The fastest growing multi-food sector in the world is organic and part of this growth is the consumer’s desire for local food. The rapid national and international growth – 15% per annum since 2015 - has meant that supermarkets have also caught the organic wave and are now the biggest retailers of organic in New Zealand. Foodstuffs NZ’s house brand Pams has an organic range now and Countdown has a dedicated organic label Macro.
“Recent market research confirms what we have known for decades, human health is linked to healthy food and healthy soil," said Joanne Bromley, managing director of Glen Eden retail store ‘Organic Out West’. “Our store specialises in serving the local west Auckland community by providing home-grown fresh produce as well as a wide range of dietary and health needs.
“We are happy with the growth of the organic market, but this has placed pressure on us to survive this rapid change. As a small local player, we have had to adapt and restructure ourselves. As a result of that, we will be moving premises to Glen Mall in Glen Eden so we can continue to serve our community better and attract new clients from increased profile and foot traffic. We accept we have to adapt to stay in business.”
To help with the move ‘Organic Out West’ is asking the community to make a pledge. “We are doing as much as we can right now to get our new space ready. But we will require some help in the transition towards the end of January 2019. We have a Facebook page where people can pledge a sum to help us move and in return get that amount in goods. We have also developed a ‘give a little’ page."
