Close to 2,000 gathered in the Hawkes Bay sunshine to celebrate New Zealand icon Wattie’s turning 90.
The 90th celebration honoured the company’s legacy and was a fun day out for its 900 full-time employees and their families.
Managing Director Neil Heffer says “We are immensely proud of Wattie's tradition, and its evolution. The day was designed to celebrate and honour our staff who champion Wattie’s quality and values every day – many of them have been with the company for decades, or from generation to generation.
“Celebrating with our staff and their families was at the heart of our event, and is true to Sir James’ vision of creating a business that has a tightly connected relationship with the local community. We were thrilled to present 45 long service awards”.
Two of those receiving long service awards were Kushla Paku and Matt Duncan both having worked for Watties for 22 and 31 years respectively. Kushla’s journey started with Wattie’s where she witnessed retired ladies coming out of retirement to work the seasonal line. At the time, Kushla didn’t understand what brought them back year after year but she has a greater understanding now.
Kushla says Wattie’s becomes like your family and she has made friends that feel more like her whānau – just like the retired ladies felt with their cohort. Now she understands that they came back every season to be together. Kushla says it’s one of the most positive things about working at Wattie’s – the friendships she has made have become like her family. There is a sense of belonging for people who work at Watties, and that is one of the reasons Kushla has been with the company for 22 years.
Matt says the company forms part of his DNA with his family's long history of employment with the company. He’s the third generation Wattie’s employee going back to his grandfather who worked on the harvesters, tractors and fleet vehicles. His father and mother both worked at Watties; his father was a manufacturing supervisor, back when it was all seasonal fruit and vegetables and his mother worked in Human Resources. Matt met his wife Rodina at Wattie’s and now they have four children, whose eldest also did a stint at Wattie’s before pursuing a nursing career.
Matt describes Wattie's as a family-oriented place with a strong sense of community. During Cyclone Gabrielle he was called in to help with the company’s response. He recalls this as a moment where he felt super proud to work at Wattie’s. Hawkes Bay was severely affected by the cyclone, leaving many homeless. Wattie’s management team travelled around the region to maraes and temporary shelters, dropping off food parcels to those in need. Matt recalls how stressed out everyone was, yet so happy to see Wattie’s workers show up with ready-to-eat food.
The 90th celebration event centred around a carnival marquee serving favourites including sausages & bread, Wattie’s Spaghetti Toasties, Wattie’s Crisp Golden Chips, and Burgers all with Wattie’s Tomato Sauce (of course). Drinks included a Wattie’s peach mocktail.
The afternoon was designed for all Wattie’s employees and their families to celebrate in true birthday party style. Everyone got to enjoy live music, a photo wall, face painting, a magician and bouncy castles. Playing giant games of Quoits, Jenga, Cornhole and Connect Four, proved popular and the high energy came from lots of delicious food made with Wattie’s products.
And in true birthday tradition, a giant cake was cut and shared and everyone left with a smile on their face with lots of great memories made.
Founded in 1934 by Sir James Wattie’s, Wattie’s started with a small factory in Hastings initially making jam using Hawkes Bays finest produce, and is now one of Hawke's Bays’ oldest companies, and New Zealand’s most loved brands.
Wattie’s taps into New Zealanders collective memory of growing up with familiar tastes like Wattie’s rich Tomato Sauce, a delicious complement to the Kiwi Sausage roll, Wattie’s Fruit Salad and Peaches for breakfast, or the always reliable Wattie’s Baked Beans or Spaghetti on toast.
Heffer explains “Wattie’s products are woven into the social fabric of our Kiwi culture. It’s an honour to be a valued brand in households across the country. Over the last 90 years, Wattie’s has become a cornerstone of New Zealand food – many of us love our sausages only with Wattie’s Tomato Sauce and Wattie’s Baked Beans and Spaghetti make up part of a Kiwi children’s favourite foods”.
Wattie’s is looking forward to the next 90 years serving Kiwis with high-quality and tasty products.
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