It creates a story and develops a brand, explores its strengths, plays down weaknesses such as high labor costs. And it always aims to produce the best.
This is what New Zealand has been doing, with impressive results. It is a strategy worth emulating by Filipinos.
You may not become the dominant player in the world market, like New Zealand’s Fonterra, the global leader in dairy products, but you can capture a niche and have the satisfaction of knowing your product is among the world’s best.
The New Zealand "brand" of excellence has spread beyond dairy products and fresh seafood into movies – as we have seen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia, among others – to wines and even, believe it or not, olive oil.
Over a decade ago, Sayles thought of what he wanted to do with 88 acres of land on Waiheke, a picturesque island with a population of 8,000, an hour’s ferry ride from downtown Auckland. He considered growing grapes but "everyone else was doing it."
Then he noticed that olive trees were growing in a vineyard on the island. In 1997 he had worked on a farm in Italy where he learned something about producing olive oil. But that was Italy, in the olive-producing Mediterranean – and he was in New Zealand. How could he compete?
By producing the best, through organic farming. Sayles saw it as a challenge.
"I think it’s called male menopause," he chuckles.
Sayles sold off much of his land on Waiheke, invested NZ$5 million (over $3.3 million) and devoted his time to nurturing 1,200 trees in a 23-acre grove. The trees started producing good olives at three years old.
His efforts have paid off. His Rangihoua Estate, which has become a tourist destination on Waiheke, will produce 25,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil this year, exporting to Canada and the United States.
And it’s excellent olive oil. Since 2002 the estate’s oils have won 19 top awards in international competitions, with four golds bagged last year alone. Sayles is proud to say that his oils have bested those from Spain, France, Australia and, yes, Italy.
"We’re pretty much producing the best olive oil in the world," he tells visitors as he and his wife Ann, 38, pass around samples for comparison with an imported brand.
His products are pricey, but Sayles says "you can’t make cheap oil." He warns visitors that second-press olive oils are mixed with carcinogenic solvents.
"Second press we feed to cows," he says, tongue-in-cheek.
He is happy with his andropausal career change, though he has fond memories of his previous life. As a young marine engineer in 1961 he had visited Manila a few times. He still remembers the "beautiful, stunning dancers" in a cabaret called the Trocadero, where a dance to rock ’n’ roll music cost about P10.
Once when there was a workers’ strike in Manila’s wharf, he and the other crewmembers of their commercial vessel had to stay in a hotel near Manila Bay. Which hotel? He knows only that it was "where Frank Sinatra stayed."
Ten years ago, Forsyth was the CEO of New Zealand’s largest human resource management company based in Auckland. But something was missing. "I said to myself, I don’t wanna do this for another 25 years."
He found his new life on Waiheke – Maori for cascading waters. Not too long ago, the pilot of the small amphibious aircraft that brought supplies to the island liked to tell passengers, "We’re about to arrive on Waiheke. Please set your clocks back 20 years."
There is no reticulated water system on the island; water comes out of pipes through sheer force of gravity. The island is so environment-friendly it uses coconut oil for germicide.
It was perfect for Tony Forsyth, who bought a 30-acre property on the island in 1993 and started the Te Whau Vineyard, the first in the country to adopt sustainable, minimal-intervention viticulture techniques.
On six acres of steep north-facing slopes he hand-planted red grapes on crumbly Jurassic-era seabed floor rock 250 million years old, which he said is ideal for grapes. The vineyard, which produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, is currently converting to fully organic and "bio-dynamic" viticulture.
The grapes are harvested and sorted out by hand. Force of gravity rather than a pump is used to carry the grape must to tanks.
Fermentation in French oak barrels can last up to two years. Te Whau produces from 500 to 800 cases of wine a year. Though not yet exported, the Te Whau products are reaping awards and gaining international recognition for New Zealand wines.
"I would never have the energy to do this all over again because it’s been incredibly hard work," Forsyth, now 53, admits. "My wife and I just wanted to do something completely different."
On the highest point in his estate, with a panoramic view of the Auckland Isthmus and the slopes of Waiheke, he opened the Te Whau Vineyard Restaurant. There he personally serves guests, pouring them his selection of wines to go with the uniquely New Zealand/Pacific Rim menu. Among the house specials: Te Matuku Bay oysters (NZ$22 for half a dozen) and salmon smoked over manuka and oak barrel shavings (NZ$17).
"If you want to make a small fortune, start with a big fortune and start a vineyard. I am living proof of that," Forsyth tells guests.
Do we detect regret? Not quite. "We’re not here to make a lot of money. I don’t care a lot about money, quite frankly… I love what I do," Forsyth says.
Seeing him going about his work with such enthusiasm, you believe him.
You see this passion among many Kiwis, from tourism and education officials to dairy farmers and shareholders in Moana Pacific Fisheries, the giant seafood exporting company that is wholly owned by Maoris, the South Pacific islanders who first settled in what is now known as New Zealand.
Kiwis are proud to point out that they have the cleanest fishing waters in the world. And they intend to keep it that way, through environment-friendly fishing methods and a 20-year-old legislated quota system that aims to ensure the sustainability of their marine resources.
A rock lobster can take up to nine years to reach the legal size for harvesting. If hauled in prematurely, it is thrown back into the water. Violators face severe fines, confiscation of their fishing boat and loss of their harvest quota.
"Our fisheries management regime is based on sustainability, so we can sell for eternity," says Hamish Quested, Moana Pacific’s marketing manager for lobsters. "It’s the best in the world."
Another chief concern is to guarantee the freshness of the products. Moana Pacific can deliver to destinations such as the United States within 36 hours from harvesting.
Environment-friendly methods have also made New Zealand dairy products the best in the world. The country’s 11,000 dairy farmers, who have formed a cooperative to sell their products to Fonterra, the company known for Anchor and Anlene products, do not feed animal protein to cattle, thus keeping out mad-cow disease.
Murray Shaw, the 54-year-old owner of Bella Vista farm outside Auckland, worries about greenhouse gases naturally produced by cows.
"Not much we can do about it," he says, pointing out that there has to be some tradeoff for being the world’s leading dairy producer. But he is considering proposals to plant more trees around dairy farms, even if shade stunts the growth of grass for cattle grazing.
"I’m not a greenie by any long shot, but I still think we gotta manage our environment responsibly. Otherwise we could end up with a dust bowl," he said.
That concern for the environment has helped New Zealand develop its brand, apart from its commitment to quality in all products from seafood to aluminum billets.
"We pride ourselves on quality," James Fletcher, international markets manager for Fletcher Aluminum, told me. "We steadfastly refuse to go into the low-end market."
"We won’t engage in anything that we consider inappropriate," Fletcher said when asked about the problem of corruption in doing business in Asia.
Some observers think Kiwi businessmen are not aggressive enough and are not taking full advantage of the New Zealand brand of excellence.
Phil Goff, the country’s trade and defense minister, is amused by the observation.
"It’s not simply about being aggressive," he told me, noting that aggression can produce a negative reaction. "It’s about building relationships."
Kiwis, he said, must be seen as reliable and consistent trading partners."We grow the market rather than simply squeeze our partner in the market."
Hugh Cronwright agrees. The development manager of Marquet Trading Ltd., which exports kiwi fruits and Sunquick juices to the Philippines and other places, says, "I think we’ve got better manners than many countries. Trust and integrity are a big part of what New Zealand does."
Fletcher also told a recent gathering of Kiwi and Southeast Asian investors, "We are perceived to be friendly, polite, honest, incorruptible, non-judgmental. We have no colonial baggage."
This pride is common among Kiwis. As Moana Pacific’s Hamish Quested told foreign visitors, when asked how to pick a good lobster, "Buy New Zealand."