Grocery prices matter. Not just when there’s a big special on, but every week, on the everyday things that keep finding their way back into our baskets — milk, butter, flour, pantry staples and the familiar products Kiwi households buy again and again.
That’s why we’re lowering our everyday prices across 30 core grocery essentials at Paddock to Pantry. These are products people genuinely buy as part of their normal weekly shop, and this isn’t another short-term promotion.
It’s one step, but it’s an important one.
Why we’re doing this
We want Paddock to Pantry to be another genuine option for New Zealanders when it comes to doing their grocery shopping. Not somewhere you only visit for a great meat deal or something a little different, but somewhere you can come for the everyday shop too — meat, produce, dairy, pantry staples and the grocery brands Kiwi households already know.
For us to genuinely compete for that shop, everyday pricing matters.
Over the past few years, our growth has allowed us to buy more directly from suppliers, increase our purchasing volumes and keep working towards better value for our customers. We’re now putting some of that progress directly into the prices of 30 everyday products.
Lower everyday prices — not just a special
We love a good special, but this change is different. These 30 products have been chosen because they’re everyday essentials, and the new prices are intended to be our regular pricing rather than a promotion that disappears a few days later.
There’s no loyalty card or subscription required, and the same Paddock to Pantry product price applies to our customers around New Zealand.
That nationwide approach is important to us. Our own pricing research found that the price of the same grocery items can vary considerably between different parts of the country. We can’t fix that entire issue ourselves, but we can make sure that where you live doesn’t change the price you pay for these products when you shop with us.
How do our prices stack up?
We’re not going to claim that Paddock to Pantry is simply “the cheapest supermarket”. Grocery pricing changes too often for statements like that to tell the whole story.
What we have done is compare these 30 products against publicly advertised online prices from major supermarkets, using the same or directly comparable products and excluding promotional, loyalty-card and subscription-only prices.
At the time we completed that comparison, our 30-item basket compared very strongly with the major supermarkets. For the basket of goods (listed below) consumers saved up to 18.9% when compared to the most expensive major supermarket brand, and at least 6.6% when compared to the cheapest major supermarket. We reckon that’s a big saving on core grocery products.
That matters because our goal isn’t simply to win a price comparison on one particular day. It’s to show that Paddock to Pantry can genuinely compete on the everyday groceries Kiwi households are buying.
We know 30 products won’t solve everything
We know lowering the price of 30 grocery products isn’t going to solve the wider issue of grocery affordability in New Zealand.
But every step helps.
If we can make everyday essentials more affordable, give Kiwi households another option for their weekly shop and add a little more competition to the market, we think that’s worthwhile.
And if stronger competition encourages prices elsewhere to come down too, that’s a good result for Kiwi shoppers — regardless of where they choose to shop.
A bigger shift for Paddock to Pantry
Paddock to Pantry has changed a lot over the past few years. Some people still know us as somewhere to buy premium meat, specialty food or a great deal when one pops up. Those things are still part of who we are, but they’re no longer the whole story.
Today, we stock more than 2,000 grocery products alongside fresh produce and quality meat, and deliver to customers around New Zealand. More and more, we’re seeing people start with a smaller order or a product they already know us for, then gradually add their everyday groceries as they become more familiar with shopping with us.
That’s the direction we want to keep heading in.
We want Kiwis to see Paddock to Pantry as a real alternative for the everyday supermarket shop — somewhere you can buy the brands you know, get great quality meat and fresh produce, and feel confident that we’re working hard to make sure our everyday prices stack up too.
These 30 lower everyday prices are part of that bigger goal. They won’t change grocery shopping in New Zealand overnight, and we know there is plenty more work to do, but they’re another meaningful step towards the kind of grocery market we want to be part of: one with more choice, more competition and better value for Kiwi households.
Not the final step. Just the next one.
