Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Foodstuffs North Island will host an event this Friday to put affected small local suppliers of New World Victoria Park in front of new potential buyers from other stores.
The Auckland supermarket was significantly damaged by a fire last week, with all products and items left unusable.
Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin said about 70 small local suppliers were stocked at the store and that typically, these suppliers sell their products in 20 or fewer stores in the Foodstuffs network.
"This store was a passionate supporter of emerging and local suppliers," Quin said.
"It had a real farmers' market feel, and the customers who shopped there were genuinely curious and open to discovering new things. For many of these suppliers, Victoria Park was a significant part of their business - in some cases, the biggest outlet they had."
Many of the Victoria Park store's small suppliers were part of Foodstuffs' Emerging Supplier Programme, which provides guidance and support to local businesses getting started in grocery.
Photo: Lucy Xia
Quin said the gathering will bring together about 45 affected suppliers and local Foodstuffs store owners from the wider Auckland area who may be able to range their products.
"We're effectively bringing the store to them.
"Rather than expect these suppliers to go door-to-door, we're creating a space where they can meet a number of potential new stockists all at once. If there's something we can do to support them, we're going to do it."
"We know this has had a real impact, and we're committed to doing the right thing by our suppliers. Supporting local producers is part of our DNA as a 100 percent locally owned co-operative, and we'll be doing what we can to help them get through this challenging time."
The fire investigation into the blaze remains ongoing.
Foodstuffs North Island said the fire had severely limited access to the building.
Once investigations were complete, they said specialists will enter the site to determine what is required to make the building safe for the clean-up phase to begin.
