REGENERATING FARMING PROJECT: FIELD DAY UPDATE
Regenerating soil health in intensive cropping systems trials show promise Our regenerative farming trials are uncovering promising opportunities for sustainable…
From sustainable farming projects to sharing staff stories, if there’s a LeaderBrand story to be told, you’ll find it here.
Have a read and check out what we’ve been up to lately.
dig into our work
The LeaderBrand Way
we put in the hard yards to do it better
At LeaderBrand we’re constantly looking for new ways to do it better and improve. From investing in new technology to sustainable farming practices, food trends to giving back to our local communities. You’ll find our stories here.
Latest Posts
CELEBRATE EAT YOUR VEGTABLES DAY IN TASTY STYLE!
It’s Eat Your Vegetables Day, and veggies are ready to take centre stage! Finally, a day where your mum’s advice…
THE LEADERBRAND BROCCOLI BOYS
The Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix, a national trolley derby race, took place at Auckland Domain in February, after a…
RECORD SUNSHINE HOURS IN GISBORNE MEANS OUR WATERMELON TO HIT STORES EARLIER THAN EVER BEFORE
Gisborne has been basking in sunshine throughout spring and December which means our watermelons are rolling into your closest supermarket…
OUR SWEETCORN TO HIT STORES EARLY, THANKS TO A RECORD SPRING ON THE EAST COAST
Thanks to a record-hot and dry spring on the East Cape, our sweetcorn will be hitting supermarkets early this year. …
REGENERATING FARMING PROJECT: FIELD DAY UPDATE
Regenerating soil health in intensive cropping systems trials show promise Our regenerative farming trials are uncovering promising opportunities for sustainable…
Our Favourite Caesar Salad Kit Just Got Tastier
We have updated our popular Caesar Kit, introducing a delicious, new creamy Caesar dressing with New Zealand parmesan cheese that…
OUR ASPARAGUS JOINS THE WONKY BOX TO HELP REDUCE FOOD WASTE
Every year, we harvest more than 2500 tonnes of asparagus, but not every spear will make it to the traditional…
LEADERBRAND AND POVERTY BAY GOLF CLUB TEE-UP A NOVEL WAY TO HELP CONSERVE WATER
Good old Kiwi ingenuity strikes again as we’ve come up with an innovative new way to conserve water from our…
FOODIES GET EXCITED AS our ASPARAGUS STARTS HITTING THE FRESH AISLES
This week, our highly anticipated alpine asparagus hits supermarket aisles, grown in the fertile plains at the base of the…
Our Chief Executive Richard Burke to leave at the end of the year
Chair, Susan Huria, has paid tribute to Richard’s leadership and years of dedication to the people and the business of…
Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, visits our future farm facility and even took OUR new electric harvester for a spin
Today Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, our 11-hectare undercover greenhouse and even lent a hand harvesting a crop of spinach. Christopher…
LeaderBrand and the Gisborne community recognised for contribution to Cyclone Gabrielle response effort
In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, Gisborne was left devastated and isolated from the rest of the…
DR STUART DAVIS WINS HIGHEST HORTICULTURE HONOUR: THE BLEDISLOE CUP 2024
Dr Stuart Davis, our Sustainability Manager, has won New Zealand’s highest horticulture honour being named the Bledisloe Cup recipient for…
MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, SHANE JONES, OFFICIALLY OPENS LEADERBRAND’S COVERED PRODUCTION FACILITY
Today, we were pleased to host Regional Development Minister, Shane Jones, who officially opened the completed 11-hectare mega greenhouse project…
WATERMELON SUGAR: IT’S A SWEET DEAL FOR KIWI SHOPPERS
Watermelons are in abundance this week, so look out for some great deals. As summer hits its stride, New Zealanders…
ELECTRIC HARVESTERS – A NEW ZEALAND FIRST!
LeaderBrand welcomes the first of it’s kind electric harvester for New Zealand. Our Gisborne farm recently welcomed an electric harvester…
SWEET CORN SEASON IS FINALLY HERE!
We’re celebrating the return of sweet corn after a challenging year. We’re encouraging Kiwis to embrace the taste of summer…
REGENERATIVE FARMING PROJECT FIELD DAY
We recently hosted our second Regenerative Farming Project field day at our Gisborne farms. Growers from around the country, as…
FRUIT & VEGETABLE PRICES CONTINUE TO DROP
Great news for Kiwi households & The Growers. The price of fruit, vegetables and similar household staples were the largest…
NEW WILD ROCKET IN STORES NOW!
OUR SALAD RANGE HAS EXTENDED THANKS TO OUR THREE MEGA GREENHOUSES NOW BEING COMPLETE. This week, we have expanded our…
DRONE SPRAYING TRIAL A SUCCESS!
A recent trial using drones for spraying at our Makauri Farm in Gisborne produced positive results. LeaderBrand’s research agronomist Chris…
A CULINARY DELIGHT IS ABOUT TO HIT THE STORES
Foodies get excited…asparagus is launching early October. Get ready to indulge in one of nature’s finest delicacies as the asparagus season…
FARMING FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE
Our joint research project that looks at the new ways to farm sustainably. We’ve teamed up with Countdown and Plant…
MIKE ARNOLD AWARDED A LIFE MEMBERSHIP FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE HORTICULTURE INDUSTRY
Last week at the Hort NZ Conference, Mike Arnold from our LeaderBrand South Island Farm, was awarded a Life Membership for his…
BROCCOLI STALKS ARE GOING TO WASTE!
More than a third of us are throwing away valuable nutrition. The humble broccoli, a Kiwi family favourite, is currently…
MURRAY MCPHAIL NAMED IN KING’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST
Murray McPhail, our founder and director, has been named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in King’s…
OUR YOUNG TALENT, WINS AGAIN!
Taylor Leabourn from our Auckland farm has won the 2023 Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year competition. The competition tested…
Vegetable prices are dropping as we start to recover from cyclone damage
The price of a variety of vegetables has dropped this week, a welcome relief for Kiwi consumers and the growers. …
Impact of Cyclone Gabrielle continues
Water is a key component to our Salad House. With the likelihood of several more weeks of restrictions in Gisborne,…
Watermelon is the taste of summer, it’s just a little late to the party
La Nina has stuck again, and this time it’s Our watermelons that have been impacted. The constant rain last year…
Corn Harvest Begins
La Nina continues to impact our Crops We’ve started harvesting our first summer cobs this season, a week later than…
MAJOR MILESTONE
After a long and arduous journey through global pandemics, MIQ issues, freight delays, Covid and terrible weather, we’ve managed to…
ASPARAGUS IS HERE: SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Our new season asparagus hits the supermarket Spring brings longer days, warmer weather, and Kiwis’ favourite delicacy, asparagus! One of…
Seven Sharp visits the Salad Bowl of New Zealand
Recently, Seven Sharp popped into Gisborne to visit our mega greenhouse. They were interested in the size and technology being…
Launch of regenerative project investigates impacts of growing
We are leading a joint project with Countdown and Plant & Food Research which is the first industry-wide collaboration to…
The Future Is Bright – Gisborne Young Grower Competition
Maninder Singh, has taken out the title of Gisborne Young Grower of the Year for 2022. He was up against…
Rural Delivery visits LeaderBrand covered farming project
Recently, the team from Rural Delivery popped into Gisborne to see how we were progressing with our covered farming project. …
LeaderBrand’s first mega greenhouse is nearing completion
It’s been a long and arduous journey over the last three years but finally LeaderBrand’s first stage, a smaller three-hectare…
Ministers visit LeaderBrand Gisborne
Minister Economic and Regional Development, Stuart Nash, today visited LeaderBrand in Tairawhiti to inspect our mega-greenhouse construction
A new reason to eat broccoli?
New research finds that broccoli is rich in a chemical that could help prevent and treat viruses such as coronavirus and the common cold
Severe floods cut off Gisborne
LeaderBrand is calling for a renewed focus on Gisborne’s infrastructure as severe weather continues to impact the region
Dawn blessing to open our new distribution centre
On Friday morning before dawn, Morehu Pewhairangi and Wirangi Pera of Te Aitanga a Mahaki iwi, joined our team to help bless the new distribution centre.
WATERMELON SEASON IS HERE!
Nothing says summer more than our chopped chilled watermelon The summer heatwave continues to wash over the country and finding…
Gisborne Covered Production Update – January
Under Cover Greenhouse Starting to Take Shape Now when you drive past Tucker Road you can see the massive metal…
Summer has officially started, Sweetcorn is here!
Kiwis’ favourite vegetable, sweet corn, has hit the shelves, summer has now officially started
Asparagus joins Countdown’s popular Odd Bunch Programme
We’ve got excessive volumes of asparagus and we’d hate to see spears going to waste.
Inspiring the next Generation
LeaderBrand opened their doors to 35 students from the local education programme, Aurora, as part of their annual Young Leaders of the Land field day this week.
The Kale trend is over
The popular salad leaf is no longer Kiwis’ favourite green, with baby leaf on the rise.
Gisborne Covered Farming
Construction of our Gisborne Covered Production (GCP) will allow us to respond to increasing demand and help grow crops in a controlled environment year round.
OUR FARMING PRACTISES MUST ADAPT
New farming practices are a must as we continue to assess the damage from the weather bomb late last week.
GISBORNE COVERED PRODUCTION CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES
Our construction plans on our ambitious 11-hectare undercover farming project is forging ahead despite the ongoing interruption from lockdowns over the past couple of years.
LEADERBRAND INTERNAL VIDEO
Here is a little insight into Leaderbrand, who we are and what makes us get up early everyday.