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INDUSTRY UPDATES: NEW ZEALAND'S CONVENIENCE RETAIL INDUSTRY UNITES
New Zealand’s convenience retail industry unites
The C&I NZ Expo was held on 20-21 November at Auckland’s Due Drop Events Centre, with the event surpassing exhibitor and attendee expectations.
A SUCCESSFUL C&I NZ Expo was held on 20-21 November at Auckland’s Due Drop Events Centre, brought together the cream of the crop from the New Zealand convenience retail industry for two days of non-stop action.
With over 60 exhibitors set up, the expo had hundreds of products on display, including fresh food-to-go, ice cream treats, cooking equipment, innovative payment technology, snacks galore, and everything in between.
The expo has been great! We made several connections on day one and already arranged follow-up meetings with some key people in the industry.
- Shaun Winstanley, Founder, Firebird Energy
Safa de Valois, Group Publisher at C&I Media, said the Expo was a fantastic representation of convenience retail in New Zealand.
“The Industry Symposium featured some incredible speakers providing a wealth of knowledge and learnings to take home. Then it was straight into the Expo, where we received wonderful feedback from exhibitors about the quality and number of attendees.”
Matthew Lane, General Manager of Night’n Day convenience stores, said they found the expo to be very good this year.
“It’s been a chance for us to catch up with suppliers and to make sure we’re really accessible to keep building those relationships.”
Lane’s sentiment was echoed by Shaun Winstanley, Founder of Firebird Energy.
“The expo has been great! We made several connections on day one and already arranged follow-up meetings with some key people in the industry.”
And it wasn’t just retailers who were raving about the expo, with suppliers such as Cookie Time expressing their satisfaction with the C&I NZ Expo.
It’s been a chance for us to catch up with suppliers and to make sure we’re really accessible to keep building those relationships.
- Matthew Lane, General Manager, Night’n Day
“The C&I NZ Expo has been incredible for us to showcase our latest innovation in ice cream. We created a memorable brand moment with our Cookie Time scoop shop,” said the Cookie Time team.
In addition to the two days of wheeling and dealing on the expo floor, each morning provided an opportunity for suppliers and retailers alike to learn from an impressive array of speakers at the Industry Symposium.
Speakers at day one of the Industry Symposium included Raewyn Bleakley, CEO, NZ Food & Grocery Council, Kerin Dickey, National Sales Manager at Bluebird Foods, James Donald, Co-founder and CEO of Ideally, and Troy Bennett, CEO, Bennett’s Petroleum Supplies.
The second day’s speaker lineup was Matt Tierney, Manager, National Retail Investigation Support Unit at NZ Police, Ben Seaborn, Sales and Marketing Executive at Safer Cities, Theo Foukkare, CEO of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, and Kellie Struth, Head of Category and Marketing at APCO Service Stations.
Secure your spot in 2026!
After such a successful show this year, many exhibitors have already committed to returning in 2026. To ensure you don’t miss out on a preferred position when the floor plan is released, email exhibition@c-store.com.au today.
