FOOD & DRINK
Consumers Driving A Better Caliber of Poultry Consumer interests and demands have been driving many trends throughout the food and beverage industry , and one major interest has been in the quality and care of the food they ’ re consuming . The RSPCA ’ s Approved Farming Scheme was introduced to give consumers peace of mind in a higher standard of animal welfare for Australia ’ s farm animals — and with ethics that align with this goal , Hazeldene ’ s takes pride in being one of the earliest adopters of the RSPCA Approved Farming scheme .
“ We ’ ve always been focused on our animal husbandry and animal welfare , so formalizing this focus with RSPCA accreditation really made sense for us as a business — this attribute runs deep through the company on all levels ,” says Hazeldene , who notes that the company ’ s quality and standards throughout its farming division have only improved with the introduction of the program .
“ The other trend I see is that food standards over the last years have raised the bar increasingly , and we expect that to continue ,” says Hazeldene . “ I believe our employees have embraced this and are engaged to drive the necessary changes . I think into the future consumers will want to know more about where their food comes from , who produces it and what goes in it , and I see opportunity for locally grown and produced food to flourish .”
Shifting Focus While Remaining Centered Hazeldene ’ s has traditionally been a primarily business-to-business brand , focusing on capturing the wholesale market as well as the retail market as a supplier for supermarket private label brands . But as consumers interest in free range and sustainably raised chicken is growing , Hazeldene ’ s is shifting its focus and coming into its own .
“ We ’ ve recently reached a milestone in that we are about to launch three products under Hazeldene ’ s brand into Coles supermarkets nationally next month ,” says Hazeldene . It ’ s both a milestone and a signifier that Hazeldene ’ s is in the midst
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