Business Rural North | Earned an outstanding reputation

Story by Sue Russell, published in Business Rural North, Winter 2026 edition.

By managing every stage of the process - from breeding premium Angus cattle and lamb through to growing, finishing, processing, and marketing high-quality cuts - Matangi Prime Meat Ltd has built the foundation for its success today.

Established in 2018 as a collaboration between two families - Austrian couple Robert and Inge Haselsteiner and locals Jamie and Nicky Gaddum - Matangi Prime Meat now spans three Hawke’s Bay farms and has earned an outstanding reputation. Jamie attributes this success to a thoughtful blend of science and experience, along with meticulous attention to detail at every stage.

 “We focus solely on producing exceptional meat for a discerning New Zealand market. It starts with responsible stewardship of the land our animals graze, continues through careful breeding and attentive animal care, and finishes with premium processing and marketing. It’s a fully integrated cycle that we oversee at every stage,” Jamie says.

The theme of ‘care’ runs deep through the farm management practices. At any one time, four generations of cattle can be found enjoying life at either Matangi Farm, owned by the Haselsteiners or at Atua Farm, owned by Jamie and Nicky.

The two properties, and more recently a third which was leased recently, each offer the growing stock the best low-stress conditions to grow an exceptional carcass out.

Each week cattle and lambs are killed at Progressive Meats in Hastings, 15 minutes from the farm and then sent to Matangi’s purpose-built butchery which opened in 2024. Here the beef hangs for three weeks before being processed into a range of cuts, available to visiting customers or ordering on-line. They also further dry age their beef to order.

“We wanted the butchery to feel like a showroom - somewhere customers can connect with our farms through images and stories that reflect our values. It also proudly features our dry-ageing cabinet as a centrepiece.”

To build the butchery, Jamie brought in the skills of a number of tradespeople, including GCW Engineering, who sat down with him and helped in the design and construction of the rails used for hanging the meat.

“GCW built all the rails and helped me with the steel work. We built the butchery from scratch and their help was pivotal to the outstanding quality of what we created.” Jamie says passersby often notice the dry-ageing cabinet at night and are curious about its purpose. “It really becomes an opportunity for education. Since introducing the technology into the butchery, our retail trade has grown significantly.”

All that planning and care culminated last year in Matangi Prime Meat winning the Supreme Award at the Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards for its 30–45 day dry-aged sirloin – an achievement Jamie and the team are immensely proud of. “It shows we’re right up there in terms of quality, being blind judged alongside other leading food producers.”

The accolades keep coming. This year, Matangi Station was named one of four finalists in the East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards. On 18 March at a gala event, the awards were announced with Matangi Meats taking out the coveted Supreme Award, along with four category wins – Norwood Farming Efficiency Award, Rabobank Agri-Business Management Award, East Coast Farming for the Future Award and the AFFCO Innovation Award.

Jamie says the decision to enter was driven by a desire to open the business up to independent, critical assessment. “One of the key focus areas for us was efficiency. We carry our cattle through a second winter, so it’s about achieving the best possible growth outcomes relative to cost. It’s also about maximising value from lower-value products, such as mince.”

The meatball festival, held annually in Hastings is a vehicle through which that adding of value has been achieved. This year, their collaboration with Chef Ben Bayly, “a Shepherd’s coal roasted Matangi Lamb Meatball” received the ‘Peoples Choice Award’.

Jamie says he owes much to Robert Haselsteiner, whose vision was to create a fully integrated system producing the finest quality meat. “Robert and Inge visit New Zealand regularly, and we take a highly collaborative approach to what we’re building. I’m also fortunate to manage these exceptional properties alongside passionate people - and I believe the results speak for themselves.”