Export Of Fruit Cake To U.S.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31093, 23 June 1966, Page 14

Export Of Fruit Cake To U.S.

A Christchurch cake manufacturing company, Ernest Adams Ltd., was expecting orders of up to 50 tons of block fruit cake a week from North America, said the firm’s managing director (Mr H. A. Adams) yesterday.

His company, he said, hoped to export to California a dark fruit cake filled with Californian-grown raisins. I The raisins are shipped 17000 miles from California to New Zealand. Then Mr Adams’s Christchurch factory will mix the Californian raisins into fruit cakes in quarter-ton mixes before shipping them back to California in packaged 31b square cakes. “I am sure we will be able to sell competitively anywhere in the United States,” said Mr Adams. “The North Americans are already buying fruit cake from England and Ireland.” Mr Adams said that his firm expected to export to North America a lighter fruit cake as well. This would be filled with light golden Australian sultanas. “It looks very nice with cherries, light fruit and peel,” he said.

Mr Adams said that his brother (Mr E. N. Adams) of Invercargill, had returned yesterday from very successful market investigations with the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation Trade Mission to North America. Mr Adams said that orders of 50 tons of fruit cake a

week from the United States would not embarrass the capacity of his Christchurch factory a bit. “We are certainly expecting orders like this,” he said. “Every American potential buyer who talked with my brother, talked of minimum orders of 1000 31b block cakes.” Mr Adams attributed much of the North American interest in his firm’s cake to the “absolutely spot-on” packaging designed by a ChristI church man, Mr J. Harrison. The cakes were packed into [protective cartons, each holding 12 cakes.

Each carton had attractively printed on it “rich fruit cake, produce of N.Z.”

Mr B. E. A. Williams (above) has been elected president of the Christchurch Lions Club, succeeding Dr. W. R. Holmes. Other officers for the ensuing year are:— Vice-presidents, Messrs S. E. F. Joblin, G. L. Bradbury, and G. H. Dobbs; secretary, Mr G. A. Brown: assistant-secretary, Mr N. S. H. McCann; treasurer, Mr L. R. Burt; lion tamer, [Mr M. Ormandy; tail twister, Mr W. V. Cowles; directors, Dr. T. C. Svensen, Messrs J. F. Thomas, D. M. Thompson and J. Booth; auditor, Mr R. E. Smith.