Holy smoke Austria is a stunning country! But when you tell the Austrians this, they laugh and claim we are the most beautiful country. I am not sure there is much in it myself, but I will take it!
Part of our ongoing due diligence on suppliers see’s us get really close to the action across the globe to make sure what we are buying and selling is exactly what we say it is. We regularly come up against product in the market that is cheaper than our own products, but we rest quietly on the confidence we have around our supply chain.
Getting up close and personal with our suppliers, their processes and supply chain takes us to all corners of the globe. Australia, USA, Canada, Italy, Austria and Germany are our core offshore sourcing locations. I was recently in Austria spending some time with our friends at VPZ. This crowd supply our new plastic free, biodegradable and home compostable produce netting that Ann and I are modelling below. This stuff is flying off the shelves as quick as we bring it in as it runs on existing equipment so our customers love the low barriers to changing from traditional plastic netting.
These guys are seriously switched on cookies and have invested heavily in certifying their product up the wazhoo for everything they claim about it. On my recent trip I spent some time at their new manufacturing facility in a town near Graz in southern Austria. The attention to detail and testing regimes these guys have in place means we can order this stuff by the container full and know we are getting top notch product into our customers hands.
We recently have been made aware of some competing product in the market that makes some claims that cannot be substantiated which is a real shame. When you are putting your product in full contact with packaging, credentials are critical and there is no room for pulling the wool.