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Why we prepack
Back in 1997 we believed that all New Zealanders should have a right to enjoy the benefits of organically grown produce. The main reason people gave for not buying organics was availability (or lack of it!). That’s why we decided to have a pre-packed range in supermarkets. Pre-packing and bar-coding is the only way in which we can:

1. Preserve the authenticity of the organic status
2. Ensure traceability of each prepack.
3. Protect you from too many unwanted germs!
4. Charge the right amount (sometimes it is cheaper than conventional!)
5. Track sales for each store

We know about the adverse effects of too much packaging in the environment, and in our pockets too. At this stage however, it’s the only way we can get supermarkets to stock our range. We try to use as little packaging as possible, and recycled or recyclable materials whenever we can.

We have done trials with biodegradable packaging materials in an effort to stay away from plastic: potato starch trays, and corn starch produce bags mainly. Unfortunately they have not worked either because of the high water content of fruit and veges: the packaging would crumble down before getting to the store! Or because the materials were not transparent enough, and customer research indicated people would be unwilling to buy something they could not see.

We keep on waiting for the day when organics will be the norm and we can sell all our range loose, and conventional will have to be pre-packed!