The success of Blenheim based Kinzett's can be put down to their business philosophy of being sustainable, efficient and looking after their greatest asset - their people.

 Kinzett's have a long history of growing in the Marlborough region. Since the turn of the century, when Hedley Kinzett first turned soil on Old Renwick Road, the business has built a reputation for being forward thinking. In more recent years Paul Kinzett has been at helm, but has now taken a step back, moving into retirement.

Run today by fourth generation, Nicola Whyte (nee Kinzett) and her husband Tom, the operation employs 20 permanent staff, which are supported by over 50 seasonal workers. They specialise in tomatoes, grown year-round under two hectares of glass, and also dedicate eight hectares to growing cherries which are picked from November through to Christmas. In 1995, the operation ventured into growing grapes with 24 hectares of mainly Sauvignon Blanc varieties produced under contract for Cloudy Bay.  Long time shareholders of MG, the business works closely with procurement representatives, Jamie Russ and Scott Mason, supplying most of their tomato and cherry crops to MG markets.

After a successful stint working in the medical industry, Nicola took the leap of faith, returning to the family business. Being a smaller family-owned operation means there's plenty of crossover with the roles, with Nicola, Tom and the wider team relying on each other's opinions and experience. 

"I was out of the business, working in the pharmaceutical and medical industry for a number of years," says Nicola. "Then I came back to New Zealand and I got back involved in cherries and would take seven weeks off work to travel down from Auckland where we lived at the time."

"When Paul wanted to step away, we stepped in. I oversee the day-to-day operations, while Tom's much better behind the scenes with detail and numbers, but at the end of the day we all help each other out," says Nicola. 

Tom has an extensive business background so brings a different set of skills to Kinzett's.

"I was first involved around ten years ago when Paul asked if I'd be a director, so have been involved in the governance side," says Tom. "I also seem to get given the contractual and financial side of things."

Growing techniques have evolved a lot over the years, with Kinzett's always prepared to change, often at the forefront of the industry. They were early adopters of rain covers and experimented with how to best produce cherries, including research into growing under the glass. Another good example is the conversion to using biomass as a heat source for glasshouses back in 2004.

"Paul was ahead of his time," says Tom. "It was a significant investment, but by moving away from using coal as the primary fuel, he saw benefits from both an environmental perspective and from a long-term cost-saving perspective. 

"Kinzett's has effectively been 97% carbon neutral for 20 years," says Tom. "We use wood chip from a local sawmill."

"Even though we've grown in a more sustainable way than a lot of growers, we haven't realised more value in the market, however, we see a future where it could be the difference between supplying large retailers or not. 

 "The challenge for us is that our boiler is getting older with others moving to new technology and there's also more competition for biomass fuel."

However, despite the advancement they have made with technology to be more sustainable and systems to be more efficient, Nicola and Tom credit a driven and loyal team to the business's success. They have a strong focus on their workers' physical and mental health and wellbeing, something they describe as 'the Kinzett way of doing things".

"For us, we like to look for opportunities for all the staff to grow their skills, especially when they show potential or interest in different parts of the business," says Nicola.

"We also have a strong focus on keeping our people safe. For us, it's more than getting the paperwork right - it's also about leading by example and keeping everyone focused on safe behaviour."

"We're lucky to have a good relationship with the team at MG's farm in Nelson, JS Ewers, and appreciate that we can pick up the phone and talk to people who have similar operations. Sometimes its simple things such as sharing templates or procedures, but can also help when trying to problem-solve on-farm issues."

"And, of course, when it comes to showing our appreciation to our staff, you can't go post food - catered lunches and morning teas are always a winner."