Since 1987, Foodfirst has been more than just a food distributor, it has been a cornerstone of New Zealand’s communities.

Few individuals have had as profound an impact on New Zealand’s cooperative economy as John Tavendale (ONZM). For more than five decades, John has been a guiding force in agribusiness, lending his wisdom, resilience, and strategic vision to numerous organisations.

A proud Foodfirst cooperative member and a true NZ Coop Icon Foodfirst is proud to reflect on the journey of one of its most dedicated and inspiring members, the Owen family, who this year celebrate 40 years in the food distribution industry. Their story is one of vision, resilience, and deep-rooted values.

It’s Cooperative Business NZ’s financial year end which is a great opportunity to provide a round-up of our past year’s activity! Here’s a wrap-up from our new CEO Saya Wahrlich.

Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) is a farmer-owned co-operative and world leader in pasture-based dairy genetics and agri-tech that have helped to improve New Zealand dairy herds for over 100 years.

Dr Antony (Ants) Roberts has dedicated his career to advancing agricultural science, making a profound impact on fertiliser cooperative Ravensdown and the broader agri-sector.

One of the greatest challenges for cooperatives and mutuals is to be able to quantify and articulate the value that your businesses create. Often the financial metrics of corporate success are not easily applied when there is a mutual business purpose.

Two years ago, Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods left devastation in their wake, creating one of the biggest challenges rural New Zealand has ever faced. As communities rebuilt, FMG stood shoulder to shoulder with its clients, paying out over $300 million in claims.

In 2014 in the heart of the Wairarapa, on a wet and cold Tuesday evening in August, a group of like-minded independent automotive workshop owners gathered around the table. They had a shared challenge. From that meeting, the Blackfern Co-operative was born.

Microsoft’s announcement of the end of support for Windows 10 in October this year has raised pressing concerns for businesses, particularly for cooperatives that are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), or co-ops with members that are SMEs.

To help our members navigate this transition, we’ve partnered with Cyclone to create a resource that answers critical questions and provides actionable insights tailored to SMEs.

It is with profound respect and gratitude that we reflect on the life and contributions of Brian Cameron, the inaugural chair of Cooperative Business NZ and a true cooperative icon. A trailblazer in both the cooperative and irrigation sectors, Brian’s enduring legacy is etched into the fabric of New Zealand’s economy and communities.

Cooperative Business NZ is working alongside Lifeline Connect Training, an organisation born from Lifeline, to bring mental health and wellbeing training to a cohort of co-operatives in a Waikato/BOP pilot. Lifeline Connect Training is professional skill development for your people leaders and customer-facing team members to safely and confidently support customers, colleagues and the community. Your team members will learn how to look after their own mental health and wellbeing when engaged in client-facing work and speaking with clients under stress. Members based in Waikato/BOP or with branches in the region will hear from us soon with more details on this valuable pilot. 

It’s Cooperative Business NZ’s financial year end which is a great opportunity to provide a round-up of our past year’s activity! Here’s a wrap-up from our new CEO Saya Wahrlich.

This case study sets out the various actions taken to enable the establishment of a co-operative, using NZ Truffle Co-operative as an example.

It’s Cooperative Business NZ’s 2022-2023 financial year end which is a great opportunity to provide a year in review round-up on our past year’s activity! Here’s a wrap-up from CEO Roz Henry.

Learn more about Full Member NZPM Co-operative's sustainability journey and gain insights into how you can implement their learnings into your business's journey.

In February 2023, we had the pleasure of hearing from Lisa Callagher, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, in a webinar focussed on her recent award-winning research on agri co-ops and climate change.

In this interview series, we get to know our co-operative members. Today we talk with Ion Technologies founder Jamie Penney about the business and why they chose to establish a co-operative.

Founded in 2017, Ion Technologies is a Bay of Islands-based technology company that specialises in delivering a wide range of services including developing data dashboards that help businesses see how they are performing at a glance as well as creating mobile apps.

Today Ion has a team of three co-operative members, who work with clients throughout New Zealand and the world. The three members (Jamie Penney, Nick Lironi-Irvine and Phillip Hutchings) are all software developers who work remotely.