Recipe for success: Two Kiwi businesses with customers and quality at their heart

The importance of supporting local Kiwi businesses has skyrocketed in recent years. New Zealanders aren't only buying local, they're expecting the companies they purchase from to support local too – and that's just what New World has been doing for over 50 years.

Cultivating strong, long-lasting relationships with local businesses is an incredibly important part of how New World puts customers at the heart of every decision they make by ensuring they can deliver the very best quality and value products for their customers.

The 100% locally owned and operated co-operative works closely with suppliers of all sizes to get an excellent range on supermarket shelves, and the team are really passionate about supporting New Zealand suppliers to grow and thrive as part of their ongoing commitment to be here for NZ.

One great example of a local Kiwi business that has seen massive success through working together with New World is Mrs Rogers who, like New World, put their customers at the heart of everything they do.

A perfect blend of customers and quality

Mrs Rogers is a 100% New Zealand, family-owned business with a particular focus on all natural ingredients and supporting customers to make better for the planet packaging choices when purchasing Mrs Rogers products with most (hand-packed here in NZ) being made from plant-based, home compostable materials. Created by Mrs Rogers' son Bruce in honour of his mum's joy for cooking and for creating innovative flavour combinations, the company has built its business on natural herbs and spices and their commitment to ecologically sustainable sources.

"The founding of the business was around the idea that food tastes better when it's natural," explains Craig Stoddart, Director and grandson of the original Mrs Rogers. "A natural extension of that is it's important to take care of mother earth, which nourishes those ingredients and us."

As New World's main supplier of herbs and spices, the team at Mrs Rogers were looking to expand their product offering – that's where New World's customer insights came in.

These insights, derived from shopping habits and personal relationships between owner-operators and their local community showed that Kiwis are:

- More into home cooking and baking than ever
- Keen to support New Zealand-owned brands
- Increasingly looking for both indulgence and 'better for you' choices, such as natural ingredients and options to suit their dietary needs
- Looking for inspiration, convenience, and ease in their baking, without compromising on quality and sustainability.

Thanks to these insights, Mrs Rogers found a gap in the market and took on the challenge of creating a series of plain 'base' baking mixes that customers can add to and personalise as they want. One box in the cupboard could result in 10 different baked goodies, helping bring convenience to the baking aisle without losing quality.

Part of what makes the partnership between Mrs Rogers and New World's work so well is that their values align – especially when it comes to quality, putting customers first and looking after our planet.

"This kind of relationship is at the heart of everything we're trying to achieve for our customers," says Jocelyn McCallum, Head of Grocery & Frozen at Foodstuffs North Island, one of the two NZ owned co-operatives behind New World. "A strong partnership approach ultimately benefits everyone; us, the supplier and most importantly our customers."

Working in partnership with its suppliers, Foodstuffs North Island shares its expertise, data and insights to help suppliers grow and strengthen their product offering. By doing so, Jocelyn explains that the business is able to breathe new life into categories that may have become a little uninspiring, all while revitalising the customer experience with new and exciting products.

"Thanks to our trends and insights, we're better connected with our customers than ever before and we can really understand what they want and need from us. We, in turn, can share these insights with our suppliers to help them develop products that are going to make the most difference for our customers," she says.

Foodstuffs North Island is on a journey to become one of the most customer driven companies in the world and as part of this put customers at the heart of everything they do. A key component of this is working closely with suppliers like Mrs Rogers to support them to grow, innovate and try new things. This support results in New World getting an excellent range on the shelves for customers to enjoy, such as a growing selection of super versatile and delicious baking mixes that offer convenience and quality for kiwis.

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