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FIORDLAND LOBSTER COMPANY
Fiordland Lobster Company was founded 30 years ago by a group of fishermen seeking to shape their future together. Today, Fiordland Lobster is the world’s largest supplier of Southern Rock Lobsters (crayfish), operating from more than 20 sites around NZ and Australia.
It remains headquartered at its original location in the small town of Te Anau, on the border of the spectacular Fiordland National Park.
Live lobster exports from NZ were established in the 1990’s to Japan, Taiwan and, crucially, Hong Kong. There, visitors from mainland China were first introduced to the quality of NZ lobsters, and wanted to enjoy them again when they returned home.
Hong Kong trading houses began supplying NZ lobsters to cities along the Eastern seaboard of mainland China.
Southern Rock Lobster quickly became the centre piece of high end banquets in China. Its dramatic red-and-orange shell, and delicately sweet, sashimi quality flesh, make it one the most highly regarded seafoods in the world.
In China it marks the most significant events, extravagant wedding celebrations and important business dinners, bringing face to the host and to their guests.
With the signing of the NZ China Free Trade Agreement in 2008, Fiordland Lobster could develop direct supply relationships with the Chinese importers and wholesalers whom it had already come to know.
Crowded together in the bustling live seafood markets of China’s Tier One cities, these traditional businesses have become trusted business partners of Fiordland Lobster over the decades, and in many cases the families that run them have become friends.
FTA market access also allowed Fiordland Lobster to begin exploring the new channels into market being created by the explosive growth of the Chinese online ecosystem. When Alibaba’s HeMa chain of New Retail stores was being established in 2017, live seafood was a centrepiece and drawcard of new stores, and Fiordland Lobster was the supplier of Southern Rock Lobsters.
For the first time, NZ lobsters were being retailed for home consumption. It prompted the creation of Fiordland Lobster’s Wild Legend brand, and the company’s first forays into O2O marketing, via WeChat, QR coding and instore promotions.
Live NZ lobsters ultimately proved to be too premium for in-home dining, as well as challenging for consumers to dispatch and prepare. Traditional live seafood markets servicing high end seafood restaurants remain the main channel to consumers. Still though, some Wild Legend lobsters are sold online B2B, and B2C for home delivery, as Fiordland Lobster continues to explore this space.
Covid brought, and continues to bring, huge logistical and market challenges to the highly time-sensitive supply chain of a very perishable product. The trust developed between Fiordland Lobster and its Chinese business partners over many years prior has been essential in surmounting the obstacles together.
As a whole, the resourcefulness of the Chinese people and the resilience of their economy have more than justified Fiordland Lobster’s commitment to this market throughout.