The joint-venture meat brand between Silver Fern Farms and the New Zealand Merino Company was established last year, through the Government's Primary Growth Partnership.
In the past 12 months, $45 million worth of meat contracts have been signed with growers through the Alpine Origin Merino programme, providing a valuable second income stream for fine-wool growers.
Speaking at New Zealand Merino's conference in Christchurch this week, NZM chief executive John Brakenridge said the "important collaboration" between NZM and Silver Fern Farms was announced to growers about a year ago.
Market research found a "distinct story" could be told and there was also a distinct product to "wrap that story around".
As a first step, Alpine Origin Merino partnered with a selection of New Zealand's top restaurants to feature Silere Alpine Origin Merino on their menus.
It was now on the menu in about 35 restaurants around the country and there was the confidence to give the product a global launch "in a very careful manner".
"It's phenomenal that in 12 months we have gone from a concept, to now having tens of millions of dollars worth of contracts signed with growers and the Silere Alpine Origin Merino brand on the menus of top restaurants around the country," he said.
There was a "long way" to go, chief executive Keith Cooper said.
"The positive response [it] has received in New Zealand has given us a huge amount of confidence ... as we go into the next phase of targeting the premium restaurant trade in international markets," he said.
Celebrity chef Sean Connolly, of The Grill restaurant at Auckland's Sky City Grand Hotel, was one of the first to put the brand on the menu and said he was getting the most positive feedback he had had about lamb.
Auckland chefs Nick Honeyman and Hayden McMillan gave a demonstration of cooking Silere meat at the conference.
They both featured the brand on their menus and said they got fantastic feedback from customers.
Silere is Latin for "silent", with the name reflecting the stillness of New Zealand's high country.
New Zealand Merino has been working on other projects including looking at using horns and skins.
While merino skins had historically been regarded as "something you throw in a pit", New Zealand Light Leathers managing director Neil Dickson believed there was "real potential" that was untapped.
New Zealand Light Leathers, which is based at Washdyke in South Canterbury, was established in 1974, initially processing the South Island lamb kill.
In 2004, operations were restructured to concentrate on deerskin and it is the world's largest supplier of deer leather from New Zealand farmed deer.
It works with international luxury brands such as Coach, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and Ralph Lauren.
Merino skin was challenging to work with but it had a wonderful natural texture, Mr Dickson said.
The first New Zealand merino-skin handbags have been created by New Zealand designer Deadly Ponies.
