Information for suppliers
As the grocery industry regulator, our role includes monitoring competition and efficiency in the grocery industry, promoting transparency, carrying out reviews, inquiries and studies, making information available and enforcing the law.
Our role includes specific responsibilities for the Grocery Supply Code of Conduct and the Grocery Wholesale Supply regime.
Our broader regulatory role also means that we oversee the Commerce Act and the Fair Trading Act, which cover all businesses in New Zealand including grocery suppliers and retailers.
Further information on the Wholesale Supply regime is available on our website.
Further information about the Grocery Supply Code is below.
We encourage you to get in touch to share your experiences with the Grocery Supply Code. You can contact our team at grocery.regulation@comcom.govt.nz or submit an anonymous report.
Grocery Supply Code
The Grocery Supply Code has been in force since 28 September 2023. It sets out rules for the conduct of regulated grocery retailers (RGRs) Foodstuffs North Island, Foodstuffs South Island and Woolworths New Zealand when dealing with grocery suppliers.
The Grocery Supply Code was developed to address the imbalance of power between RGRs and suppliers in negotiations. ’Its purpose is to promote competition and efficiency in the grocery industry by:
- promoting fair conduct, and prohibiting unfair conduct
- promoting transparency and certainty about the agreements
- contributing to a trading environment that supports competition, confident participants and a diverse range of suppliers in the grocery industry.
If you had an agreement with a retailer in place prior to the Code coming into force that doesn’t comply with the provisions, the retailer had a grace period until 28 March 2024 to offer you amendments.
After 28 March 2024 the provisions of the Code apply irrespective of what is in the agreement.
The Commission completed a review of the operation and effectiveness of the Code in September 2025. As a result of this review a new Code has been made and will come into force on the later of
- 1 May 2026; or
- once the Code’s penalties have been confirmed (a process led by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment).
The current Code remains in place until the Grocery Code 2025 comes into effect, these resources are correct until then.
The Commission has published two pieces of guidance for the current code including a factsheet and a checklist.
The factsheet provides an overview of the Supply Code, as well as information on the Supply Code’s background, key features and where to get more information.
The checklist is for grocery suppliers of regulated grocery retailers to
- guide their review of the new or amended agreements they receive from retailers against the provisions of the Code
- assess retailers ongoing conduct against the provisions of the Code.
Both of these documents are available for download.
The Commerce Commission cannot provide advice on specific agreements and we encourage suppliers to seek independent legal advice. You can find the Supply Code in Schedule 2 of the Grocery Industry Competition Regulations 2023open_in_new on the New Zealand Legislation website.
Information about the review and changes to the Code are available on our website.
Further updates will be provided to support transition to the new Code.
Grocery Supplier Survey
In November 2024, the Commerce Commission undertook an anonymous survey in partnership with the research agency TRA. The survey aimed to gain more understanding of grocery suppliers, the environment they operate within, the impact of the Grocery Supply Code and their experience supplying wholesale groceries.
An aggregated report prepared by TRA can be found below. Additionally, the insights gained from responses have helped the Commission in its ongoing projects such as the review of the Grocery Supply Code.
If you would like to be kept updated on this survey, future surveys or other work undertaken by the Grocery Regulation team, subscribe to our email list.
We are planning to undertake further surveys in the future for both monitoring and to seek views on specific issues. We welcome feedback that can help us to improve your experience and support participation.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by emailing grocery.regulation@comcom.govt.nz
Resolve a dispute
A dispute resolution scheme has been set up to help resolve disputes between grocery suppliers, wholesale customers and regulated grocery retailers. The scheme is an out-of-court process set up under the Grocery Industry Competition Act 2023 and designed to quickly and fairly resolve disputes about the supply of groceries.
The scheme is operated by the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre. For more information, please visit www.grocerydispute.co.nzopen_in_new.
Submit an anonymous report
We recognise there are situations where someone who has knowledge or specific information about the conduct of a grocery industry participant (e.g., a regulated grocery retailer, supplier, or other retailer) and might be reluctant to report it for fear of negative consequences or reprisals (such as being delisted from a retail store).
The Commerce Commission’s Anonymous Reporting Tool provides a secure channel to be able to report information without disclosing your personal information.
Learn more about our anonymous reporting toolopen_in_new and how to report a concern.