The Government is calling for bold ideas to help lower grocery prices for Kiwi shoppers—potentially even breaking up the country’s supermarket giants.

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis has announced a formal Request for Information (RFI), seeking input from both local and international supermarket investors.

The goal is to identify what changes are needed—legal, regulatory or otherwise—to allow new players to compete on a national scale and drive prices down.

Minister Willis says Kiwi families are being let down by the current system, where just two companies—Foodstuffs and Woolworths—dominate the market.

“Our current supermarket system isn’t working for Kiwi families,” she said.

“Two dominant players are limiting competition, and shoppers are paying the price.”

While previous reforms have aimed to improve things, the Minister believes they haven’t gone far enough.

This new RFI asks potential challengers what’s holding them back and what the Government can do to help.

At the same time, officials are working with external advisors to explore more significant options—including the possibility of breaking up existing supermarket chains to create space for more competition.

No decisions have been made yet, but Minister Willis says if legislation is needed, she expects to bring proposals to Cabinet by mid-2025 and introduce a bill to Parliament by the end of the year.

While change won’t happen overnight, this could be the first serious step toward more choice at the checkout, better prices, and fairer competition for Coast families.

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