First “Certified Organic” supermarket in NZ!
Victoria Park New World in Auckland is the first supermarket in NZ to achieve Bio-Gro certification as a retailer of
organic products.
Certification of a retailer ensures that all certified organic products are handled, stored and displayed in an
appropriate manner which minimise opportunities for contamination. This is a vital step in ensuring that organic
products maintain their certification through the entire chain of custody from producer to consumer.
Organic consumers are becoming better informed and demanding appropriate labelling and organic certification. Consumers
today won’t accept unqualified claims of organic authenticity and are looking for a recognised independent verification
of such claims in exchange for the premium they pay. Victoria Park New World has recognised this need and customers at
their Auckland store can now be confident that products with a Bio-Gro trademark are genuinely organic.
The first retailer to become certified in New Zealand was IE Produce in 2000. Victoria Park New World is the first
supermarket to take this step. Bio-Gro expects other retailers to follow suit as consumers continue to become more
discerning.
Bio-Gro congratulates Victoria Park New World for their commitment to organic consumers. “It is very encouraging to see
this high quality supermarket taking organics and their customers so seriously” said Seager Mason, CEO Bio-Gro NZ.
“New World Victoria Park has always had a strong focus on our customer's needs and so we have had an extensive organic
offering right from day one. We also recognise that when it comes to assurances of the organic status of products, our
integrity alone is not enough and so we embarked on the internationally recognised Bio-Gro certification process. This
will enable us to further increase our range of certified organic products, and by processing in store, the pricing and
availability of these products should also be improved.” Said Rob McGregor, Victoria Park New World Store Owner