Supie Sees ‘skyrocketing’ Demand During Lockdown

Grocery alternative Supie has seen demand for its services boom since Auckland moved into alert Level 4 in August. Since launching in May the company has seen a 1700% increase in weekly sales over lockdown so far and membership rates grow by 250%.

Moving quickly into action as soon as Auckland changed alert levels, Supie founder Sarah Balle says they were inundated with orders as demand for groceries skyrocketed.

“We had less than 24 hours to prepare for the change in Alert Levels and the entire industry was stretched to breaking. We were hearing stories that some people couldn’t get delivery slots for up to 15 days from traditional supermarkets. We made the decision that we will do everything and anything to make sure Aucklanders get food, even if we had to work around the clock, which we did for 3 weeks straight during lock down.” Says Sarah.

Supie’s range of products has also grown by 145% since May, meaning many local producers hit hard by lockdowns have had a platform to sell their products, helping Aucklanders to truly support local.

Shara Quinn from Clever Little says Supie has been a game changer for her business, sidestepping the challenges of operating a small brand in traditional supermarkets.

“Supie has been a huge help and supported our vision from day one. We were loaded up on the platform in days, and had our first sale within the same week. When lockdown hit we were unsure on how this would affect us and the team at Supie reached out to make sure we were doing okay and to help with stock management. It’s helped us dramatically”

"Protecting New Zealand’s food security through the support of our local producers must be a priority, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic that has contributed to significant international supply chain issues for food supply" says Sarah.

And it's not just issues offshore that are impacting on our grocery sector, the Commerce Commission's recent draft report that looked at competition in the retail grocery sector has found the current duopoly is not working well for consumers.

"Within a month of the report coming out, we were moved into Alert Level 4 lockdown. The first few weeks of lockdown really highlighted the need for more competition. Supie was there to help fill that void and offer a fairer and bette alternative that supported local suppliers”

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