The search for New Zealand’s newest innovative product is over!
The 2024 Foodstuffs Emerging Supplier competition, Foodstuffs Emerge, has come to its thrilling conclusion, with two New Zealand FMCG businesses crowned as winners – Fuller faster Oats in the start-up category, and The Lucky Taco in the small supplier category.
Fuller Faster Oats (which create quick and easy overnight oats) and The Lucky Taco (which makes a range of authentic Mexican salsas and marinades) emerged victorious after a close final at Foodstuffs North Island’s Support Centre in Māngere on Friday 30 August, where ten finalists pitched their innovative products before a judging panel of industry leaders.
The two winners will receive a comprehensive prize package worth $70,000 that includes tailored in-store activations, supply chain guidance, strategic workshops, sustainability consultations to scale up their business and range their products in New World stores across New Zealand.
A range of exceptional entrants saw surprise awards issued on the day with judges presenting two ad hoc “highly commended” awards to Wonderland Chocolate in the small supplier category and to Fireball Protein Coffee in the start-up category.
Finalists were shortlisted from hundreds of applicants and given just 5 weeks to refine their pitches.
The final event gave each organisation the opportunity to share details of their product as well as the passion and drive that has brought them this far, before a panel of Foodstuffs and industry judges including Foodstuffs North Island CE, Chris Quin.
Chris Quin says the emphasis of the competition is about discovering New Zealand’s newest innovative and sustainable products with the ability to disrupt the market.
“New Zealand’s supplier community is full of brilliant, forward-thinkers who often don’t have the support or the funding to fully realise their ideas,” he says.
“Emerge is about giving them a platform to pitch their biggest, boldest ideas, which can be properly developed and brought to our customers.”
Mary Devine praised the finalists for their ingenuity and vision.
“I was completely blown away by the calibre of each and every finalist,” she says.
“Emerge is one of my favourite events of the year and it always leaves me buzzing about the future and all the new products our customers will soon have access to.
“We’ve always known New Zealand is a hotbed for FMCG creativity, and what we’ve seen today proves this yet again.”
As part of the criteria for the competition, entrants had to demonstrate how sustainability was a core tenant of the product’s story and future development.
The two winners have a busy road ahead, as they begin to scale up their operations and product for launch onto supermarket shelves. They will soon be meeting with Foodstuffs category managers to begin sharpening up their strategies to launch their products on New World shelves.
