our chickens are raised cage-free without the use of hormones, which is the law in New Zealand. One of the advantages that New Zealand has is that it’s an island state so it’s free from avian diseases. As a result, the country will not allow the import of poultry as it doesn’t want to risk that disease-free state. All our birds are 100 per cent New Zealand-born and raised.
Apart from its own farms the company also works with poultry farmers across New Zealand. What kind of standards do you look for when selecting them?
Tanya: We go through a rigorous process to vet our farmers and they are routinely audited to assure they adhere to stringent animal welfare standards.
Craig: It’s mandatory for our farms to adhere to the ‘Five Freedoms’ principle of animal welfare. These include: the freedom from hunger and thirst, which means the birds always have access to water and food in their barns; the freedom from discomfort, which ensures they’re checked every day to make sure they’re not in any kind of distress. In the free-range farms, they’ve got the option to stay in the barn if it’s temperature-controlled all year round and also the option to roam outside in the open spaces when they choose to; the freedom from pain, injury or disease means vets visit our farms frequently to check on the birds and if any are sick, they’re immediately separated from the rest of the flock and treated; the last two are the freedom to express normal behaviors and the freedom from fear and distress, which means we have to make sure they’re comfortable in their environment.
How does your team come up with new products?
Craig: Innovation is a top priority for Tegel. Our team is always looking at new trends around the world. We look at a broad range of countries such as the US, UK, Australia, as well as Asia, and our own market, to pick up on emerging trends at home and on restaurant menus. The Louisiana and Nashville products were one-of-a-kind as we hadn’t seen similar products developed elsewhere. In New Zealand, we knew we were on to something big as they went on to be the biggest selling new products in supermarkets in 2020.
Tell us more about the Tegel Louisiana and Nashville products that are in Spinney stores.
Craig: The products were built on a couple of trends. We noticed that KFC was very popular in many of the markets in which Tegel trades – Australia has the highest number of outlets per capita, followed by New Zealand and the US. The second trend showed us that Uber Eats was doing pickups from quick-service restaurants as opposed to high-end restaurants. It was evident that there was a real need to create a KFC-style product that home cooks could take straight from their freezers, pop it in the oven without defrosting, and with little effort they’d have a ready-to-eat product. And that’s exactly what we created. The secret was finding the technology that allowed us to create a unique ruffle effect to the coating as well as delivering a crisp crunch consistently every time. After scouring the globe, we sourced specialist equipment from Germany which allowed us to implement the vision we had to the standard we originally hoped for.
How many products are there in the Ruffle range?
Craig: We’ve launched four products from the Ruffle range in the UAE. The Louisiana-style chicken portions, which are a mix of different cuts similar to what KFC offers, and the Louisiana-style chicken tenders. There’s also a hot and spicy version of Louisiana, which are the Nashville-style chicken portions and tenders.
We think the range will do really well in the UAE since fried chicken is such a popular food item. What’s more, Ruffle tenders and portions can be easily prepared in air fryers beside ovens. They crisp up, take on that deep-fried look, but at the same time, it’s healthier.
For more information, visit tegel.co.nz
