Who Enters?

The Great New Zealand Sausage Competition draws entries from across New Zealand, from small owner-operated businesses to large producers. No matter the size of their business, butchers across the land compete head to head on the quality of their products to vie for the title of Supreme Award Winner.

Sausages are judged blind, meaning the judges don’t know who entered them as they smell, feel, look at and taste them.

Each year we profile one or two of our entrants on the official entry form. You can read some examples here. We’d love to hear from our other entrants too. If you have a story to tell about how entering the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition has developed your business, and reputation for making quality goods, email info@retailmeat.org.nz

Allenton Meats
Heller Tasty
Spooners of Devonport
Westmeat
Peter Timbs Meats
Little Boys
Fishers Meats

Allenton Meat Centre
Allenton Meat Centre is famous for their Cumberland sausage, thanks to their gold medal win in the traditional category of the 2008 Great New Zealand Sausage competition.

The small butchery in Ashburton, Canterbury only staffs nine people, but they churn out hundreds of kilos of sausages a week, all handmade from local produce.

Founders and owners Paddy and Marie Kennedy say the demand for their sausages has been huge since the competition last year.

“We go through about ten times more Cumberland sausage than we were selling before the competition. You’d think it would slow down over time, but we’re just as busy – if not more – a year on from the award.”

Allenton Meat Centre began supplying Christchurch café “Seven” with their Cumberland sausages after the café heard about the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition gold medalists, and gave Paddy a call

“Hearing from the Christchurch cafe was a big boost for us, especially as they called about nine months after the event,” says Paddy. “The competition’s been a great accolade for the business.”

Paddy says being a small butchery has allowed him to experiment more freely with sausage creations because he can readily access feedback from the locals and refine the tastes to those who consume them. He encourages any butchery – big or small – to enter the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition.

“Don’t doubt it, just go for it. It’s the best advertising you can get.”

Allenton Meat Centre also got a silver medal in the traditional category last year for their smoked cheese griller sausages.

Heller Tasty
Heller Tasty has entered the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition every year since it began in 1994 and more often than not, they’ve won gold.

In 2002 they took out the Supreme Award with their London Pride sausage.

Today Heller’s is a household name. However, when they first entered they were a business of about 10 staff, and had just moved to their current site in Kaiapoi, north of Christchurch.

Founder Todd Heller says the Competition is a highlight for the company each year and has been incredibly beneficial to their brand development.

“The way we make our award-winning sausages hasn’t changed since I began the business in 1985,” says Todd.

“The competition has recognised the quality of sausages and has proved that we’re amongst the best in New Zealand. The Competition medals are a mark of quality that our company prides itself on.”

Today Heller Tasty supplies every supermarket in New Zealand with their sausages. They have over 400 staff and in addition to their Kaiapoi base, they now operate a state-of-the-art sausage plant in Auckland.

“We have a wall in our Kaiapoi office with over 40 gold, silver and bronze medals that we have won in the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition,” says Todd.

“The awards wall is a great inspiration to all the staff; it shows that Heller Tasty have the same level of integrity and innovation as we did when we started.”

In 2007 Heller Tasty won gold for their Spicy Italian Precook, Spicy Italian, Lamb and Mint, and Turkish Beef.

Spooners of Devonport
Winning gold in the pork category of the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition 2006 has led to a business boom for Spooners of Devonport.

The Auckland butcher has increased sales of the medal winning sausages by 200 percent and at the height of the summer barbecue season was selling eight times the amount of the previous year.

“The boost to business has been phenomenal,” said Mark Spooner, who devised the winning recipe. “There was media coverage, we had some signs made for outside and people just flocked in. It brought us a lot of new customers from all over the area.”

Westmeat
Wellington sausage manufacturer Westmeat is no stranger to success at the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition. Their 'Thuringer Bratwurst', which is sold under the LUSCUTTO label, has twice achieved the coveted Supreme Award, and from 2001-2006 was the recipient of a gold medal.

While all of their wins have increased the awareness of their brand, it was their first Supreme Award win that radically altered their business. Westmeat went from selling 20-30 kilos of sausage in a week to selling a ton in the month of December, and their sales figures are still strong. “It was amazing. Right from the moment our Bratwurst was announced Supreme Award Winner on radio and television, it was all go. It was like we had hit the jackpot,” says Grahame Law.

Peter Timbs Meats
Peter Timbs Meats in Christchurch, also known as ‘the butchers with a difference’, are very proud of the fact they make all their own sausages. Since 1999, their sausages have continually been recognised in the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition, with medals for their Spanish sausage, Nuremburg, saveloy, black pudding, pork sausage and a gold medal for their traditional breakfast sausage.

“The Competition has been really good. It is purely a marketing exercise for us. For the first couple of years each time we had a win we ran an advertising campaign around it. The wins definitely lead to both an increase in sales and customers,” says Manager, Chris Timbs.

Little Boys
Little Boys of Te Aroha was only two years old when their Duck and Porcini sausage, designed by owner and chef Jeremy Schmid, was judged the Supreme Award winner in the 2004 Great New Zealand Sausage Competition. Then in 2005, the same sausage was awarded a gold medal in the gourmet section of the competition.

“From a business profile perspective the Competition has been great,” says General Manager, Clare Harold. Since taking the top honours, Little Boys has received extensive media coverage, drawing attention to both Jeremy and the product.

“The biggest boost has been the heightened sense of our brand and what we do,” says Harold. Little Boys have also re-branded to take full advantage of their wins, with retail packs displaying both awards.

Fishers Meats Ltd
The 2003 Great New Zealand Sausage Competition saw Fishers Meats of Dunedin take out top honours with their gold medal-winning pure pork sausage ‘Supreme’.

Fishers Meats earned a gold medal for their Old English sausage in 2002. Nick Fisher, founder and owner of Fishers Meats says, “the first win definitely increased our exposure and consequent sales.”

He adds, “the competition is a good opportunity to increase your business profile on a national forefront.”

Fisher felt customers were really responsive to the hype surrounding the competition. He says, “they all knew about it when they came in.”