The government has started its reform of the grocery sector by introducing urgent Budget night legislation to stop major supermarkets blocking competitors from accessing land for new stores.
Foodstuffs North Island has gained Rainbow Tick accreditation.
Lion is close to completing a reshaping of its NZ operations, allowing it to emerge from Covid concentrated on core.
New World has revealed its Top 30 beverages in its annual Beer & Cider Awards, and named Lion craft brand Emerson’s Weissbier its supreme winner.
MonopolyWatch NZ is urging kiwis of all political persuasions to sign Consumer NZ’s Stop the super profits petition, which was launched last week.
Applications are now open for Countdown’s Growing for Good grants which puts $50,000 of funding up for grabs for students to combat climate change.
The value retailer says it is “seriously considering” making more grocery options available.
Woolworths NZ is recalling specific batches of its Countdown brand Choc Berry Mix due to the presence of an undeclared allergen, namely milk.
“As a result of this price rollback our stores will be selling some items below cost,” according to Foodstuff NZ boss Chris Quin.
Online supermarket startup Supie has thrown its support behind Consumer NZ’s new petition calling for fairer supermarket prices.
The brewer is looking to tap into premiumisation and sessionability trends to drive craft beer sales at its Monteith’s and Tuatara brands.
The government should regulate access to the wholesale market or set-up a state-owned wholesaler, says the consumer organisation.
The government should regulate access to the wholesale market or set-up a state-owned wholesaler, says the consumer organisation.
Taranaki bio-intensive market garden Roebuck Farm says it is an early adopter of local supermarket supply and is advocating for more of it to be established around New Zealand.
The latest four-week period sees accelerated dollar growth this year as inflation continues unabated.
The Great Price Winter Freeze takes in mostly private label items, with a handful of independent brands, but what will happen if costs go up?
Its New Zealand business could see H2 earnings drop almost 30% due to escalating costs, even as grocery prices rise.
The Auckland independent grocery chain will use the investment to expand its network, as well as upgrade existing properties.
Foodstuffs Own Brands is recalling a specific batch of its Pams brand Mini Hash Browns as the product may contain foreign matter, namely blue plastic pieces.
New World’s Family2Family Foodbank Appeal is back for 2022.
Countdown has opened its new 3,650 square metre store on Greville Road on Auckland’s North Shore.
“We’re not going to disrupt the market or build market share by offering a ‘me-too’ product at the same price,” says Berkano co-founder Nicholas Harlow.
Foodstuffs is backing a Social Supermarket in Kaitaia, and is in talks with community partners in six other regions.
Foodstuffs finishes its biscuit category review, keeping some well-known New Zealand names and adding new international brands.
Food and beverage sector appointments and people moves to the week of 22 April.
Finance minister Grant Robertson has underlined the government’s commitment to boost competition following a 30-year high in inflation.
The fruit and vege co-op will slash 40% from the power bill at its new warehouse and banana ripening facility, and is considering retro-fitting other buildings in its portfolio.
The pandemic and premiumisation prompts foodservice stalwart Kōkako to branch out into the grocery channel with a new purpose-built brand.
Foodstuffs is creating its own Grocery Price Index which will be included in a new reporting dashboard to “publicly track its progress” against the Commerce Commission grocery market review recommendations.
People must consider the impact cheap food has on the environment and whether there are better ways to help struggling families.
New World’s once-a-year fresh hops beer will this week start hitting chiller shelves.
The Wellington snack company is expanding its Upcycled Grain Project brand with US growth ramping up.
Romano’s Food Group is aiming to complete the rebuild of its Christchurch pizza factory by the last quarter of the year.
Minister David Clark feels the heat from surging food prices and says he has not ruled out going further than ComCom’s grocery market recommendations.
Some 90% of Kiwis surveyed have reported rising fuel and grocery prices are affecting their households, according to Westpac.
More than 1.7 million packs and individual Easter eggs and 1.3 million packets of hot cross buns have been sold in Countdown stores across Aotearoa in the run up to Easter.
Government proposals would require organisations to take action if they become aware of modern slavery or worker exploitation.
The 3,565 square metre store has been eight years in the planning, development and construction, said Countdown’s director of property, Matt Grainger.
A new general manager is taking the reins at Lewis Road Creamery bringing years of marketing and F&B industry experience to the premium consumer dairy brand.
Ola Berezhnaia’s Datella is hoping to grow in more supermarkets and build a following for date spreads.
The Auckland business expands into hundreds more Woolworths stores as it pushes the nascent premium cereal category across the ditch.
ComCom’s approach to improving competition in supermarkets is more strategic than it is being given credit for, says MonopolyWatch NZ.
The Commerce Amendment Bill, which aims to deter anti-competitive conduct, has passed its third and final reading in parliament.
20-year veteran Tim Donaldson is taking up an expanded GM role in the South Island, while up north it has gone internal to replace its long-standing legal chief.
Hundreds of people are required to plug gaps in Countdown’s supply chain because of Covid-19 absenteeism.
New World and the Wellington City Mission’s free Social Supermarket in Newtown has seen 3,268 shoppers access essential items in its first full year of operating.
Impossible Burger Patties go on sale at supermarkets across ANZ, while My Food Bag takes alt-protein offering Plan*t national.
IRI’s Grocery Market Overview attributes price rises as the major driver behind February’s 5.8% increase in sales value.
As ComCom has found, restructuring the country’s duopoly-dominated grocery market is much harder than it looks.
Dunedin residents can now recycle their soft plastic packaging at eight Countdown, New World and The Warehouse stores across Dunedin and Mosgiel.
There are hopes a new market watchdog could apply significant pressure on the country’s supermarket duopoly to act fairly.
Hospitality venues continue to feel the pressure of Omicron with a 10% drop in card spending last month.
The boutique dairy firm is balancing inflationary pressure with its strategy to drive the premiumisation of commodity dairy products.
Consumer New Zealand research has found 98% of people are worried about the rising price of groceries.
Despite the sound and fury, the commission’s final report arrives with a whimper when it comes to competition, writes the Ticker’s Bridget O’Connell.
The duopoly pledge to work with the government to implement the Commerce Commission’s final recommendations.
The Commerce Commission is labelled “out-of-touch” for releasing its report while supermarkets are struggling with Omicron impacts.
Foodstuffs South Island is distributing more than one million rapid antigen tests to its supermarkets, more than 250 businesses and donating a number to charity.
Chair Anna Rawlings defends the report as “robust” and says it is up to the government to decide what to implement.
NZFGC labels the grocery report a victory for suppliers, but says it is now up to the government to respond.
Code of conduct, collective bargaining and disputes resolution scheme all recommended by Commerce Commission.
The commission stepped back from measures like creating a new independent wholesaler.
New Zealanders will soon benefit from a much more competitive grocery sector as a result of market study findings unveiled by the Commerce Commission, says the government.
But its recommendations fall well short of the more radical options, such as asset divestment, explored in its draft report and inquiry hearing.
Countdown employees working alongside Australian colleagues shipped in to fill gaps in New Zealand stores and supply chains should immediately receive pay parity and be remunerated at the significantly higher rates of their colleagues from across the ditch, First Union says.
The entrepreneur is hoping for a “table-thumping” final report on Tuesday, paving the way for a third major player in NZ’s $22bn grocery sector.
Economist Cameron Bagrie rejects the argument that New Zealand’s credit rating could be hurt if the supermarket giants are forced to divest.
Foodstuffs has opened Te Kauwhata’s first new supermarket in 70 years.
The gloves are off ahead of the Commerce Commission’s final report into the $22bn grocery sector to be published on Tuesday.
The supply chain is being hammered with consumers warned to expect gaps.
Essential categories and lines will be prioritised as inbound product capacity at DCs is squeezed by Omicron absenteeism.
Omicron absenteeisms are piling pressure on supply chains, with manufacturers scrambling to retrain and redeploy staff.
TVNZ’s Sunday programme takes a look at the country’s supermarket duopoly and asks if Kiwis and suppliers should be getting a better deal.
Food and beverage sales volumes rose 12% in the December quarter as businesses came out of lockdown.
Lockdowns and higher food prices pushed Countdown’s first half food sales up 8.3% to more than NZ$4bn, according to Australian parent Woolworths.
The beverage business wins a major distribution deal for its immunity tonic with the Australian supermarket giant.
We’re doing the work, FSNI boss Chris Quin says, in the lead up to publication of the final ComCom report by 8 March.
Woolworths NZ’s Sally Copland heads across the ditch for a top e-commerce role.
Food sector stakeholders have labelled the government’s rapid antigen test distribution plan “unreliable” as concerns grow over access to RATs.
The grocery group is using its procurement heft to source more than 1 million rapid antigen tests on behalf of around 250 companies.
Supermarket chain Countdown has pledged $25,000 into helping the LGBTQI+ support organisation Rainbow Youth.
Scan in, wear a mask, shop normally, be kind – a message from Countdown.
Annual food prices rose in 5.9% with widespread increases seen in January.
But a new factory boosts production five-fold, supporting plans to expand into more supermarkets.
However, expansion beyond Auckland will depend on its NZ debut, says the global retailer.
Strong pandemic performances, e-commerce and sustainability initiatives have helped elevate the best brands.
The salad business plans to hike prices again to offset mounting cost pressures.
Entries have opened FoodStarter 2022.
Beverage makers report strong peak summer sales, although rising costs and event cancellations eat into performance.
Proposed Rolleston development could add a fifth DC to Countdown’s national network, with focus on fresh and perishable product lines.
Falling sales and rising operational expenses eat into pretax profit, even as it made saving on the products it sells.
“We expect businesses to run recalls smoothly in the interests of food safety, and that has clearly not happened here,” says NZ Food Safety.
The seafood company secures new opportunities for product formerly destined for Foodstuffs, but not at the same price.
FSNI’s CEO makes a last-ditch attempt to sway the outcome of the Commerce Commission’s market study into the retail grocery sector.
The multinational hikes prices on a range of food products, joining a number of peers moving to offset rising commodity and supply chain costs.
Australia’s Woolworths Group has named Sealord one of its top suppliers for the year.
Hospitality in Auckland finally re-opens but expect the environment to be fluid, says the coffee company.
Countdown owner Woolworths has made a last-minute takeover offer for pharmacy group Australian Pharmaceutical Industries for A$871m (NZ$907m).
Covid, ComCom plus business as usual made 2021 a testing year, but NZFGC boss Katherine Rich says prioritising the creation of a Grocery Code would be a strong start in 2022.
The supermarket chain targets last minute grocery needs and top-up shop missions with delivery service.
Grocery workers are suffering the mental health effects of customer hostility and lack of safety in their workplace.
Countdown distribution centre workers at two Auckland sites have signed a new agreement that includes a 5% wage rise for the next year and a 3.9% increase for a reduced 9-month term in the following year.
Woolworths New Zealand is recalling Chelsea and Countdown branded raw sugar and brown sugar products bought on either Thursday 25 November or Friday 26 November from any Countdown, SuperValue or FreshChoice store in the South Island.
F&B players are arming themselves with shoppable recipes, fast delivery, D2C, and new meal kit offers to win more of the digital dollar.
The salad supplier grapples with increasing costs and conducts a review of margins to ensure acceptable returns.
Foodstuffs and Countdown have picked up awards at the Property Council New Zealand’s 2021 Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards.
Supermarket chain Countdown has mandated the Covid-19 vaccine for staff, meaning its entire 21,000-strong workforce would need to be fully vaccinated by January 10.
CEO Kevin Bowler tells the Ticker what he’s looking for in any acquisition – and it may not have to be in food.
Countdown and New World have taken gold and silver respectively in the supermarket category in the latest Reader’s Digest Quality Service Awards.
Foodstuffs South Island is recalling raw sugar from its South Island stores due to possible contamination with low levels of lead.
The 12-month programme provides access to Countdown’s customer marketing and insights teams, as well as product development and manufacturing support.
The country’s largest independent cheese maker has been forced to end a retail product it has been making for 27 years.
The fermented foods firm is looking to strengthen its domestic position with a drive into a nascent plant-based healthy food chiller category.
Deep sea cod has been given a Māori name, Moramora, which has been added to official te reo, following an an initiative between Countdown, te reo Māori advocacy group Ōkupu, MORE »
New Zealanders spent 9.5% more on their credit and debit card in October 2021 than in September as Covid-19 alert levels eased across large parts of the country, however the increase did not benefit the grocery sector, according to Stats NZ.
Foodstuffs supermarkets have teamed up with Canterbury District Health Board’s vaccination team to host community clinics.
Countdown says its supermarkets at Ferrymead, Ponsonby, Kilbirnie, Petone and Takapuna have started stocking cage-free eggs only.
The Mother Earth owner says its acquisition of Sunsol and Lucky is a “leap forward” in a key international market for the Hamilton-based business.
Foodstuffs-owned Pak’nSave is running its Pak’canSave initiative for two weeks from 1st until the 14th November.
The Commerce Commission consultation conference as part of its review of competition in the $22bn retail grocery sector has come to a close, providing participants one last chance to plead their cases.
Could an ‘iwi-mart’ challenge the Foodstuffs and Countdown duopoly?
The supermarket chain is consulting on a proposal that will see all of its 18,000 employees subject to a vaccine mandate.
Cookie Time will ramp up distribution of the boutique brand into mainstream grocery retail across the country.
The new online supermarket has hired NZ staff and is developing its first dark store in Auckland with a second on the way.
Food and grocery outlets from Northland to Christchurch are now locations of interest in relations to the current Delta outbreak, according to the Ministry of Health.
New entrants, existing players and would-be investors are all wary of the power wielded by the grocery duopoly, the Commerce Commission hears.
Ministry of Awesome, Foodstuffs South Island, Foodstuffs North Island, New Zealand Food Innovation Network and Strategy Creative.
Lockdown helped drive growth in the supermarket group’s Q1 results with e-commerce surging.
Supermarket owners argue for a fresh calculation of profit refuting findings of excessive returns.
FGC says NZ’s highly concentrated market means conflicts of interests are amplified but supermarket groups argue private labels are critical for budget consumers.
Bloomsberry and Co founder Giles Barker says supermarkets use promotional pricing to control suppliers, rather than just to deliver value to consumers.
The latest locations of interest in connection with the Delta outbreak include a raft of food retailers including the first South Island locations in the current outbreak
Tex Edwards makes his case for a break-up of the duopoly, which he says controls all the vital infrastructure in the sector.
A new retail complex including a 1,900 square metre New World supermarket plus retail shops has been approved for Flaxmere, Hastings.
FSSI’s boss blames the grocery market review process for having “significantly damaged a large number” of supplier and retailer relationships.
FSNI claims it is becoming more customer driven but some suppliers will suffer significant shelf-space reductions.
In an open letter to Parliament, the unlikely allies call on MPs to support a “strong intervention” into NZ’s grocery market.
The Auckland food firm has clinched a deal to get its snack bars into Woolworths stores across Australia and has ambitions for its premium breakfast cereals to follow.
Online grocery startup Supie says it has seen demand for its services boom since Auckland moved to Covid-19 alert level 4 in mid-August.
More than four years after premium supermarket chain Nosh went under, the receivers have published their final report.
A new 3,860 square metre Countdown has opened in Hastings, developed on the same site as the original store built more than 30 years ago.
Countdown and Foodstuffs are supporting Super Saturday’s Vaxathon to help drive up the country’s vaccination rate.
Foodstuffs North Island has rejected claims that the impact of its frozen fish product review would result in more space in its freezers for overseas products at the expense of New Zealand ones.
More stores? Yes. Smashing NZ’s supermarket duopoly? Not us, says the new entrant’s co-founder, Chris Fisher.
Foodstuffs North Island, Countdown and Mainfreight are among more than 25 companies who have received the green light to introduce rapid antigen testing this month.
The Gisborne business is pumping millions into its pilot undercover growing project to test the environmental and productivity gains it can unlock.
The company behind Marcel’s Pancakes has doubled in size in four years, growing its retail presence across Asia Pacific – a strategy accelerated by the pandemic.
Four Candles Food Market opened its Auckland store at 10 Constellation Drive, North Shore, over the weekend.
The government is meeting business leaders today to discuss a rollout of rapid antigen tests to help keep workplaces safe.
Dozens of grocery and supermarket stores have been listed this week as locations of interest in connection with the Delta outbreak in Auckland and Waikato.
Pavé clinches the contract to manage New Zealand sales for the plant-milk giant in the fast-growing category.
Shrimps, eggs, and Cadbury Dairy Milk are the latest products to get a plant-based overhaul by the FMCG behemoths.
Foodstuffs North Island, Woolworths New Zealand, and Mainfreight are among a group of the country’s largest companies calling for emergency approval of rapid antigen tests.
The business founder on expanding into export, building a global brand, and whether she’d ever sell her non-alcoholic drinks firm to an alcohol company.
The cereals business is nearing $5m in total sales underpinning its Australian premiumisation strategy.
Lockdowns, lower demand for bulk products, and labour costs all eat into the supermarket salad supplier’s bottom line.
Consumer demand and the bedding down of new processes will dictate the next steps following the four-week trial.
New Zealand wines have taken 42 of the 50 placings in the New World Wine Awards Top 50.
The head of the US giant’s Kiwi business on its $45m investment in innovation, supply chain ‘whack-a-mole’, and is she applying for Kellogg’s top ANZ job?
Stores have reduced hours and shifted to level 3 protocols after parts of the region entered lockdown overnight.
Digital disruption is bringing massive change to retail, with the tracking of food an important driver, says a new report from the bank.
New Zealand’s 4,000-plus owner-operated dairies and service stations are a way for both cheaper groceries, says the Dairy and Business Owners Group.
An overwhelming majority of consumers believe they pay too much for goods at supermarkets and the current duopoly should be split up, according to a survey commissioned by lobby group Monopoly Watch NZ.
Four months on from its acquisition of 180 Degrees, Arnott’s is dodging Delta disruption and preparing to push the premium cracker brand.
Speciality grocery chain plans to introduce a vaccination clause in new employment frontline employment contracts in the wake of the Delta outbreak.
Countdown Botany Downs and Pak’nSave Sylvia Park are among the latest Auckland retailers added to the Ministry of Health’s locations of interest in connection with the city’s Covid outbreak.
Private labels do more harm than good for both suppliers and consumers in highly concentrated markets, according to research commissioned by the NZFGC.
Additional Auckland supermarkets, dairies and petrol stations have been added as locations of interest in connection with the Delta outbreak in Auckland.
Countdown is set to build a 3,490 square metre green star-rated supermarket in a 3.4-hectare residential development in Halswell, Christchurch – the supermarket chain’s largest development to date.
A co-ordinated review of events leading to the terrorist attack that saw seven people injured at Auckland’s LynnMall Countdown on 3 September is to take place.
The supermarket group also suggests changes to planning laws and the appointment of a grocery ombudsman with oversight of the $22bn sector.
Food firms want wide stakeholder buy-in to a code that provides a framework for behaviour and confidence for investment decisions.
CEO Chris Quin says the co-op will make changes but he disputes ComCom’s estimate of the supermarket group’s profitability.
NZFGC’s boss says FSNI has thrice refused to sign up to a code of conduct, but Rich welcomed a “first step” towards a more competitive market.
Foodstuffs North Island’s Auckland Airport distribution centre has won the New Zealand Sustainability Project of the Year at this week’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Awards.
The latest update to Delta locations of interest in Auckland sees more supermarkets added to the Ministry of Health’s list.
The ingredient supplier will ramp up its retail range as well as push its B2B business from its expanded base.
The reformulation of Countdown’s own brand products sees 141 tonnes of sugar removed over three years.
A swathe of supermarkets including Farro Mt Eden have been added to the Ministry of Health’s locations of interest in Auckland.
Retail card spending in New Zealand fell 19.8% in August compared with July reflecting reduced spending as the country went into lockdown mid-month, according to Stats NZ.
The retail veteran and current Foodstuffs director will take over from Steve Anderson to be FSSI’s chief executive.
A three year project to rebuild FSNI’s supply chain was delivered just in time for Delta, and sets the co-op up for an increasingly digital future.
Fonterra, Zespri, and Foodstuffs are heavyweights in NZ’s top 30 co-operative rankings.
Supermarket chain Countdown hoped to re-open its LynnMall store today in Auckland today, but did not specify a time.
What Delta has meant for staffing and store challenges, vaccinations and “maskholes”, according to FSNI’s CEO.
The return to alert level two means all Countdown stores outside of Auckland will move back to their regular trading hours from today, 9 September.
All Foodstuffs stores outside of the Auckland boundary are operating under new Covid-19 alert level 2 conditions from midnight Tuesday 7 September.
The police have completed their scene examination at the Countdown and LynnMall shopping centre following Friday’s terror attack.
Countdown has called in trauma psychologists who have met with staff who were working when a terrorist carried out an attack on shoppers in Auckland’s New Lynn supermarket on Friday.
New Zealand’s grocery supply chain is holding up very well despite the increased pressure of the lockdowns and the closure of some supermarkets in Auckland, according to NZFGC boss Katherine Rich.
The attack, which left three people critically injured, was carried out by a known violent extremist, says Jacinda Ardern.
The group suffers a second serious attack in just four months at one of its properties after a man injures six people, three of them critically, at LynnMall, Auckland.
Countdown stores throughout the Auckland region, from Pōkeno to Warworth, will open their doors to medical personnel, MIQ and emergency workers from 7am to 8am every day.
The increase in spending on food was second only to IT equipment and software after the country went into its snap lockdown in mid-August.
Around 40 supermarkets have been added to the Ministry of Health’s list of locations of interest in connection with the current Delta outbreak.
First Union has highlighted centralised wage bargaining “as a key tool to constrain excess supermarket profitability and secure decent work for everyone in the supply chain,” in its submission to the Commerce Commission’s market study into the grocery sector.
Revenue was down 6% in FY21, although online sales jumped more than 30%.
Countdown brings the opening of replacement centre forward eight weeks to help ease pressure in the North Island.
Foodstuffs is making a number of product donations.
New World has opened a new supermarket in the suburb of Ravenswood, in the Waimakariri District of North Canterbury during lockdown.
More than 2100 Countdown staff members are isolating across New Zealand.
The Tip Top bread owner boosts production to meet surging lockdown demand, but it comes as costs escalate across the group.
The council’s CEO has warned that food manufacturing could soon be critically impacted by staff shortages.
Sales and merchandising agencies are stepping up to help supermarkets cope with reduced staff numbers with merchandisers working overtime and select product deliveries going straight to stores
The supermarket chain has more than 1,900 team members across Auckland and Wellington isolating and it expected that number to rise.
Four supermarkets have been added this morning to the list of locations of interest connected to the Delta outbreak.
The supermarket group expects the number of staff affected to keep rising as locations of interest and close contact lists grow.
A Foodstuffs survey found that New Zealanders are supportive of the Ministry of Health’s requirement that people aged 12 and over must wear a face covering when visiting any essential services and for essential workers to be prioritised for the Covid vaccination.
Dozens of stores have been affected with staff being relocated to cope with demand and to try and plug gaps caused by the Delta outbreak.
With the foodservice channel shut, manufacturers are looking to supermarkets to pick up the slack.
Foodstuffs is running a ‘no mask, no entry’ policy, whereas Countdown plans to avoid any potential conflict.
Supermarkets, restaurants, bars, and liquor stores are among dozens of locations visited by current Covid cases.
The government is today expected to provide details on a move to bump supermarket workers up the vaccination priority list which would see jabs being given on-site.
Retailers and manufacturers stand up lockdown protocols to cater for customers and protect workers.
“Keep calm, be kind,” says Countdown, as stores are inundated across the city.
The store at the Church Bay retail development is owned by Laura Palmer and James Grant, who previously ran the town’s On the Spot store.
The chocolatier led by the granddaughter of Ernest Adams is expanding production after seeing revenue jump by 30%.
The $30m-plus Countdown to be developed in Auckland’s Manukau is the North Island’s first Green Star-rated store.
My Food Bag has launched a range of products as part of drive into New Zealand’s $37bn retail food sector.
Foodstuffs South Island has recruited Nick Barnes as general manager of supply chain, replacing John Mullins who retired after 43 years working for the grocery group.
So, how much money did the largest supermarket group in NZ make in the year of Covid?
The former Designworks CEO is behind the new Good Farmers collective, which brings its first product to market this week.
Foodstuffs disagrees with the Commerce Commission’s estimates of its profitability.
Separating NZ’s supermarket duopoly from wholesaler subsidiaries like Gilmours could help suppliers, says the Commerce Commission’s grocery sector draft report.
Report reflects imbalance of power in sector which has allowed retailers to push excess costs, risks, and uncertainty onto suppliers, FCG says.
A third major player could be introduced to compete with Foodstuffs and Countdown, according to the strongest draft report recommendation.
The introduction of a new, lower priced competitor into the grocery market would see shoppers abandon stalwarts Countdown and Foodstuffs in droves, according to one industry expert.
The Commerce Commission backs a mandatory industry code of conduct and allowing suppliers to bargain collectively with supermarkets.
NZFGC boss Katherine Rich repeats calls for a mandatory Grocery Code of Conduct on the eve of the draft ComCom report being released.
Countdown is launching its first South Island Metro store in Wānaka creating 14 new jobs in the Otago town.
A draft report as part of a year-long review of NZ’s highly concentrated grocery sector will be made public next Thursday morning.
The health snack firm partners with a supplement company controlled by richlisters the Mowbray family.
The 12-week accelerator is focused on helping encourage a more diverse supplier base in Aotearoa.
The jerky startup has secured funding for a new facility to help more than double production.
The Auckland company is producing a raft of new products, including its first 100% New Zealand grown muesli.
Supermarkets saw the biggest rise in Kiwi spending in June 2021 as wild weather drove people to stock up and stay indoors, according to Stats NZ.
Speirs Foods is recalling specific batches of its ready to eat salads due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
The speciality grocer has inked a deal that will see it open its seventh Auckland store, and is close to signing on another.
Functional food startup Soochi plans to pioneer a ‘prejuvenation’ drinks category in Asia Pacific after hitting two milestones this month: signing off seed funding and launching into Foodstuffs supermarkets.
After a more than a year in development Foodstuffs South Island is to start rolling out online shopping across its New World and Pak’nSave supermarkets.
Countdown branded potato egg & bacon prepack salad with a use-by date of 13 July 2021 is being recalled as it may contain listeria bacteria.
The golden rule to get your product stocked in Foodstuffs is making sure it is something that customers actually want – but a good story helps too, according to the South Island cooperative’s boss of 20 years, Steven Anderson.
Package-free, lifestyle grocery store GoodFor has raised $2.2m of fresh cash, hitting its maximum capital raise target.
Wholesale ordering app Upstock is deepening its reach into New Zealand’s retail sector via an integration with one of the country’s largest supermarket groups, before looking for new opportunities both here and across the ditch.
The Australian distiller aims to be stocked in 300 NZ outlets by the end of the year with more staff and an office planned.
Entrepreneur Lisa King’s non-alcoholic drinks company has secured shelf space in Countdowns across the country.
Package-free, lifestyle grocery store GoodFor has raised more than $1.8m of capital on fundraising platform Snowball Effect – exceeding its minimum target of $1.7m.
New Zealand’s two major supermarket groups say they are already taking steps to transition away from unnecessary and unwanted plastic use ahead of the government’s new measures to clamp down on single-use and difficult-to-recycle plastic by 2025.
Pak’nSave has launched a campaign to help deliver products and donations to community organisations feeding hungry families.
As Wellington institution Moore Wilson’s opens an overhauled Masterton store, the Ticker asks GM Amanda Thompson about what the retailer looks for in new products, what advice she has for aspiring suppliers and what was behind the Masterton redevelopment.
Countdown has opened the doors to New Zealand’s first Green Star-rated supermarket located in Richmond, Nelson.
Australia’s major supermarkets have been ‘red flagged’ by a new food tool which shows them offering bigger discounts on unhealthy foods more often and more prominently.
“We are actively looking for attributes and products that will drive health and wellbeing.”
Foodstuffs North Island has held an inaugural Machine Operator of the Year – or MOOTY – competition last week at its Landing Drive Distribution Centre in South Auckland.
Foodstuffs North Island has teamed up with the New Zealand Food Network to donate food for distribution to more than 40 food hubs around the country.
The Commerce Commission is seeking feedback on submissions received in response to its Preliminary Issues paper on its grocery sector market study.
Egmont Honey is launching its health supplements range, Egmont Health, into Australasian retailer Coles.
5c from every pack of hot cross buns sold was donated to KidsCan.
The new initiative enabled customers who needed food support to choose their own goods, as opposed to the traditional pre-selected food parcel model.
The year-long study looks at whether competition in the grocery sector was working well, and if not, what could be done to improve it.
In its third year, Growing for Good grants aimed inspire New Zealand kids to learn about and preserve the environment.
In its submission to ComCom, the NZFGC says there is also considerable use of buyer power to exclude competition.
Preliminary issues paper released ahead of review into NZ’s highly concentrated sector
The Commerce Commission will conduct the investigation to see if Kiwis are paying more than they should be.
There were discrepancies between what the store was advertising, and what customers were paying at the till.
