Home
About us
Destinations & Country Guides
Travel Guides
Recipes
Featured
Photos As Art
Abstract Prints
Locations
Travel Gear
Travel Resources
Favorites
Photo Framer
Explore Photos
Contact
Food & cultureBy Clever Tourists · Published
New Zealand has three supermarket groups: Woolworths (the chain formerly branded Countdown), Foodstuffs with New World and Pak'nSave, and the small Four Square shops in country towns. Pak'nSave is the cheapest, New World is the nicest, and the product that needs a page of explanation before you buy it is honey.
Manuka honey is graded by a laboratory measure of its antibacterial activity, and the two scales you will see are MGO and UMF.
MGO is the concentration of methylglyoxal in mg/kg. UMF is a separate grading where 5+ is the entry level and 15+ and above is where the price climbs steeply.
Ordinary supermarket honey labelled just manuka, with no MGO or UMF number, is not the same product — it may contain very little manuka nectar.
If you want the real thing, look for an MGO or UMF number on the jar, and expect to pay accordingly. Buying from a supermarket is fine; buying from the airport is not necessary.
Marmite here is a different product from the British one: darker, thicker, and a genuine national argument. It is made from a different base and cannot be substituted.
Hokey pokey is vanilla ice cream with honeycomb toffee, and it is the flavour to try.
Pavlova is the meringue dessert, and the topping is cream and kiwifruit or berries.
L&P is the lemon soft drink, and Whitaker's is the chocolate.
Kiwifruit is the export crop, and Zespri Gold is sweeter and yellower than the green kind.
Feijoa is the one to know about: a green fruit with a perfumed, almost minty flavour, in season for a few weeks in autumn. It is barely exported because it does not keep, so a trip in autumn is the only way to try it properly.
Passionfruit and avocado are cheap in season and good.
The seasons run opposite to Europe and North America, so December is summer.
Countdown is now Woolworths. The rebrand started in 2023 and has been rolling through the store network since, so older maps and signage may still say Countdown.
Pak'nSave is the budget option and bags your own groceries; New World is more expensive and more comfortable.
Alcohol is sold in supermarkets and in dedicated bottle stores.
Our New Zealand guides cover the driving rules and the South Island routes.
MGO is the measured concentration of methylglyoxal. UMF is a separate grading scale where 5+ is the entry level and higher numbers mean more activity. Honey with neither number may contain little manuka.
No. The chain is rebranding to Woolworths, a process that started in 2023 and has been rolling out across stores since.
A green fruit with a perfumed, slightly minty flavour, in season for a few weeks in autumn. It is rarely exported because it does not keep.
No. It is a different product with a different base, darker and thicker, and the two are not interchangeable.
Get our new New Zealand guides and practical tips by email: where to stay, what to eat, what things cost and the rules that catch travelers out.
Free. No spam, only new guides and tips.
Search verified local fleets with low security deposits and exact model delivery on Localrent.
Best deals on New Zealand hotels this week — check Booking.com.
