Whopper news for Kiwi beef in Japan

Whopper news for Kiwi beef in Japan

20.6.2007

The decision by international fast-food chain Burger King to use all New Zealand beef in its campaign to re-enter Japan is great news for farmers, says Meat & Wool New Zealand Chairman Mike Petersen.

The company has highlighted New Zealand beef at a time when diversification into Asia or any other better paying markets is welcome, he says.

Burger King, which is the world's second largest fast-food hamburger company, first entered the Japanese market in 1996 operating about 25 outlets in the Tokyo area before it decided to pull out in 2001, after losing a price war with McDonalds and other fast food chains.

The company has re-entered the market opening its first outlet in the up-market Shinjuku district of Tokyo earlier this month.

President of Burger King Japan Co. Shinichi Kasa is quoted in the Japanese media saying he believes consumers are willing to spend more money on good quality products.

Burger King Japan is a joint venture between major food service company, Lotte Co. and management and consulting firm Revamp Corp. The company will open its second outlet in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on Friday (22/6) and is aiming to have 50 outlets operating in Japan within three years and 100 within five years.
The 113-gram beef patties used in Burger King Japan's Whopper burgers will all be made from New Zealand grass-fed beef and supplied by Kiwi Pacific Foods Ltd. of Auckland. The Whopper burgers will sell for Y370 (NZ$4.00) while the Double Whoppers will sell for Y520 (NZ$5.60). Burger King Japan is also using fish and cheese from New Zealand in its product range for the Japanese market.

Meat & Wool New Zealand's Japan office has worked closely with Burger King Japan in the run-up to its re-launch in the market. As a result, the company has incorporated the new Japanese-language logo - developed for New Zealand grass-fed beef - into its first print run of 50,000 tray mats.

Meat & Wool New Zealand Japanese representative, John Hundleby says the use of New Zealand grass-fed beef by Burger King is a further extension of the strong presence the beef enjoys in the hamburger sector in the Japanese market. The two leading companies in the sector, McDonalds Japan and Mos Food Services, use New Zealand beef in tandem with Australian product.

Japan is currently New Zealand's third largest export beef market in volume and second largest by value. In the 2005/06 year New Zealand exported 42,280 tonnes of beef to Japan worth $277.79 million.

New Zealand beef is not as well known in Japan as either grain-fed US or Australian beef, but has increased its profile and presence in the market during the absence of US product, which was banned from Japan in 2003 because of detection of BSE in North America. US product only started reappearing in the market in relatively small volumes in the latter half of 2006 and is gradually increasing. This has meant that the market share for New Zealand's beef market has more than tripled from 2.1 per cent in 2003 to 8.5 per cent in 2006.

ENDS

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