Setting the standard
The founder of Black Origin brought his expertise to New Zealand in 2015 when he began raising a small herd of Wagyu cattle on a local farm in Lincoln, Canterbury.
He had years of experience with the luxury product gained in his hometown of Kobe, Japan, and had the goal of producing high-quality Wagyu beef in New Zealand using time-honoured, traditional techniques.
His experience in the field allowed him to stay true to traditional Japanese methods at every step of the production process. This ancient art, with the help of New Zealand’s enviable natural resources, resulted in top-quality meat.
The Wagyu rearing process has been refined over hundreds of years in Japan, resulting in specific ways of raising and finishing the cattle. The traditional method of Wagyu processing also differs from the processing of common beef cows in New Zealand. Traditional Wagyu butchering respects every part of the animal, resulting in more cuts of meat and less wastage. An example of this is the intercostal cut – perceived as waste by New Zealand standards, but utilised by Black Origin as a premium product.
To achieve the quality of marbling that true Wagyu is famous for, the cattle must be fed a special grain diet and be raised in very specific conditions.
Japanese techniques brought to New Zealand for the first time include feeding cattle a specialised grain diet to increase marbling within the muscles, and introducing state-of-the-art barns commonly used in Japan. One of the main challenges that Black Origin faced with this product was educating farmers and consumers about grain-fed protein. While grain feeding is very common in the rest of the world, little was known about it in New Zealand.
This adherence to tradition paid off when Black Origin achieved its first 8–9 Beef Marble Score. The BMS score is a standard of measurement used in Australia to score the amount of marbling in beef, which directly correlates to the flavour and tenderness when it is cooked. The scale ranges from BMS 3 (low marbling) to BMS 12 (incredibly dense marbling). BMS 8–9 is the highest marble score ever produced in New Zealand, and was a very momentous milestone to reach.
Ongoing success is gauged by the continual demand for Black Origin Wagyu, and currently, there isn’t enough supply to keep up with demand. Sales go to high-end restaurants and distributors around New Zealand, including supermarkets, independent butcheries, and the competitive BBQ community.
As our society shifts towards ever more mindful consumption methods, Black Origin has found its place as the most premium New Zealand-produced Wagyu in the market.
Wish to try Black Origin’s offerings yourself? Conveniently you can purchase the products and have them delivered through Black Origin’s website. Tussock Hill is also hosting a four course meal with wine pairings on 18 November – you can buy tickets through the Tussock Hill website.
Q+A:
Where did the idea for this product come from?
Black Origin began in 2015 with the idea of combining ancient Japanese cattle breeding, genetics and techniques with New Zealand’s incredible natural resources to bring a never-before-seen quality of New Zealand Wagyu to the world market.
How did you determine the product's originality?
To achieve the quality of marbling that true Wagyu is famous for, the cattle must be fed a special grain diet and be raised in very specific conditions. Black Origin is one of the first to bring the true artisan Wagyu finishing process to New Zealand.
Did you consider any new technology for your company in the development of this product?
Rather than introducing new technology, Black Origin is proud to have reintroduced ancient Japanese artisan techniques never before practised in New Zealand. The Wagyu rearing process has been refined over hundreds of years in Japan, resulting in specific ways of raising and finishing cattle. Japanese techniques Black Origin has introduced for the first time in New Zealand include feeding our cattle their specialised grain diet to increase marbling within the muscles, as well as the introduction of state-of-the-art feedlots commonly used in Japan.
The traditional method of Wagyu processing also differs from the standard processing of standard beef cows in New Zealand. Traditional Wagyu butchering respects every part of the animal, resulting in more cuts of meat and less wastage. An example of this is the intercostal cut - perceived as waste by New Zealand standards, but utilised by Black Origin as a premium product.
What were some of the challenges in developing this product, and how did you overcome them?
One of the main challenges that we faced with this product was educating farmers and consumers about grain-fed protein. While grain feeding is very common in the rest of the world, not much is known about it in New Zealand. We have worked hard to educate consumers on the benefits that grain feeding brings and to provide our farmers with training, support and guidelines to ensure correct production.
What was the proudest moment in the product’s journey?
Our proudest moment in producing our product was reaching our first BMS 8-9 marbling score. The BMS score is a standard of measurement used in Japan to score the amount of marbling in beef, which directly correlates to the flavour and tenderness when it is cooked. The scale ranges from BMS 3 (low marbling) to BMS 12 (incredibly dense marbling). BMS 8-9 is the highest marbling score ever produced in New Zealand and was a very proud milestone for us to reach.
Our cattle finish the last 200-420 days of their life in our state-of-the-art finishing barns, with the sawdust and byproducts from these barns being composted. Composting barns can significantly reduce nitrogen losses, and the finished compost and captured effluent can be spread onto pasture or crops as a high-value fertiliser.
Barn-finishing our cattle also allows for a high feed conversion efficiency and, therefore, faster finishing, minimising the resources required to produce our product. It also ensures there is minimal wastage of feed, meaning we can make sure we’re not consuming any resources surplus to what we need.
Can you describe how your company consciously addresses social sustainability across the entire life cycle of its products and your company processes for achieving these outcomes:
Black Origin provides chef-prepared lunches for all onsite staff at a discounted rate, as well as 20 minutes of free massage per week for each staff member and generous staff discounts across our whole range of products. Black Origin also hosts regular team-bonding events. The development of career opportunities is taken seriously for each staff member, with all staff encouraged to voice and pursue their interests within the company.
As a premium product, Black Origin is able to offer some of the most competitive rates in the market to farmers throughout our supply chain. This has positioned Black Origin as desirable for farmers to work with, allowing us to carefully select our farmers based on their social and environmental values and practices aligning with our own.
Can you briefly outline your product development process:
In 2015 the Black Origin founder brought his Wagyu expertise to New Zealand and began raising a small herd of Wagyu cattle on a local farm in Lincoln, Canterbury. With years of experience with Wagyu gained in his hometown of Kobe, Japan, he wanted to produce high-quality Wagyu beef in New Zealand using traditional Japanese techniques.
Wagyu is traditionally a luxury product, and the traditional Wagyu production process requires meticulous detail at each step. Arato’s experience in the field allowed him to stay true to traditional Japanese methods at every step of production, implementing the systems to achieve the most authentic possible Wagyu production process and, therefore, the best end quality of meat.
As Black Origin has grown, we have retained control of our whole supply chain from start to finish, allowing us to ensure that we’re correctly honouring all the traditional Japanese techniques that have been refined over hundreds of years. We carefully control every step of our cattle’s lifecycle, from breeding to grazing to grain finishing. Our cattle are slaughtered and processed in our own facility and butchered by hand by our team, who have been trained by a traditional Japanese Wagyu Bone Master.
How did you determine the product's likely success in the market?
Wagyu is not a new product - it’s an artisan product with hundreds of years of tradition behind it. New Zealanders have great respect for locally-produced beef, so the idea of creating one of the world’s most premium beef products within New Zealand felt like it would be well-received. As attitudes evolve both within New Zealand and globally, there has been a definite cultural shift from quantity to quality of meat products, and New Zealanders are more aware than ever of premium offerings.
We gauge our success by the continual demand for our Wagyu, and currently, we don’t have enough supply to keep up with demand! 15 per cent of our sales go to high-end restaurants and distributors within New Zealand, including Farro Fresh and New World supermarkets, independent butcheries, and the competitive BBQ community. The other 85 per cent of our sales go to Japan, China, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
Black Origin began with the idea of combining ancient Japanese cattle breeding, genetics and techniques with New Zealand’s incredible environment and natural resources to bring a never-before-seen quality of New Zealand-produced Wagyu to market.
While the Wagyu breed already existed in New Zealand, the craftsmanship in producing true Wagyu beef is present in every stage of the production process. Eastern ways of thinking are traditionally holistic, taking into account the details at every step of a system. Black Origin’s methodology subscribes to this approach, honouring the origin, traditions and artisanry of Wagyu cattle rearing.
This can be seen throughout the Black Origin Wagyu production process in the care and pride taken at each step. Ours is a premium product, and not being a part of the race to the bottom line allows us to focus on detail, artisanry and tradition at each point of the production process.
This is a total shift from the typically over-commodified processes within the New Zealand agricultural sector and positively impacts each of our stakeholders throughout the production process. We’re proud to offer our farmers fixed contract rates regardless of market conditions, as well as the option to be a part of the whole premium Black Origin Wagyu production process, from breeding right through to finishing.
Wagyu cattle can be twice as big as normal cattle, and there’s a true art in carving beautiful, world-class cuts from animals this big. Black Origin Wagyu is proudly butchered by hand; our team is taught by a world-respected expert from the Japanese Wagyu Association.
Our beautiful, premium cuts of Black Origin Wagyu are then distributed to restaurants, retailers, and directly to the New Zealand public through our website. As our society shifts towards ever more mindful methods of consumption, Black Origin has found its place as the most premium New Zealand-produced Wagyu within the market.
Black Origin is committed to honouring the traditional Japanese techniques required to create premium Wagyu and is proud to introduce our world-class product and way of business to New Zealand.