Ploughmans Country Grains Becomes Ngā Tōpata To Mark Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori

George Weston Foods (GWF) Baking NZ Ltd will produce Ploughmans Country Grains loaves in Te Reo Māori packaging with an English translation to mark Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. To honour Te Reo Māori and encourage its everyday use Ploughmans Country Grains will be presented as Ngā Tōpata Tuawhenua for two weeks from September 11th.

The initiative is in line with the company’s ongoing commitment to improving recognition and understanding of Te Āo Māori across its operations and promoting authentic appreciation and use of Te Reo Māori.

“We understand the value and importance of everyday moments of goodness,” says General Manager, Mark Bosomworth. “It’s something we strive to achieve and recognise in all that we do, even what we bake. By using Te Reo Māori on our bread during this time we hope to draw attention to and encourage conversations around this taonga, this treasure.

“If our packaging prompts people to look again at a familiar object and wonder why we have done this, we feel we will have made a small contribution towards understanding and protecting this important part of our national heritage.”

For the last two years the company has been on a journey to improve understanding of Te Āo Māori, through a number of initiatives driven by the bicultural team in its Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce.

“We are committed to growing our cultural understanding through collaboration,” says Mark. “This mahi involves people throughout the organisation incorporating Te Reo Māori in everyday communications and using it to express and reflect our company’s values (safe, courageous, trusting, collaborative) and what they mean to our people.

“Our aim is to encourage greater understanding of Te Āo Māori and use of Te Reo in everyday life to help preserve and protect one of our official languages and celebrate this taonga as something unique in the culture of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

About George Weston Foods

George Weston Foods is one of New Zealand’s largest manufacturers of bread and bakery products. Launched in the early 1950s, following the purchase of Stormont’s Bakery in Kingsland, the company today produces over 1.2 million loaves of bread, buns, rolls, muffins, and crumpets each week under the Tip Top, Bürgen, Ploughmans, Big Ben, Golden brands. George Weston Foods is part of Associated British Foods plc (ABF), an international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £13.3bn and over 113,000 employees in 47 countries.

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