HISTORY of COTTERILL & ROUSE
Introduction
Since it began over 17 years ago Cotterill & Rouse has grown from a small enterprise to a very successful business whose top quality products are in demand throughout New Zealand and globally. It is quality that has separated Cotterill & Rouse products from competitive products: careful selection of only quality ingredients, production quality and the quality of the finished products.
This is evidenced in the many awards that have been received over the years, the most recent of these the Massey University Food Awards in 2005 where Cotterill & Rouse won the FMCG Highly Commended Product Award and the NZ Food Safety Authority Food Safety Award (for a high quality food product that involves advanced technological solutions and food safety risk management).
Small beginnings in 1989
In the midst of the rural downturn of the late eighties, two farming women, Lesley Cotterill and Dorothy Rouse dreamed up the idea of pickling the abundant local produce and presenting it in reusable old-fashioned glass storage jars. Their farm was the 1355 hectare sheep and cattle station "Makarika". Situated 9 km south of Ruatoria high on the East Coast, it had been in the Cotterill's family for many years. As well as raising sheep and cattle, the Cotterills ran a homestay operation. Guests were flown in by Lesley in her Cessna 180, "Dolly" to be treated to the luxury of country living in the station homestead. The station also had a shepherd's cottage which became the base for Cotterill & Rouse as demand soon outstripped the homestead kitchen. It was then truly a cottage industry.
Much of the produce was obtained locally, such as the Makarika honey used in one of the early mustards. The herbs were all grown on the station. The unique location and product soon caught the attention of the national media and politicians. Stories of the Cotterill & Rouse cottage industry appeared in Wellington and Auckland newspapers. Saatchi & Saatchi used Cotterill & Rouse as part of their 'accentuate the positive' campaign, challenging the rest of New Zealand to adopt the same 'can do' attitude.
The shift to Gisborne, 1993
With increasing demand and to be closer to their ever growing market, the venture was shifted to Gisborne. At the same time, Lesley Cotterill formed a company. Up till this point the business had been run as a partnership, but with the shift to Gisborne, Dorothy allowed Lesley to take over her share of the venture, as she preferred to remain on the farm.
High flyers, 1999
Cotterill & Rouse were approached by Air New Zealand to develop quality accompaniments for their in-flight meals. To this day Cotterill & Rouse continues to supply Air New Zealand and other airlines with chutneys and sauces.
Moving to Auckland, 2000
The new millennium saw another move for the Cotterill & Rouse venture. With the quickly growing demand of the Auckland market, it became inevitable that the company would have to move operations closer to the market. In February 2000 the premises in Pakuranga were acquired. The move gave the company a much bigger production capacity that opened further opportunity for growth, especially into the export and food service markets.
Purchase of Olive Grove 2003
In June 2003, Cotterill & Rouse purchased the Olive Grove brand of nutritious, fresh chilled and frozen Mediterranean food products. The product range includes delicious, high quality variants of hummus, dips and falafel mix.
Olive Grove also started as an artisan cottage industry in the late 1980s, in this case in Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. Through their commitment to excellent product quality, identifying market opportunities and determination, Olive Grove grew to become a national supplier to all the supermarket chains.
This purchase provided a platform from which to launch new and innovative products under both the Cotterill & Rouse and Olive Grove brands.
2005
In 2005 the Cotterill family withdrew from the business and the company was sold to its current owners who have had a major shareholding since 2003.
Whilst the ownership and the location may have changed, the vision for the company remains the same, to develop and market high quality products made with top quality ingredients to retail and foodservice customers who are looking for something special wherever they may be.
Products are made using natural ingredients and handmade care and attention in modern and efficient premises by dedicated staff who are working towards the next stage of development of this exciting company.
2009
The Cooks Food Group sold the Cotterill & Rouse brand to Wilson Foods Limited. The products are still manufactured by the dedicated teams of the yester year and the brand is managed by Wilson's own FMCG company; Wilson Consumer Products Limited. Wilson's are excited about the Cotterill & Rouse product range and have an experienced and dedicated team that are committed to selling a product range that is renowned for quality and distinction.
