TVNZ Rural Delivery show features Riddet Institute thesis research

7 August 2026 - Riddet Institute alumna Dr Summer Rangimaarie Wright was featured on the television show Rural Delivery on Saturday morning.

Dr Wright (Ngāti Maniapoto) discussed her research on the consumer dimensions of Māori food products, and her innovative work identifying Singapore and Aotearoa consumer responses to Māori place branding. Her supervisor Professor Joanne Hort and Massey University’s Feast laboratory were also featured in the episode.

Dr Wright speaks about the importance of protecting Māori branding for the good of both Māori businesses and Aotearoa New Zealand’s agri-food economy in general. The example of how the iconic Manuka honey can now be marketed by other countries demonstrates what can be lost when Indigenous products were not protected.

Some of the research techniques and wider aims of her research were also discussed.

Rural Delivery is a long-running New Zealand magazine-style television series that showcases the country's primary industries, farming communities, and agricultural innovations. Dr Wright’s segment is the third of three stories to feature in the Saturday 1 August edition.

Dr Wright graduated in 2025 with her thesis making the Dean’s List of Excellent Theses. A talented communicator, she also won the Ansley Te Hiwi Student Communicator Award in 2024 at the Riddet Institute Student Colloquium.

See the episode on the link below.