A family-owned grocer in Upper Hutt has raised more than $1.8m through crowdfunding from over 600 investors, as calls grow for a third competitor to New Zealand's two big supermarket chains, RNZ reports.
Plenty Foods offers investing customers equity as "founding owners" along with grocery discounts. Manager Quan Yang, who previously worked at Pak'nSave Petone for 30 years, said the money would fund expansion, with possible new stores in Wellington or Porirua, and claimed the shop's prices were lower than those of the major chains.
The store opened a year ago and received more than 1,000 job applications for about 40 positions. Shoppers told RNZ they valued cheaper meat and vegetables and liked supporting a smaller business, with one saying prices at the big supermarkets had become very similar.
Source: RNZ
