Despite being founded in a Cyprian cave in the 1960s, the Burdon family’s mushroom enterprise now prides itself on technological advancement.
Meadow Mushrooms was dreamt up by former cabinet minister Philip Burdon and friend Roger Giles. When political violence on Cyprus led Burdon and Giles to move the operation back to New Zealand, mushrooms weren't yet a large part of the national palette.
Last year the company was awarded the EY 2018 Family Business of Excellence Award.
Burdon’s daughter, Miranda Burdon (pictured), chairs Meadow Mushrooms while Philip remains a director.
Miranda told the New Zealand Herald that Meadow Mushrooms was a classic entrepreneurial story.
“Founded on borrowings and what seemed a crazy idea to many, my father and Roger did everything they could to make it work.”
Today, Meadow Mushrooms is the leading mushroom supplier nationwide, producing 200 tonnes of mushrooms every week at its Christchurch harvesting plant.
The business also has its eye on the future, teaming up with Biopolymer Network to turn the stalks, which are currently waste, into breathable punnets, and most recently spending $100 million moving from old-style tray farms to new shelf-based production.
Phillip, who was MP for Fendalton for more than a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, has also been a leading advocate for the restoration of the Christ Church Cathedral, which was severely damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes. After years of church intractability on the issue, he will be celebrating the installation of a new Anglican bishop for Canterbury who has signaled his commitment for restoring the building.
This distinguishes him from his predecessor, Victoria Matthews, who wanted to demolish the cathedral and build a modern replacement.
Phillip recently resigned last year as honorary adviser to the Asia New Zealand Foundation. He recently waded into the New Zealand-China dispute – warning the country should not to become a “pawn” in American-Sino relations.
“We have to be very careful to avoid a partisan involvement in the current dispute as both countries are very capable of trade retaliation if they feel they are being unreasonably treated.
“Northern Asia and China in particular have become the salvation and lifeline of the New Zealand economy and will continue to be so.”
Burdon was inducted into the Business Hall of Fame in 2016 for service to food production, business, leadership and public policy.
Photo: Stuff
2018: $95 million