‘Gutting’: Grater Goods in voluntary liquidation after supermarket deal fails to materialise

Saturday, 8 November 2025

Flip Grater opened GG Bistro in High Street in 2025.

Still reeling from a decision to close her bistro a week ago, Christchurch hospitality entrepreneur Flip Grater has had to put her company, Grater Goods, into voluntary liquidation.

“There’s been a lot of back and forth and a lot of last minute options and trying to find ways around it, but unfortunately this is where we got to and it’s gutting,” she said.

Grater, who started her plant-based food business with $500 seven years ago, said a potential deal to supply Woolworths with gourmet vegan deli and charcuterie products failed to eventuate. It was a brutal blow.

“Woolworths was going through a huge change, and essentially they put the entire category on hold after indicating very strongly that they were going to be taking several of our products.“

Prior to this the company had supplied popular seasonal products including a roast furkey and chickun to Woolworths for the Christmas period.

Grater Goods sold nearly 10,000 roasts (furkeys and chickuns) last year but had not yet accepted orders for 2025.

Grater Goods products made vegan cheeses as well as vegan “meat” options.

To prepare for the jump in supply to Woolworths, Grater Goods had ramped up their production, putting the company in a “precarious” position when the deal didn’t go through.

Grater said the company closed its factory in Christchurch and outsourced production to a food manufacturer in Ashburton. However, this left it with a reduced margin on product sales.

The failed Woolworths deal came as the high cost of living and a sluggish economy put a break on sales and sucked oxygen from the new central Christchurch bistro, Grater said.

“The tightening consumer spending, the rising costs, less money in people's pockets … consumers are just generally in their own personal survival mode.”

However, she said the company’s fortunes were not a result of a changing demand for plant-based foods.

“Plant-based food is not a trend … it's not actually in decline.

Grater Goods expanded its culinary vision with the launch of GG Bistro, which opened on 4 March, but was forced to close it last week.

“The uptake of plant-based foods is simply settling into a steadier rate of growth after huge skyrocketing growth.”

Despite the setback, Grater expressed hope for the future.

“I do hope that the brand will find another life, going forward. There are conversations under way about potential opportunities … and I hope that for the consumer's sake we will find a way to keep the products available.”

She felt that when the economy improved customers “will move their attention and shopping habits back to long-term survival and more ethical choices”.

“I still have no doubt that this is the future of food because it has to be. The future of the planet literally requires that we reduce our animal product consumption significantly, and that's just an inevitability.”

Grater said she was hugely thankful to customers for their support of the business.

“I just want to thank everyone that has supported our growth over the years … we were built on the idea of ethical hedonism and the idea that you don't have to choose between joy and indulgence and compassion and ethics, and I still believe in that very firmly.”

Grater would be taking a break to consider her future.