29/05/2026
🥬 WHY LOCAL MARKETS MATTER MORE THAN EVER 🥬
Over the past 5 years, food prices in New Zealand have risen significantly, with ANNUAL food inflation peaking above 12% in 2023 and grocery costs continuing to put pressure on households across the country.
At the same time, New Zealand’s grocery industry remains heavily dominated by two major supermarket groups — Woolworths NZ and Foodstuffs (Pak’nSave, New World & Four Square). The Commerce Commission has repeatedly raised concerns about high profitability, increasing retail margins, and lack of meaningful competition in the sector, yet nothing is being done.
Back in the Commerce Commission’s 2022 grocery market study, it was revealed the major supermarket chains were making what was described as around “$1 million a day in excess profits” beyond what would typically be expected in a competitive market.
Meanwhile, many local growers, farmers and small producers continue to face:
• squeezed margins
• limited bargaining power
• rising operating costs
• difficulty accessing shelf space
• pressure to scale or lower prices to survive
And communities lose too — we lose connection to the people growing, producing and crafting the things we consume every day. We lose the ability to empower our people by giving all that power away to businesses who only care about making a profit.
That’s why local markets matter 💚
Every dollar spent locally helps:
🥕 support local families and growers
☕ strengthen small businesses
🌿 keep money circulating within the community
🤝 reconnect people with real food and real people
The Ashhurst Village Market isn’t about competing with supermarkets.
It’s about building something different:
A stronger, more connected and more resilient local community 🌱
