store spotlight PAK'nSAVE

Warkworth

Anna Carmicheal, the owner-operator of the new PAK’nSAVE Warkworth, has a long history with Foodstuffs, the 100 percent New Zealand-owned co-operative. Joining at 25 as a checkout operator at New World Eastridge near Mission Bay, Carmichael has been with the co-operative for 20 years.

Having worked in various roles within the co-operative, Carmichael entered the trainee owner-operator programme and became the owner-operator of Four Square in Taranaki, moving onto New World Island Bay in Wellington, until finally settling in at New World Warkworth with her family in 2013.

“Seven years after starting my Foodstuffs career, I became the owner-operator of my first store, a Four Square in Taranaki, which was just awesome,” said Carmicheal.

PAK’nSAVE’s ethos is revolved around delivering the lowest prices possible, with the new Warkworth PAK’nSAVE offering the same to its community.

“Our new store will also provide locals with more choices for where to shop and bring more competition to the region.”

Carmichael continued that the grocery sector was a dynamic and great industry to be a part of, with Foodstuffs’ focus on creating a meaningful and safe work environment for its people and local team in Warkworth of approximately 120. She added that the new store would also open up job opportunities within the community.

The new PAK’nSAVE Warkworth is the latest generation store design aesthetically, with plenty of natural light provided through skylights, a large, glazed front to provide a light and bright shopping environment and upright fridges and freezers which are energy efficient and explicitly chosen to reduce carbon emissions.

Efficiency is a key focus for the new store, with Carmichael determined to work smart to keep the store’s prices as low as possible. The new store will also have a drive-through click-and-collect area where customers can book a collection slot, drive in at the agreed time and have their groceries delivered to their car boot to save everyone time.

A second key focus is the avoidance of waste. Instore, there will be processes to avoid food waste, including sending overripe bananas to the bakery team to create banana bread, and unsold hot cooked chicken will be cooled to use for pizzas and pasta dishes and quiches in the deli.

PAK’nSAVE Warkworth will also work closely with Warkworth Food Rescue to collect products the store can no longer sell. These will be distributed to regional food banks to support the local community.

Recyclables will also be sorted to ensure composite materials are kept together, such as plastics, tins, and glass, and all cardboard boxes and soft plastics will be bailed up and taken away for recycling.

“We’ll have a soft plastic recycling station for the public too.”

The store will also support local growers, sourcing fresh produce from the positive relationship built with producers nearby, including avocado growers in Tapora, mandarin growers in Matakana, and strawberry growers from Omaha.

Carmichael is most proud of the warmer atmosphere and plentiful space of the new PAK’nSAVE store, stating that it’s a stateof-the-art grocery location with a natural, warm light that will have excellent quality fresh food offering fresh produce, seafood, and butchery.

The local community will make the PAK’nSAVE Warkworth special, said Carmichael.

“Warkworth’s small town that covers a huge catchment area. You’ve got so many different types of people, from the farming community to urban dwellers, who have moved to Warkworth for a more relaxed lifestyle, and so what we offer has to reflect those different needs.”

Being on the holiday highway at the end of the motorway will mean that once the store opens, it will be a liberating experience for the public, making transport between Warkworth and Auckland more appealing. n