Foodstuffs has launched a program to entice new, emerging grocery manufacturers as suppliers, announcing the inaugural Foodstuffs Emerging Supplier Competition, dubbed Foodstuffs Emerge.

The competition – recognising category disruption and transforming how consumers shop – will provide grocery entrepreneurs with access to Foodstuffs mentors and industry leaders, allowing them to take their products from small beginnings to the shelves of New World stores across Aotearoa.

The winners will receive assistance from Foodstuffs specialists and industry professionals as part of a comprehensive prize package worth more than $140,000. 

“Our vision is for Foodstuffs Emerge to create a long-lasting, innovation hub that enables grocery trailblazers to thrive, and gives our customers access to the very best products across Aotearoa,” said Chris Quin, MD of Foodstuffs New Zealand.

Foodstuffs Emerge is a new innovation platform driven by both Foodstuffs co-ops and embracing every supermarket aisle. It builds on the success of the FoodStarter competition, which ran from 2018 to last year in conjunction with the Ministry of Awesome.

Foodstuffs Emerge entries will close on July 30.

Last month, Foodstuffs North Island opened a new Pak’nSave supermarket in Warkworth, north of Auckland, offering consumers a “spacious and contemporary shopping experience”.