The Big Seven grocery suppliers dominating the weekly Kiwi shop

Friday, 8 August 2025

Just seven giant companies control 36 of the most popular 100 products in our supermarkets.

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Just seven big grocery suppliers get $15 in every $100 Foodstuffs and Woolworths spend to stock their supermarket shelves.

Five multinational giants and two New Zealand food producers make up the list revealed in the Commerce Commission’s Annual Grocery Report 2025: Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Mondelēz, Fonterra and Goodman Fielder.

What the seven have in common is they have negotiating power with the supermarket duopoly as they have many of the “must have” brands that New Zealanders buy, including 36 of the 100 most commonly purchased products in supermarkets.

They also have a multitude of brands that shoppers may not realise belong to just a small group of very large companies: 100 between the big seven.

Minister Nicola Willis says $600k fines aren’t enough to stop supermarkets misleading shoppers at the checkout — and she’s looking at tens of millions in penalties to fix it.

Unilever, whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange, has the largest number of brands the commission’s report said: 23 in all.

The commission said the multinational suppliers often had much higher returns than smaller suppliers, and Woolworths told the commission that multinational suppliers have exercised this power by citing the newly introduced Grocery Supply Code when refusing to justify the extent of price increases they put through.

Coca-Cola

The vast soft drink, water and juice maker made US$47 billion (approximately NZ$79b) revenue globally in its last financial year.

To put that into perspective, Woolworths, whose shares are listed on the Australian ASX sharemarket, booked sales of NZ$8.2b in its last financial year.

Coca-Cola’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its market capitalisation (the sum of the value of all its shares) is NZ$370b, around nine times the value of the entire Woolworths group in Australia and New Zealand.

Nestle’s Milo is a national institution.

Its brands include Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes, Keri Juice, Sparkling Duet, Kiwi Blue, L&P and the e2 energy drink.

Nestlé

The supplier of many of the sugary sweet brands on supermarket shelves earned Swiss francs 81.3b (approximately NZ$192b) in its last financial year.

Its market capitalisation is over NZ$380b in the SIX Swiss Stock Exchange.

Dettol is among the brands of Reckitt Benckiser. Sales rocketted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Brands include Nescafe, Milo, KitKat, Milkybar, Maggi, Haagen-Dazs, Quality Street, Nesquick, Purina, Perrier, San Pellegrino and Uncle Toby’s.

It’s been driving decarbonisation in New Zealand dairy, doing deals to pay lower-carbon dairy producers more.

Reckitt Benckiser

The consumer goods colossus Unilever has the most brands of any of the big seven supermarket suppliers.

Dettol, Finish, Vanish, Nurofen, Harpic, Strepsils, Durex, Veet and Gaviscon are amongst the brands of Reckitt Benckiser, whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Its market capitalisation is NZ$85b.

Cadbury used to be New Zealand’s favourite chocolate brand, but it hurt its image by closing its Dunedin factory, and now Whittaker’s tops the Reader’s Digest most-trusted brand chart.

Its revenue in its last financial year was NZ$32b.

Unilever

For those who can afford it, Fonterra’s Anchor butter is popular for toast and cake-making.

One of the world’s oldest multinationals tracing its history back to 1900, Unilever shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange, where the company is worth $NZ250b.

Brands include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry’s, Domestos, Knorr, Comfort and Surf laundry liquids, Lux soap, Magnum ice cream, Rexonna, Sunsilk, and Jif cleaning cream.

The breads of Goodman Fielder: Vogal's, Molenberg, Freya's and Natutre's Fresh.

Mondelēz

Chocolate giant Mondelēz is on a mission to get the country snacking more often with brands including Cadbury, Pascall, Toblerone, The Natural Confectionery Company, Sour Patch, Philadelphia, Oreo and belVita breakfast biscuits.

Mondelēz’s shares are traded on the US Nasdaq stock exchange, where its market capitalisation is NZ$80b.

Fonterra

New Zealand’s largest food manufacturer has been at the centre of the cost of butter crisis.

It’s in the process of trying to sell its consumer brands business, which owns brands like Anchor, Kapiti and Mainland, as part of a programme designed to improve returns for its farmer-shareholders.

Goodman Fielder

Goodman Fielder is New Zealand’s breadmaker, though it also produces dairy, eggs, meats, oils, and flour.

Founded in 1909, the company is now owned by the global Wilmar group. Its shares are traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange, and the company is worth NZ$25b.

Its brands include bread brands Vogels, Molenberg, Freya’s, and Nature’s Fresh, as well as Meadow Fresh milk and cream, and cheese brands like Bouton D’or, Puhoi Valley, Naturalea, and Ornelle.

It also owns the Hellers meat and Edmonds flour brands.