Ranking New Zealand’s most frenzied supermarket promotions

The recent hysteria over Smeg knives is far from the first time New Zealanders have lost their minds over a supermarket promo. Alex Casey reminisces.  This week, New World’s Smeg knife stamp-collecting scheme came to a close to rapturous applause. And when I say applause, I of course mean a horde of furious, feral New … Read more

How supermarkets chopped product ranges after the Covid-19 lockdowns

New Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdowns triggered intense panic buying of flour, toilet paper and canned foods. In response, one of our largest grocery companies decided to cut its product range, writes Rebecca Stevenson for BusinessDesk. Foodstuffs’ store owners have narrowed the range of products sold as a result of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. Foodstuffs North Island … Read more

The not-so-special supermarket deals

Sales and discounts hook people in, but do they really live up to the hype? A recent survey found some supermarket products were on promotion so often that shoppers risked being misled about the savings they were really getting. Consumer NZ’s Belinda Castles explains what they found and why it’s time to put supermarkets under … Read more

It takes more than a month to save the planet

Plastic Free July is over, but Josie Adams is still fighting for the environment. After a month of minimising plastics, emissions and even recyclables, she reflects on what she’s learned. You can read the first three diary entries here, here, and here. July has ended and so has my time as New Zealand’s most formidable … Read more

Low waste living with my best friend, Miriama Kamo

For the month of July, Josie Adams is taking on the challenge of being low-waste. That means minimising plastics, emissions, and even recyclables. Each week we release her diary. This is week three. Read week one here, and week two here.  This week began with a tragedy: I lost my ability to Lime after my … Read more

Tech is taking over retail, which is why investing in humans is crucial

At the same time as supermarkets adapt to increasing demand for online shopping, some supermarkets are investing in the development of their people. Alice Webb-Liddall finds out why humans still count.  Online supermarket shopping and Click & Collect services aim to make the sometimes lengthy and totally necessary task of grocery shopping easier for everyone. … Read more

How to live low waste when you ooze waste from every pore

For the month of July, Josie Adams is taking on the challenge of being low-waste. That means minimising plastics, emissions, and even recyclables. Each week we release her diary. This is week two. Read week one here. I’ll be honest, week two has been a struggle. I’ve been less enthused about finding low-waste solutions because … Read more

Low waste living is hard AF

It’s Plastic Free July but Josie Adams is taking it a step further, attempting to be as low-waste as possible – minimising plastics, emissions and even recyclables. This is the first instalment of her diary tracking the challenge. It’s fair to say I’m lower-waste than your average Joe. I drive maybe once a month, and … Read more

Fresh hops are making the funkiest of beers for just a few winter months

Sam Flynn-Scott gets down with the funk of the fresh hop season. To truly understand beer you have to think of it as a fresh product. Unless you are getting into very specific variants, it is not usually meant to be aged. It’s a weird funky stew that at its peak, when made by the … Read more

New Zealand creates tonnes of food waste. Supermarkets are trying to close the loop

Reducing food waste is a win-win solution for everyone as less food goes to landfill and more food goes to those who need it. So what’s being done to make this a reality? And what can you do to help? In 2020, New Zealand will vote in a general election with poverty and climate change … Read more

Getting to know your food chain: traditional Italian cheeses made in Nelson

In the third part of a series in which The Spinoff gets to know who, what, where and how our food gets to our plate, Alice Neville learns about what goes into making mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola and more. The bright lights and smooth floors of the supermarket are a world away from the soil and sun, … Read more

Jumping in at the deep end of the pint: A hop novice hits up the beer awards

The New World Beer and Cider Awards are serious business in the industry – so why not send along a beer rookie to see what it’s all about?  “Burnt butter.” “A sort of minerality.” “Quite a firm, long, furry kind of bitterness.” “Grapefruity.” These are some of the ways head judge Michael Donaldson describes the … Read more

Getting to know your food chain: the good oil on extra virgin olive oil

In the second part of a series in which The Spinoff gets to know who, what, where and how our food gets to our plate, Alex Casey learns about how olive oil is made.  The bright lights and smooth floors of the supermarket are a world away from the soil and sun, the plants, animals and … Read more

Getting to know your food chain: Central Otago cherries

In the first part of a series in which The Spinoff gets to know who, what, where and how our food gets to our plate, Jihee Junn learns about cherries.  The bright lights and smooth floors of the supermarket are a world away from the soil and sun, the plants, animals and humans which have toiled … Read more

Why is there still so much plastic in our supermarkets?

OK, so we’ve got rid of plastic bags. But what about all the other stuff? Phasing plastic packaging out is a mammoth task, but some of the industry’s main players are working hard to promote change.  Next time you’re at your local supermarket, have a look around. Go up and down each aisle and have … Read more

Woman injured in airgun incident at Auckland supermarket

The person who fired an airgun outside Devonport New World yesterday, injuring a woman, is yet to be found. A woman was injured in an airgun incident outside an Auckland supermarket yesterday. Police and an ambulance were called to the New World carpark at Devonport on the North Shore at about 5.15pm after airgun pellets … Read more

Why New World’s social media went into meltdown over a plastic container

New World announced this week they’re giving away plastic containers, and man oh man, the internet went wild. But was the hysteria justified? Oh plastic, plastic, plastic. Who knew this one flimsy material could cause so much of an online furore in 2018? On Monday, New World announced the launch of its new collectables initiative: … Read more