Business digest: New partnership to develop platform for agritech research
14 Feb, 2021 07:00 PM
13 minutes to read
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Bay of Plenty Times
A freshly inked scientific partnership is developing AI computing power and technology to meet demand from Bay of Plenty-based scientists for faster processing of complex research data. The initiative, a marriage between the needs of PlantTech Research Institute in Tauranga and the expertise of New Zealand eScience Infrastructure (NeSI), is accelerating innovative research, starting in the agritech sector.
It will remove computer processing bottlenecks that limit the ability for data scientists to train artificial intelligence (AI) models that learn from high volumes of complex and tightly coupled data. It will also dramatically reduce the turnaround times for AI research.
Business Digest: Bay company launches wine cellar to global door venture
8 Feb, 2021 12:00 AM
5 minutes to read
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NZ Herald
A new innovative online wine marketplace designed to connect global connoisseurs with Kiwi vintages is being launched by Tauranga entrepreneur Grant Rimmer.
Wine Collective Direct founder Grant Rimmer. Photo / Supplied Rimmer, who has years of industry experience, is the mastermind behind Wine Collective Direct which would export fine Kiwi wines to doorsteps around the world.
He said the digital solution – designed to help New Zealand wine producers reach, connect and transact directly with global consumers – comes amid the increase of online shopping in the alcohol category.
Business digest: Shoppers spend $3m in Bay of Plenty during 2020
24 Jan, 2021 07:00 PM
12 minutes to read
Bay of Plenty Times
Shoppers spent a little more than $3 million in the Bay of Plenty this year, according to the latest Paymark figures. The annual spend was 3.6 per cent more than the $2.9m spent in the region last year.
Retailers using the Paymark network know that 2020 was a tough year for many but by December, for a number at least, the year ended on a high note.
The June quarter, which included alert level 4 nationwide lockdown, saw payments through Paymark via an underlying set of Core Retail merchants drop 15.5 per cent from a year earlier in dollar terms.
This brings me to Galway’s most famous food asset: the oyster. Oysters have been a part of the food culture of the west of Ireland for thousands of years. They are sown into the blood of its citizens. Large midden beds (ancient dumps) demonstrate our love of the oyster.
Every September they are celebrated in the Galway Oyster Festival, which is the oldest continuing oyster festival in the world. The festival marks the new season of the native oyster: a briney, succulent beauty that embodies our rugged terrain. Kelly’s Oysters are world famous and they are not to be missed when visiting Galway; they are best enjoyed with a pint of stout. However, one should not forget the other amazing oyster companies, namely Dooncastle and Flaggy Shore, both of which produce fantastic Pacific oysters. This breed of oyster arrived in the 1960s and has taken well to the waters of Galway Bay. You can find it all year round as opposed to the native oyster, which is only available from September to