Wholesale Supply Inquiry FAQs

What additional regulation can the Commission recommend?

The Commission has a range of regulatory options available under the Grocery Industry Competition Act. Some of these apply just to the Regulated Grocery Retailers, while others can apply more widely to sector participants, such as suppliers.

The options include making a determination regarding a wholesale framework, wholesale code, and/or how certain existing duties under the Act must be complied with. As part of the Inquiry process we can also make a recommendation to the Minister regarding the introduction of non-discriminatory terms and specified access terms regulation.

As part of the Inquiry process, our Draft Report can also make wider recommendations that would improve wholesale supply, including behavioural or legislative change.

There may also be opportunities to improve wholesale supply outcomes by enforcing the Grocery Industry Competition Act or other Acts we administer, enforcing or amending the Grocery Supply Code, or issuing disclosure standards.

Are suppliers regulated parties?

The Act establishes the Commission as a regulator of the Grocery Industry. While current interventions create duties for the RGRs, other powers such as the ability to require information to be disclosed are broader. The Act also provides for the Commission to comment on any matter related to the grocery industry. As part of the Inquiry process, our Draft Report can also make wider recommendations that would improve wholesale supply, including behavioural or legislative change.

What is a wholesale customer for the purposes of this Inquiry?

Wholesale customers are defined broadly in the Act as "any person that receives the wholesale supply, or wants to obtain the wholesale supply, of groceries from a regulated grocery retailer for the purpose of supplying groceries, directly or indirectly, at retail to consumers."

Our job is to monitor and assess all channels of supply to determine what supply is taking place and how this impacts wholesale customers. Because of this we are also interested in supply to other grocery retailers who do not fit the definition of wholesale customers above.

We recognise that not all retailers who meet this definition will compete with RGRs in a comprehensive way (e.g. on price for a full shop) and that objectively justifiable discrimination between wholesale customers may be necessary to ensure cost-effective supply.

What does objectively justifiable mean?

While the Act does not define objectively justifiable, our interpretation is that in a competitive wholesale market the reasons for difference in supply pricing, ranging or other terms would be based on real factors that affect the ability to supply a customer on terms similar to those other customers receive. Cost to serve is the most obvious example where different delivery infrastructure may have different associated costs.

Is alcohol required to comply with this wholesale supply proposal?

Alcohol is not currently regulated under the Act meaning that our legislation does not provide for the regulation of the wholesale supply of alcohol.

However, because the Act does specifically allow us to monitor and report on matters related to Alcohol, we would still welcome the experiences of alcohol suppliers to inform our work.

What is the problem you are trying to solve?

Overall, competition in the New Zealand grocery sector is limited, which is why a regulatory regime exists.

The June 2025 Preliminary Findings Paper and November 2025 Open Letter set out our key concerns that the regulation is not achieving its intended purpose. Wholesale access for retailers seeking to compete with Regulated Grocery Retailers is not at a level consistent with what we would expect to see in a competitive wholesale market. As a result,  wholesale supply is currently not meeting the needs of potential wholesale customers.

Our key concerns include that other grocery retailers cannot access products at competitive prices or across the range they require.

We are looking for sector commitments that improve wholesale pricing or product availability, to support a more competitive trading environment for current and potential wholesale customers.

Where suppliers consider they are already acting consistently with our expectations, we seek ideas about how this can be demonstrated and/or reinforced with public commitments.

What businesses are the focus of the Wholesale Supply Inquiry and Roadmap?

The Grocery Industry Competition Act is focused on regulating wholesale supply through the RGRs, but requires us to consider the context of alternative channels of wholesale supply when determining the need for additional regulation.

The Inquiry therefore considers the wholesale supply of groceries from the Regulated Grocery Retailers (RGRs), directly from suppliers, or other channels. All groups have an important role to play and could be subject to certain regulation.

The Roadmap could include commitments from any party that considers they can contribute to an industry solution, we have focused on seeking commitments to improve wholesale supply from RGRs in relation to how they could improve upon their current wholesale offerings and suppliers more broadly either in relation to the RGR offers or through other channels.

Which retailers experience challenges with wholesale supply, and do they have the potential to compete with the major supermarkets/RGRs?

Throughout the Inquiry process we have engaged with a diverse range of grocery retailers. Many of these retailers have indicated they have experienced challenges associated with accessing the range of products they require at competitive prices.

The RGRs’ wholesale offers were intended to give competitors access to the RGRs’ scale and efficiency, while they establish direct supply relationships. Currently we are not seeing the full scale and efficiency benefits being passed on, and competing retailers still report getting access to direct supply can be difficult.

While there is not currently a major nationwide competitor, many smaller and localised retailers seek to compete with the major supermarkets/RGRs in New Zealand. While their impact is often limited by geography or product range, these retailers are important sources of competition in the retail grocery market.

We are also taking a forward-looking approach, by seeking improvements in wholesale pricing and product availability to support potential entrants, including e.g. a nationwide competitor.

Why is it only via RGR wholesale and direct supply rather than other wholesalers?

In this Inquiry we consider other wholesalers and distributors as part of the "direct supply" channel.

We know that these wholesalers and distributors often operate in specific or limited category areas and the 2022 Market Study found that there were no wholesalers that service a full range of groceries to retailers. We welcome engagement with wholesalers and distributors in the sector who can provide more information on this channel, including if we should be considering it differently.

Why is the Commission concerned about the supply of private label products to wholesale customers?

We are concerned about retailers getting access to the most demanded products at prices that allow them to compete at the retail level. We know that private label, and other low-cost products often meet that need.

In the context of telecommunications regulation, we have previously stated that objective justification requires “a legitimate purpose or explanation for the difference in treatment, to demonstrate that the difference is something other than an attempt by the network operator to exploit its position in the market to distort competitive dynamics.” We welcome industry perspectives on practices that they consider objectively justifiable.

What feedback have you taken on board to inform the wholesale regime’s progression since July 2023?

We have completed several phases of engagement and gathered data from RGRs and suppliers to inform our assessments of the wholesale regime to date. We acknowledge there has been improvement in some areas since 2023. However, there have also been several issues consistently emerge.

Our 2025 Preliminary Findings Paper presents our preliminary assessment of the key issues we are seeking to address through this Inquiry.

How long do suppliers have to make changes?

In June 2025 we stated our view that an industry-led solution offered the most efficient way to make improvements to wholesale supply. We are now seeking confirmation from the grocery sector about their approach, including through specific, measurable commitments, so that we can monitor it.

We are expecting commitments from suppliers and RGRs in April/May 2026.

I think I am already supplying groceries in line with your expectations / I have an existing route to market for other grocery retailers. Do I need to do anything?

We recognise that a number of improvements have been made since the wholesale regime commenced in 2023, and welcome suppliers providing information and evidence about their current supply arrangements and how these may already meet our expectations.

We will use this information to track progress of the wholesale grocery sector over time through our indicators and measure.

Do your expectations apply to me/my category?

Any commitment from any supplier to improve wholesale supply is helpful.

We will seek enhanced commitments from some suppliers, based on the following:

• Your size and market position,
• Whether your products are among the products that retailers have the highest demand for,
• Whether there have been issues raised regarding wholesale supply of your products or categories, and/or
• Whether your supply decisions materially affect wholesale competition.

Not every supplier or category raises the same issues, but all suppliers should consider whether their conduct could have competitive effects beyond individual customer relationships.

The Commission’s Preliminary Findings Paper has already recognised, for example, that we have sufficient evidence that supply of fresh fruit and vegetables is reasonably competitive at this time.
If other grocery retailers come to us with specific concerns regarding your supply we may contact you to better understand how your supply aligns with our expectations.

How did you select key suppliers?

We have selected key suppliers based on products that other grocery retailers have demanded or are likely to demand. This includes the highest revenue earners for the Regulated Grocery Retailers and the most recognised brands. Other retailers have indicated they want access to these products so that they can better compete with the Regulated Grocery Retailers.

How can supplier commitments be aligned across industry and among competitors, and which commitments will be released publicly?

We are looking for commitments that work for individual businesses in making improvements against our expectations, rather than universal alignment.

We will publish an update on all the commitments we receive by May in the Roadmap. These may give other suppliers an idea of what commitments they could make.

Any other commitments made by individual businesses throughout the remainder of the Inquiry process will be included in our ongoing monitoring/tracking.

How did you pick your wholesale basket and will you publish this?

The wholesale basket is a subset of products that we would gather information on as an indicator – while also considering additional examples that are raised with us.

Our proposed approach is to include:

• best-selling branded products from key suppliers
• private label products from Foodstuffs and Woolworths
• cover a range of departments and categories
• include a comparable low-cost option (branded or private label) whenever possible.

It is important to note that we don’t consider this basket to be static. Rather it is intended to be representative of products most demanded and may change over time.

We are open to feedback on this concept and to talking with suppliers about products/categories.

We would publish an explanation of the basket alongside any reports that refer to our measures.

How are retailers selected for the survey?

We invite all grocery retailers to complete our survey to contribute to our sector understanding. Our survey includes demographic information to segment responses.

The current retailer surveyopen_in_new is open until Friday 17 April 2026.

What accountability will there be on speedy wholesale supply changes (e.g. ranging innovative products)? 

Agreements for supply remain a commercial negotiation between suppliers and retailers. If non-RGR retailers are concerned that the reasons they are refused products (including new or innovative lines) are not objectively justifiable, they should contact the Commission and provide evidence of this, preferably in writing.

RDPs are imposed on us by the major supermarkets/RGRs, meaning that we do not decide them for our products, what are we supposed to do to make wholesale supply equitable in this context?

We encourage suppliers with specific concerns around their agreements with RGRs on RDPs to familiarise themselves with their rights under the Grocery Supply Code especially in relation to the obligation to deal with suppliers in good faith (clause 6) and clauses that discuss payments and/or funded promotions. 

It is important that suppliers see real benefit from RDPs, rather than them being imposed as a result of the market power of the major supermarkets. We looked closely at this issue within the review of the Code last year and have made changes that will come into force on 1 May 2026 including a new provision to address supplier concerns about retaliation for utilising the Code, new record-keeping requirements for RGRs related to funding promotions and changes to the rules on payments for wastage. We also identified other areas such as payments for retailer business activities as areas for further monitoring.

Where suppliers believe a breach of the Grocery Supply Code has occurred, they can use the New Zealand Disputes Resolution Centreopen_in_new, our Anonymous Reporting Toolopen_in_new or email grocery.regulation@comcom.govt.nz to report it directly.

Suppliers should also contact us if they are experiencing adverse consequences in their interactions with RGRs as a result of our expectations in the Wholesale Supply Inquiry.

The Commission has acknowledged that timing is not great considering the existing fuel and supply chain pressures and the Easter trading period. Is there an opportunity to delay the timing of this Inquiry until we are in a more certain period (maybe only a few weeks).

While we appreciate that it is a busy and complex time for industry, the PFP was published in June 2025 and we need to be able to monitor progress made since then as we approach the completion of the Inquiry. We remain committed to concluding the Inquiry in a timely manner.

Are we able to have a brief discussion about how the digital labelling trial will impact the roadmap?

The digital labelling trial is being led by the Ministry for Primary Industries and is separate to the Wholesale Supply Inquiry. If you have questions about this trial, please contact MPI directly.

We expect commitments to reflect what you are able to achieve within your businesses, and will take into account any other contextual matters (e.g. like the digital labelling trial). If you think this trial will affect your ability to make commitments towards the Roadmap, please let us know.