New World’s Little Garden is back in time for New Zealand’s spring planting season. With 24 different vegetable, herb and flower seedling kits to collect over the next six weeks starting 7 September, New World customers will be delighted to get growing with the return of this Kiwi favourite after a three-year hiatus.
“Since the day the last Little Garden promotion wrapped in 2017 customers have asked when we would be bringing it back again,” says Pippa Prain, Head of Marketing and CX, New World. “Sustainability has always been at the heart of Little Garden, and for this third evolution of it, we really challenged ourselves to push the sustainability boundaries of what we could deliver for New Zealanders.”
Sustainability has been considered in every element of New World’s Little Garden this year. The seedling kits and accessories are 100% plastic free, the seedling fibre pottles are home compostable, the collector tray is made of sugarcane pulp, and all paper packaging is recyclable and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. Plus, no dyes were used in the cotton gloves – even the tag on the tin watering can has a hemp string!
With one in three New World shoppers already into gardening as a form of relaxation, 37% upped their gardening activity even more when COVID-19 came along.
“We saw how much New Zealanders baked, cooked, gardened and took pride in something they created themselves this year,” says Prain. “It’s been challenging for all of us, so the timing couldn’t be more perfect to give New Zealanders an activity they can enjoy and bring to life together.”
Little Garden extends into local communities across New Zealand with every New World store in the country donating at least one little garden to a local school. The schools will receive a kit set garden, soil and an engraved Little Garden stake, so students can learn first-hand how to be good kaitiaki by taking pride in their very own vege patch.
“New World stores are 100% locally owned and operated, and store owners are incredibly invested and committed to helping their local communities thrive,” says Prain. “Stores are community employers, supporters and are in a unique position to help the next generation learn more about where their food comes from and get a real taste of what it takes to grow fresh produce.”
During its six-week duration, Little Garden is also on the school timetable for over 3,000 classes of 5-8-year olds, whose teachers have signed up for the Little Garden curriculum-based SchoolKit. Designed to make the familiarsation of vegetables and their benefits fun, whole classes of Kiwi kids will be ‘Making A Pledge To The Veg’ and setting up a ‘Little Garden League’ as part of their curriculum based Little Garden activities.
Also, something new to Little Garden this year are the personalities and character attributes each of the 24 seedlings have been given.
“It’s important for growing kids to get their 5+ a day and to eat their veggies, but as a mum to two young kids myself, I know first-hand that kids aren’t jumping at the chance to try a new vege,” says Prain. “The secret ingredient is making sure you have fun with it, which is what the likes of Carla Carrot, Korey Kale and the rest of their Fresh Friends will help parents with this spring.”
Starting 7 September in New World stores nationwide, customers will receive a FREE Little Garden seedling kit and sticker with every $40 purchase, while supplies last. Each seedling kit comes with its own fibre pottle, a soil tablet, a seed mat and a character sticker and kids can also get their own Little Garden sticker booklet so they keep track and collect all 24 of their Little Garden Fresh Friends.
There’s also a chance to win with the Big Little Garden prize draw when you purchase participating products and scan your New World Clubcard. With a pool of prizes worth over $350,000, all the prizes have been hand-picked to compliment Little Garden’s sustainability focus, with the grand prize of a brand-new MG Electric Vehicle.
So New Zealand, whether you have green fingers or you’re green to gardening, it’s time to get growing with Little Garden.
Keep your eyes peeled for more information on New World Little Garden by visiting newworld.co.nz/littlegarden.
