Since putting the call out in November for financial support, industry contributions have now reached more than $500,000.
SWAG, established and incorporated late last year, is targeting a $3 million working budget to fund identified opportunities that will increase the demand and value of NZ produced strong wool.
The company aims to raise $700,000, matched with the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) funding, will secure a total operational budget of about $3m.
Key seed funding was initially secured from five major meat processing companies with contributions over recent weeks from many national wool interest groups putting the company on track to achieve its $700,000 funding target.
Several larger farming operations have all come on board.
“We are very pleased with progress, we are moving with pace and everything is gearing up for the new year this week,” SWAG chair Rob Hewett said.
“Securing this important industry funding puts us in a strong position to execute the essential strategy we have developed and is a reassuring vote of confidence in SWAG’s strategic approach.”
San Francisco-based IDEO, a global research company creating change through design thinking, has been appointed to undertake consumer lead research in the US as the first stage of the company’s “outside in” strategic approach.
The research work stream will commence this week with the project expected to be complete by the end of March.
Hewett says there is a lot to understand and learn from how the covid era has impacted on consumer behaviour.
“We will work with their project team to ensure we capture and clearly understand the market insights,” he said.
The second stage of the strategy will be about interpreting the IDEO research and building specific business cases that are desirable, feasible and viable, and can achieve scalability in their use of NZ strong wool on a global basis.
“A number of these initiatives are already underway in NZ and with SWAG’s input, we want to amplify their effort and pathways to market,” he said.
“We have thrown the boomerang up and we are waiting for it to come back.”
SWAG is in the advanced stages of recruiting a business analyst who will be responsible for developing specific business cases to the point of being ready for new industry-commercial investment.
This work will commence in late April.
The importance of a wool accreditation scheme responsive to increasing consumer demands for sustainable brands offering traceability, animal welfare accountability, environmental impact, and land management, is being considered as a point of differentiation for NZ strong wools, which can also deliver price premiums for growers.
The accreditation scheme will be complimentary to and leverage off the Farm Assurance programme already familiar to sheep and beef farmers.
“We are keen not to reinvent the wheel,” Hewett said.
SWAG is working closely with the Government and financial support from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFFF) has substantially amplified what it can achieve.
