Five Science and Maths teachers from Horowhenua College and a representative from Muaūpoko Tribal Authority attended the afternoon. It started with a bus trip to visit Genoese and Hemp Connect, to hear about the careers in local food production industries and the research & new product development that is taking place, including the Callaghan student intern programme.
At Genoese Foods, Andrew Parkin began with a tour of the factory then followed by Q&A session with a tasting of four flavours of Pesto. Andrew spoke about how the business after Covid had adapted and now is back supplying retail chains and catering companies as well as exporting, with one of the clients being Singapore Airlines.
At Hemp Connect, the owner Matt Johnson explained about the various parts of hemp is used production and talked about the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle had on the hemp crops in the Hawkes Bay that were about to be harvested. He discussed the latest products they are looking to launch and how they supply ‘Hemp Hearts’ to companies such as Vogel’s, Blue Frog and Fix & Fogg.