News

The timing of the lockdown has caused minimal strife for the only region commercially growing hops in New Zealand.

Chief executive Craig Orr said the industry had been somewhat fortunate that the March 26 lockdown had occurred at the back end of the 2020 harvest.

“Even though we’re only about one percent of the world’s hops output, the investment made by New Zealand Hops into research and development over the decades is one of the reasons why we have a thriving hop industry. We supply to brewers here and in the States, Australia, Europe and Asia. We’re very lucky to be a part of a co-operative business with huge potential.” - Ben Giesen

We wish to give a summary of our actions and plans in place while we navigate through the next few weeks, in a lock-down situation in New Zealand, and explain any implications for you, our valued customers.

As New Zealand’s primary supplier of hops from our 28 farms within the Co-op, we are confirming the safety and well being of our employees and partners remains top priority. Our Government has moved to enforce new restrictions upon us regarding the potential risks that Coronavirus presents. This notice is to advise our position accordingly;

NZ Hops appointed Craig Orr in December as their new CEO and he officially took charge in February.

No stranger to New Zealand’s food and drink industry, Craig has years of experience in building brands and supporting NZ products in the global marketplace. He has his eye on a strategy designed to deliver continued growth for NZ Hops and closer relationships with you, our brewers and customers.

By way of a super quick introduction to a man you’ll be hearing a lot more from, we hit him up with 5 quick questions.