Supermarket suppliers saluted in inaugural Foodstuffs Supplier of the Year Awards

The stars of the supermarket world turned out on Wednesday night for the inaugural Foodstuffs Supplier of the Year Awards, with 26 companies recognised as finalists or winners in 11 award categories.

Foodstuffs New Zealand Managing Director Steve Anderson says he was delighted to present the awards to the suppliers who had stood out for their incredible service levels and innovative in-store promotions.

“We consider all suppliers to be our most important business partners, and it’s fantastic to see how the finalists and winners set themselves apart with their strong relationships with our stores and support offices, as well as their out-of-the-box thinking when it came to product launches and national promotions.”

“What’s really special about these awards is that the results were based on feedback from the teams at our retail stores and support offices, making it a true ‘people’s choice’ award,” says Anderson.

Coca Cola Amatil took out the top honours for the evening, walking away with both the Foodstuffs Supplier of the Year Grand Award, and the New World Store Award for the Grocery category.

“The Grand Award winner was chosen based on store service performance across all of our PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square stores nationwide, as well as the three regional Foodstuffs support offices, so it was a fantastic achievement simply to be recognised as a finalist.”

“Coca Cola Amatil demonstrated an ability to be a true all-round performer. Their desire to drive sales while providing exceptional service across the business really made them stand out. Congratulations to them, and all our finalists and winners – I hope the awards will inspire more great things in the coming year,” adds Anderson.

Other Foodstuffs Supplier of the Year awards winners include Cerebos Gregg’s, Colgate Palmolive, Fonterra Brands, Griffin’s, Heinz Wattie’s, Independent Liquor, Lion, Reckitt Benckiser and Tegel.

Full list of finalists and winners:

PAK’nSAVE Store Award – Grocery
·         Colgate Palmolive (winner)
·         Griffin’s
·         Twin Agencies

PAK’nSAVE Store Award – Liquor
·         Independent Liquor (winner)
·         Lion
·         Treasury Wine Estates

PAK’nSAVE Store Award – Chilled/Frozen
·         Tegel (winner)
·         Fonterra Brands
·         Heinz Wattie’s
·         Premier Beehive

New World Store Award – Grocery
·         Coca Cola Amatil (winner)
·         Cerebos Gregg’s
·         Nestlé
·         Twin Agencies

New World Store Award – Liquor
·         Lion (winner)
·         Constellation Brands
·         Pernod Ricard
·         Treasury Wine Estates

New World Store Award – Chilled/Frozen
·         Heinz Wattie’s (winner)
·         Fonterra Brands
·         Premier Beehive

Four Square Store Award – Grocery
·         Griffin’s (winner)
·         Bluebird
·         Frucor

Foodstuffs Support Office Award
·         Cerebos Gregg’s (winner)
·         Frucor
·         Heinz Wattie’s
·         Sanitarium
·         SCA Hygiene
·         Fonterra Brands Tip Top
·         Twin Agencies

Best New Product Launch
·         Reckitt Benckiser: Nuromol (winner)
·         Cadbury: Marvellous Creations
·         Colgate Palmolive: Heavenly Hands
·         Goodman Fielder: Freya’s Sandwich Thins
·         Mars: Whiskas Temptations
·         Reckitt Benckiser: Dettol No Touch
·         Twin Agencies: Whittaker’s Share Packs
·         Unilever: Lynx Anarchy

Best National Promotion or Event
·         Fonterra Brands: PAK’nSAVE Moo Week (winner)
·         Nestlé: New World Grocery Grab
·         Unilever: New World ‘Win a walk on part on Shortland Street’
·         Unilever: New World ‘Win a Million Fly Buys Points’
·         Watties: PAK’nSAVE Truckload Blowout
·         Watties: New World ‘NZ Favourites’

Foodstuffs Supplier of the Year – Grand Award
·         Coca Cola Amatil (winner)
·         Cerebos Gregg’s
·         Frucor
·         Griffin’s
·         Heinz Wattie’s
·         Hellers
·         Mars
·         Nestlé
·         Fonterra Brands
·         Twin Agencies