Watties product closures

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#3472963 24-Mar-2026 09:10

gzt:
farcus: They also make Special Blend instant coffee at the same site.

What? That's nearly half the price of Greggs for the same quantity. I'm semi-astounded. Definitely have to try that anyway now given that consumer review. I don't believe that review at all but I'm curious enough to try.

My father put me on to Special Blend a few months ago and I've been drinking it ever since. It's usually around $2.50 to $2.90, which is a third of the price of the Jed's Coffee that I used to buy which is now about $9 for a refill. This is the granulated version of Special Blend, not the powdered version.

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#3472969 24-Mar-2026 09:30

I just started a "Gregg's Granulated Rich Roast Instant Coffee 100g".

With milk It is kind of bland like I remember - nostalgia and memories are flooding back - but oh boy it's kind of strong in effect!. No wonder I didn't drink much coffee in those days.

I'll be opening the "Greggs Original Blend Red Ribbon Roast" as soon as I find a spare jar for it..

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#3472978 24-Mar-2026 09:47

geek3001:

elpenguino:

In the food industry, fresh means 'not frozen', not recently harvested like we imagine it to mean.

I'd also like to see complete country of origin information on packaging - e.g. Contents, NZ 80%, India 10% etc etc.

The reality is food is a global business. Thats a good thing for resilience and variety, I just want to know where it all came from.

100% agree.

Apart from that level of detail only being voluntary, I have suggested this in conversation in the past and have been told it's too complicated to legibly print that level of detailed info on packaging on a batch-by-batch basis.

In response I suggested that perhaps a QR code for each batch could be printed on all the packaging of that batch of product, and then we could simply read that QR code with our smart phone while we're shopping, which would take us to a page on a website where we could review the info in detail and make an informed decision.

It shouldn't be that hard... unless the companies supplying our food don't actually want us to know where it's coming from.

As someone who works in the industry, digital labels haven't been approved in the past from a Food Act standpoint, but now have been allowed to be trialled by MPI/Foodsafety NZ

It's not that hard to change a label, its normaly a couple of clicks on a pack run in a label template. There isn't really an excuse in this day and age of traceability and food recall laws not to have country of origin on all food products, including the canned stuff. For companies like Watties, they are all part of strict third-party food safety standards (namely SQFI) which require traceback and risk assessment of all inputs into a product on every manufacturing run, so they definitely know where things are coming from, it's just a label of convenience to put local and/or imported ingredients..... Watties/Heinz are obviously not the only ones to do this in NZ, its wide spread as mentioned to make shoppers feel like they are buying an NZ product when all it may have had in NZ is a package change and now it's made in NZ from Local and imported ingredients.

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#3472979 24-Mar-2026 09:49

eracode:

I am the biggest critic of NZ’s supermarket system - but on this point I cannot disagree more. Of all the many things that our supermarkets do wrong, IMO fruit and vege is not one of them. Eg. recent capsicums have been fine. By what high standard do you judge them?

I'm in a rural town and the quality of produce at our local pak n save is often poor. It's obvious at time they have bought the dregs. Despite that they aren't much cheaper than WW or NW.

For me the standard is the produce I can buy or have delivered from the one of the producers at our local farmer's market. It's about the same price as the supermarket but its nicer produce, a bit more variety and it lasts longer. It's always high quality.

And then there is meat ... much better quality at the same price from my local butcher. It doesn't hurt that he's called Mike, too. Supermarkets do mumpty things like put chops or steaks of quite different thicknesses in the same tray. Or they dice cuts of meat that need long slow cooking too small, so that by the time they're tender, they're dry. My butcher understands meat and how it's cooked.

When I'm in Welly, I go to the Sunday market near Te Papa. Great (and interesting) produce at reasonable prices. Half a dozen vendors right next door to each other, competing. We often go to NW for our dry goods, then the market for everything else.

Mike

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#3473140 24-Mar-2026 14:00

It is reported that McCains is closing their frozen products plant in Hastings by 31 Jan 2027:

https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/03/24/mccain-to-close-hastings-vegetable-processing-factory/

Presumably their Timaru plant will continue for a while until that too becomes uneconomic to operate.

Goosey

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#3473143 24-Mar-2026 14:06

geek3001:

It is reported that McCains is closing their frozen products plant in Hastings by 31 Jan 2027:

https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/03/24/mccain-to-close-hastings-vegetable-processing-factory/

Presumably their Timaru plant will continue for a while until that too becomes uneconomic to operate.

sad, but probally was predictable given Mcains co pack a few frozen lines for Watties (coated potato to name one) and / or supplying assorted bulk processed frozens to Watties to then mix and pack.

Talleys do a bit of co packing as well….

im pretty sure the Watties frozen meals line also does some co packing….

****my previous knowledge could be out of date.

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MikeAqua

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#3473171 24-Mar-2026 15:18

Goosey:

Talleys do a bit of co packing as well….

Talleys are very NZ-oriented and have their own NZ based vegetable/meat/dairy/seafood supply. Hopefully they'll keep processing and packing here for a long time.

Mike

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#3473175 24-Mar-2026 15:36

MikeAqua:

Talleys are very NZ-oriented and have their own NZ based vegetable/meat/dairy/seafood supply. Hopefully they'll keep processing and packing here for a long time.

I buy Talleys products too, and I hope they are able to expand their range of frozen veges.

At present per https://www.talleys.co.nz/vegetables/potatoes and https://www.talleys.co.nz/vegetables/vegetables they only do potato chips and a small range of green veges, they aren't currently doing brassicas.

John19612

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#3473246 24-Mar-2026 16:51

MikeAqua:

Goosey:

Talleys do a bit of co packing as well….

Talleys are very NZ-oriented and have their own NZ based vegetable/meat/dairy/seafood supply. Hopefully they'll keep processing and packing here for a long time.

Unfortunately they a frontrunner for the worst company in New Zealand.

gzt

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#3473834 26-Mar-2026 07:35

Are supermarket margins spectacularly high on frozens?

"A farmer says he gets paid about 60 cents for 1kg of peas. When you buy a 1kg bag of those frozen peas in a supermarket they will cost you nearly $6." "Ritchie says he had been told by McCain that the company had to pay about $1.70 to cover the cost of buying and processing 1kg of peas in order to make a margin of around 8 per cent."

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360955814/60c-579-farmer-says-someone-making-big-margin-plant-shuts

lachlanw

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#3473852 26-Mar-2026 08:37

This doesn't add up, maybe I'm missing something. If he is getting paid 60c a kg before any farm costs or labour, Google says you can grow 8000kg (high end of estimate) of green peas a hectare. That's $4800 a hectare which wouldnt even cover the capital cost of the land. Let alone sprays, admin, labour him making a profit.

The story doesn't even make sense. If the supermarkets were gouging $3.5 a bag of frozen peas then they would be moving heaven and earth to keep the suppliers providing their sweet sweet earnings.

A quick check of Tesco online has cheapest frozen peas at 3.12£ a kg or $7.17 in our new Zealand pesos.

It seems crazy to me that when you scratch the surface on these supermarket beat ups they often don't stack up. Yip shits expensive and people are doing it really tough but there are precious few places in the world it isn't. Recently spent time in Europe and UK and its pretty brutal.

I would love to know if you took the combined profits of foodstuffs and Woolworths and distributed it per nzer per week what the effect of their food bill would be.

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gzt

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#3473872 26-Mar-2026 09:23

The farmer is saying McCain gets paid $1.70 for a kilo of frozen peas by the wholesaler and the supermarket sells that for near $6 including gst.

lachlanw: It seems crazy to me that when you scratch the surface on these supermarket beat ups they often don't stack up

That is true. On the other hand your post does not provide real evidence that the farmer is incorrect. The farmer says margins are extremely tight and your back of the envelope calculation supports that.

lachlanw

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#3473885 26-Mar-2026 09:54

Right, makes sense, I'm full of shit, did some digging and talleys contracts are around 60c a kg.

lachlanw

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#3473886 26-Mar-2026 09:55

Also Coles has peas for 2.50 a kg.

gzt

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#3474504 27-Mar-2026 16:33

'Consultation' period over - closures and staff losses mainly as expected:

"Heinz Wattie’s has confirmed it will close its Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland manufacturing sites, as well as frozen packing lines in Hastings, after consultation with its staff."

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/heinz-watties-confirms-closure-of-christchurch-dunedin-and-auckland-plants/QCYK3MJ7C5H73JFPIOEJHDSVMA/

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