Latest news with #PamsPureButter
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Costco butter: Wholesaler introduces purchase limits of 30 blocks but still sells out
Pak'nSave Westgate, just under 1.5km around the corner from Costco, was today selling the Pams Pure Butter 500g block for $8.29, or $1.66 per 100g, and the Anchor 500g was $9.99, or $2 per 100g. Woolworths Westgate, just a kilometre away from Costco, was today pricing its store-brand Woolworths Butter 500g at $8.49, or $1.70 per 100g, and Anchor 500g was $9.90, or $1.98 per 100g. It was no wonder there were reports of Costco's salted and unsalted varieties running out as shoppers took home trolley-loads of butter. Loyal customers have shared photographs from inside the store this week, showing lines of people waiting to get their hands on the cheap produce. Several customers have spoken of their disappointment after travelling some distance to the store specifically for the butter, only to find stocks had sold out. And today, photographs were posted on the store's unofficial Facebook page of notices inside the shop about purchase limits. 'Limit 30 blocks of butter per membership (i.e. per household),' the store's notices said. However, it seems the restrictions were not enough to keep enough stock on the shelves this morning. One Costco customer reported the store had run out of salted and unsalted butter at 10.24am, less than half an hour after opening time. Westpac economist Paul Clark has told the Herald that retail prices for butter generally moved in line with export prices. 'Given that, it is reasonable to suggest that, with Global Dairy Trade auction prices for butter having reached new highs, combined with a generally weaker New Zealand dollar … should see retail prices ratchet higher in coming months. 'It is also important to note that retail price adjustments do tend to lag as inventories decline.' At the latest Global Dairy Trade auction last month, the price of butter rose 1.5% to an average of US$7679/MT (metric tonne). That compares to an average price of US$6815 ($11,546) on January 7.
NZ Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Rising butter and grocery prices hit Rotorua bakery, food rescue
Guidough's Bakery in Rotorua makes everything from fresh bread to doughnuts, hot pies to sweet pastries, but owner Mel Bachmann has had to adapt to surging butter prices. 'We use butter for everything, all of our sweet baking, also in our savoury, and there's no replacement,' she said. Bachmann told the Rotorua Daily Post that butter prices were 'crazy' – once $4 per block, some prices were up to $12. 'The best price we can get at the moment is about $9, but it will go up. 'We're not going to compromise on flavour and quality, so we're not, and we will not use substitutes because it's going to ruin the quality.' She said the margins were a lot slimmer than people imagined. 'If we do put prices up, it's not because we're making a tonne of money from it, it's just simply to cover the costs of all these crazy increases. 'Most people do understand, but there are still some that will be outraged that things have gone up and keep going up, but I don't think that's targeted towards us.' Bachmann said Guidoughs had put prices up slightly to reflect higher ingredient costs. 'It's hard for everyone and people are already struggling so much with the cost of living, so we don't want bakery food to be something that people can't afford any more. 'We want this to be for everybody so they can have a special treat, and we're very mindful of people's tight budgets.' Westpac economist Paul Clark told the NZ Herald in early May that retail prices for butter generally moved in line with export prices and it was likely prices would 'ratchet higher in coming months'. The Rotorua Daily Post looked at the cheapest options for some common grocery foods at three Rotorua supermarkets. At the time of writing, Pak'nSave Rotorua sold a 500g of Pams Pure Butter for $8.29. The same product retailed for $8.79 at New World Westend. Woolworths Rotorua retailed a 500g Woolworths Salted Butter for $8.49. A 2-litre Pam's Milk from Pak'nSave Rotorua was $4.40, it was $4.48 at New World Westend and at Woolworths Rotorua, a 2-litre Woolworths standard bottle was $4.43. The price of a standard loaf of white bread was similar across the board. Pams Value White Toast Fresh Sliced Bread retailed for $1.39 at Pak'nSave, $1.49 at New World and Woolworths sold its Essentials Sliced Bread White for $1.49. Pam's 1kg of Edam cheese, retailing for $12.29 at Pak'nSave, was $13.29 at New World and at Woolworths, a 1kg block of Everyday cheddar cheese retailed for $12.49. Foodstuffs, which operates Pak'nSave and New World, reported a 2.8% year-on-year rise in retail prices for goods in its food price inflation basket. Foodstuffs said the business was 'very aware' of the pressure food prices placed on households. 'We're committed to continuing to support our customers and communities through what remains a challenging time for many.' Woolworths New Zealand said it was working 'even harder' to give customers good value and a 'fantastic' shopping experience. 'Customers are facing continued cost-of-living pressures, and delivering value is a top priority of ours.' A non-profit food rescue service was also struggling to source enough food to meet demand. Julie King, manager at Love Soup Rotorua, told the Rotorua Daily Post she wished it could do more, but could not provide for all because of limited resources. 'Higher food prices mean more people are turning to Love Soup for support, while at the same time it's getting harder for us to source food,' King said. 'We're seeing growing demand at our community pop-ups, especially from families struggling to keep up with rising grocery costs.' Each pop-up attracted 100 to 400 people. King said the food items most in demand or hardest to supply were meat and non-perishables. 'We have a walk-in freezer, but it's full of frozen bread and vegetables; we're blessed to have those. 'We're having to do more with less, but we're committed to making sure no good food goes to waste and no one goes hungry.' She said people were sharing their experiences and how they were going without. 'It's a struggle for them and us, and it can be disheartening to see how real the struggle is out there.'
NZ Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Soaring butter prices put pressure on Tauranga cafes
'The average price for 500g of butter was $7.42 in April 2025. That's nearly $3 more expensive than this time last year,' Stats NZ spokeswoman Nicola Growden said. Blended Deli & Eatery in Pāpāmoa is known for its cabinet food – sandwiches, an array of slices, cookies and doughnuts. Owner Toni Frampton told the Bay of Plenty Times the cost of everything had gone up and butter was 'so expensive'. 'The worst thing is that you can't do anything about it.' Frampton said butter had gone from $6 to more than $10 for a 500g block. 'I'm actually travelling to Costco in Auckland to get my butter because I can pay $10 for 1kg. I go up there once a month to do a massive bulk buy. 'It's just worth travelling to get the better deal.' Blended Deli used butter in most of, if not all its baked goods and Frampton said there was an obvious cost struggle. 'All of our baking we do in-house, it's all with butter, so if anything we're trying to knock sizes down to get extra out of everything.' 'We're having to be more diligent with what we make, with what we produce and making serving sizes that little bit smaller instead of hiking the prices up on our products. 'Butter-wise, we haven't passed the buck on to the consumer yet.' She said she was strategising and focusing on the things that mattered most to her and the customers. 'I've been doing this for 40 years and this is probably the worst it's been in a really long time. 'Things are going to get really expensive and who's the one that's going to suffer?' Advertisement Advertise with NZME. Danielle Cubis, owner of Spongedrop Cakery in Mount Maunganui, said butter prices had gone up and up again. 'It feels almost weekly, and I'm sure that's not actually the case, but it just goes up all the time, so we have to keep a constant eye on it.' She said Spongedrop could not easily bulk buy from supermarkets because those often had limits. 'I think a lot of people have this perception that we buy bulk and we're going to get cheap discounts, but it's not the case, the supermarkets have the pull with that sort of stuff.' Cubis said she was paying $9.60 for a 500g block of butter – and that was not including GST. 'We're having to adjust our recipes to use less butter, and that's not my preference because we have tried and true recipes that we don't want to change. 'We're a dairy country, we should have access to dairy produce because these are farmed on our land and with our resources.' She said the rising butter prices hurt the most and it was a 'kick in the teeth'. 'We don't want to change things, but we are having to make a few adjustments.' The Bay of Plenty Times looked into the cheapest options for common grocery foods at three central Tauranga supermarkets. At the time of writing, Pak'nSave Cameron Road sold a 500g of Pams Pure Butter for $8.29. The same product retailed for $8.79 at New World Gate Pā. Woolworths Tauranga had a 500g Woolworths Salted Butter for $8.19. A standard 2-litre Pams Milk from Pak'nSave was $4.40, $4.48 at New World, and at Woolworths, a 2-litre Woolworths Milk Standard Bottle was $4.43. The price of a standard loaf of white bread was similar across the board. Pams Value White Toast Fresh Sliced Bread was $1.39 at Pak'nSave, $1.49 at New World, and Woolworths sold their Essentials Sliced Bread White for $1.49. Pam's 1kg of Edam cheese was $12.59 at Pak'nSave, $13.29 at New World, and Woolworths Tauranga had a 1kg block of Everyday cheddar cheese for $12.49. Foodstuffs, which operates Pak'nSave and New World, reported a 2.8% year-on-year rise in retail prices for goods in its food price inflation basket. Foodstuffs said the business was 'very aware' of the pressure food prices placed on households. 'We're committed to continuing to support our customers and communities through what remains a challenging time for many.' Woolworths New Zealand said it was working 'even harder' to give customers good value and a 'fantastic' shopping experience. 'Customers are facing continued cost-of-living pressures, and delivering value is a top priority of ours.' Westpac economist Paul Clark told the NZ Herald in early May that retail prices for butter generally moved in line with export prices and it was likely prices would 'ratchet higher in coming months'.
