Survey: ‘Shop Local’ Here To Stay, New World Shows Support For NZ Brands And Producers

New World will showcase a range of New Zealand brands and producers in a new campaign to help kick start a customer movement to buy New Zealand made products and support New Zealand’s recovery post Covid-19.

A recent survey by New World found that a focus on buying NZ products is set to be one of the most enduring changes from lockdown. Of the more than 1000 respondents surveyed, 49% said they focused on buying NZ made in the supermarket during the higher alert levels, and 86% of these people said they will continue to buy NZ made once the alert levels are over.

New World’s Head of Marketing and Customer Experience Pippa Prain says the brand wanted to highlight homegrown brands and celebrate the active role New World stores play in supporting local communities and championing NZ producers.

“As a 100% New Zealand owned and operated company, with 143 locally owned stores, we understand the valuable role local businesses play in their wider community and supporting New Zealand.

“Together with our customers, we have a proud history of championing local brands and producers, from those just starting out through to old favourites. The New World ‘Buy NZ’ campaign is all about bringing this into focus and ensuring these brands are front and centre for shoppers throughout the month of June.

“During lockdown, New World shoppers embraced supporting local and we have a responsibility to help customers continue to buy local and together support the recovery of New Zealand”.

New World will champion local brands instore, and out, by sharing their stories of ingenuity, quality and innovation to help shoppers more easily identify their products on shelf or online. Customers will also enjoy great deals on ‘Buy NZ’ products throughout the campaign’s duration and even get the chance to win a year’s supply of products featured in the campaign by simply scanning their New World Clubcard.

Meet some of the ‘Buy NZ’ brands

One of the oldest brands to feature in the campaign is Airborne Honey, founded over a century ago with a few beehives in the rugged terrain of Banks Peninsula. Skip forward to the 1960s and Peter Bray, grandson to cofounder William, has fond childhood memories of travelling with his father to deliver honey to New World stores around the South Island. Today, the owner of the company offers customers world-leading online traceability of its honey.

The story surrounding Whitestone Cheese is another, albeit younger example from the 1980s, when former North Otago farmers Sue and Bob Berry founded the business with just one vat, one

cheesemaker and one cheese. Today the company has grown to employ more than 50 staff and continues to use local grass-fed milk and traditional cheesemaking methods to produce their cheeses by hand. With son Simon now at the helm, they are also now trail-blazing ‘mould hunters’ working with a broad network of scientists and local farmers to seek out new cheesemaking strains.

A more recent arrival to kitchen tables and cupboards is Blue Frog. Founder and chief flavour creator Scotty Baragwanath has always been a foodie – at just five years old he regularly tested his creations on his brothers and sister, and today he heads the young company that has already built a purposeful reputation for being ‘out-there’ with unexpected flavours from carefully sourced ingredients.

New World’s campaign is aptly titled ‘Buy NZ’ and is on promotion 1-28 June. For more information on participating brands, please visit www.newworld.co.nz, @NewWorldNZ or check out the latest mailer.

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