FAQs

Foodstuffs is New Zealand's biggest grocery retailer and distributor, and is one of the country's largest organisations. Our brands include New World, PAK'nSAVE, Four Square, Raeward Fresh, Write Price, Shoprite, On the Spot, Gilmours, Trents, Henry's Beer, Wines & Spirits, and Liquorland. We employ 30,000 people nationwide, and are proudly 100% Kiwi owned and operated.

Foodstuffs consists of two separate, regionally based, retailer-owned co-operative companies (North Island and South Island) and a Federation body, Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd, which is based in Wellington.

To find out more visit the 'Who we are' section of the website

Franchise opportunities do arise from time to time. The entry point for people new to grocery retailing is more commonly at the Four Square level. Management of the larger stores requires considerable industry knowledge and experience.

To find out more about franchise opportunities go to Franchise page.

At Foodstuffs we believe our communities support our stores, so it's only right that we give back. We help our communities by supporting a range of national charitable organisations including the Breast Cancer Foundation of New Zealand, the Stroke Foundation, Starship Foundation and the Food for Thought initiative, and act as a responsible corporate citizen. In addition, our stores’ owner-operators sponsor a range of community groups as part of their commitment to give back locally.

www.breastcancerfoundation.org.nz 

www.starship.org.nz/foundation 

www.foodforthought.co.nz 

www.stroke.org.nz

Foodstuffs is committed to minimising the negative environmental impacts of its business activities. As well as complying with all legislative and regulatory requirements, there is an organisation-wide focus on energy efficiency and waste reduction throughout the business.

Foodstuffs supports a range of community groups across the country. Through New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square, Foodstuffs supports Food for Thought, a free nutrition education programme for year 5 and 6 primary school students.

New World is a five-star sponsor of the Starship Foundation, a social-profit organisation that raises funds so that New Zealand’s national children’s hospital, Starship, can better care for its young patients. New World has also partnered with Sea Cleaners, helping to clean up New Zealand’s waterways.

PAK’nSAVE supports the Breast Cancer Foundation of New Zealand, each year helping to fundraise for the Pink Ribbon Appeal.

In addition to Foodstuffs' national sponsorships, individual store owners make significant contributions to numerous local community initiatives.

New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square sponsor the Food for Thought community-based nutrition programme, which teaches year 5 and 6 students about healthy eating and lifestyle habits.

We're introducing a "healthy-options" range of products under the Pams brand, and looking at opportunities to reformulate products to reduce salt, fat and sugar content where appropriate.

Foodstuffs is also working with the public health community to trial practical initiatives that seek to improve New Zealanders' diets.

As a 100% owned and operated organisation Foodstuffs is committed to supporting the communities in which our stores operate.

Foodstuffs aims to establish relationships that generate real benefits to New Zealand and New Zealanders with opportunities for staff to be actively involved.

We develop true partnerships that are mutually beneficial with the organisations we support.

All requests from community groups must be made in writing and sent directly to the operator of the local store/s.

We want to provide customers with information to ensure they can make an informed choice. Foodstuffs encourages all of its suppliers to voluntarily declare the use of palm oil in ingredient labelling and all palm oil must be sourced from sustainable plantations.

Foodstuffs Own Brands Ltd which is responsible for our private label products (Pams and Budget) is a member of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (www.rspo.org) and fully endorses the philosophy of the RSPO which is to advance the production, procurement, finance and use of sustainable palm oil products. To belong to the RSPO companies need to commit to the production and use of certified sustainable palm oil – something which Foodstuffs has made a commitment to do across its private label portfolio.

Palm oil or palm oil derivatives certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) can be purchased through three supply chain systems: ‘Segregated’, ‘Mass Balance’ and ‘Book and Claim’. Each of these systems comes with its own advantages, requirements and pre-approved consumer claim. The three systems ensure that market claims about the production and use of sustainable palm oil remain transparent and accurate. See RSPO Supply chain overview

All Pams and Budget food suppliers and suppliers of Palm for instore bakery operations have provided evidence to indicate that 100% of products in the range with palm oil as an ingredient are using certified sustainably sourced palm oil to a “mass balance level” of certification. Where palm oil is present, Pams and Budget food products are clearly labelled to ensure consumers can make an informed purchasing choice.

Read more about reducing plastic bag usage here.

Read more about reducing plastic bag usage here.

Read more about carbon emissions here.

Read more about our environmental policy here.

Foodstuffs' brands cover three main categories: retail, private label brands, and foodservice brands.

Foodstuffs' retail brands are: New World, PAK'nSAVE, Four Square, Write Price, On the Spot, Shoprite, Raeward Fresh, Liquorland, and Henry's Beer, Wine & Spirits.

Foodstuffs' private label brands include its Pams, Pams Superfoods, Pams Finest and Value ranges, which are widely available at Foodstuffs stores.

Foodstuffs' two co-operatives each own a foodservice brand: Trents Wholesale Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Foodstuffs South Island Ltd; and Gilmours is Foodstuffs North Island’s trusted foodservice brand.

The range of roles that Foodstuffs recruits for is broad. There are roles in advertising, finance, IT, retail advisory services, marketing, operations, training and organisational development, property, store development, manufacturing, wholesale/distribution and logistics.

Training includes management programmes, apprenticeships, NZQA nationally recognised grocery retail and distribution related qualifications, adult education training, and short courses to meet business needs.

Franchise opportunities do arise from time to time as a consequence of new store development or the sale of an existing business. External candidates are considered for these opportunities. The entry point for people new to grocery retailing is more commonly at the Four Square level given management of the larger stores requires considerable industry knowledge and experience. For further information about current franchise opportunities and criteria please complete this form.

For information about becoming a supplier to Foodstuffs' home brands, please contact enquiries@foodstuffsbrands.co.nz

For information about becoming a supplier to Foodstuffs' stores, please contact your local co-operative.

Yes, you can! Our deli team would be happy to help you. 

No, not right now. This is available instore only at the moment as we do not have the capability to exchange or hold on to customer containers.  

We have an obligation to our customers in regard to food safety. Our responsibility under the Food Safety Act requires that we must manage the risk at all times and for deli goods that are unlikely to be cooked before consumption, the cleaning process of the container is very important. We understand that doing this may mean you have to wait a few minutes, but you’ll be doing your bit to reduce plastic waste!

No – as long as it’s clean and leak-proof you are good to go.

We will use a combination of commercial dishwashers, thorough handwashing and drying and a sanitiser, depending on the store. In the food industry, sanitisers are routinely used to disinfect containers to prevent foodborne illness.  

No!

Not at this point.

Paper is not always the best solution – and it’s just another form of packaging we can do without. BYO is all about reducing waste and focusing on reusable containers.

We’ll be using the same price stickers we always have.  One way to remove the labels to ensure your container is ready to go again, is to leave it soaking in hot soapy water and then gently scrape it off. This also ensures you clean your container!  Our team will only accept a container with no sticker.

This is about giving customers a choice.  If you want to use BYO you can, if not, we’ll use instore packaging.  We are working on a range of projects to ensure that we are environmentally sustainable and have committed to 100% of our packaging instore is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

The easier we make it for people to change their habits, the more people will get on board.  It’s all about giving our customers choice.  

It’s a rare event!  If any customer has an issue like this, it will be investigated in the same robust way we always have. This is a partnership with our customers who want to use BYO and they need to take responsibility for their containers. 

Our North Island stores have chosen to roll this out, while our South Island stores are doing other amazing things like “food in the nude” which is a project to remove packaging for produce. The teams in the South Island are watching with interest.

This should take a couple of minutes – but it's important to do the right thing.

No, that’s not possible.  We need to ensure the sticker is firmly attached to your container, as much for you, as for us to ensure you're being charged for the right product. 

We already have hooks on the trolleys and there are at least two sizes of trolley available. 

Our team will only accept a sticker-free container. We'd hate to charge you for the wrong thing!

It's important they are firmly attached to make sure you're charged for the right product.