Satisfy your cravings with Z’s food to go and handcrafted beverage range

With so many people popping into Z sites to grab a satisfying snack or a refreshing drink over the course of 2024, some clear food and beverage trends have emerged.

So, what are the top picks when it comes to hot and cold treats, and what’s coming up on the horizon? 

Z’s Head of Category Management Darren Rusden fills us in on the year’s favourites – along with some exciting new flavours, and some clever twists on the classics.

Picking up a cold drink while you’re pulling in for petrol is a trend that doesn’t change, and people are often looking for a little kick start. “We sell a lot of energy drinks, with V leading the way,” says Darren. “But the choice of drinks has grown dramatically, with NZ owned ‘better for you’ options like Arepa, Chia Sisters, Karma Drinks and No Ugly products becoming more popular.”

Get your fix

And then, of course, there’s the trusty daily fix. “Coffee is one of our heroes,” says Darren. “We’ve been on a coffee transformation journey over the past few years, and we’re now known for being serious about coffee. Along with our new traditional espresso machines, we’ve got skillful staff who are trained baristas because we know how important quality and consistency is.”

But these days it’s not just the long blacks and flat whites that are bringing in the crowds. “We’ve significantly expanded our cold coffee offer into things like iced americanos, cappuccinos and mochas,” says Darren. “We’ve also added a full matcha range, both hot and cold, and on trend limited-time offers like a banoffee frappe which is available at the moment. We had Halloween drinks and pumpkin spice lattes through October, and we are now into Gingerbread Lattes for the festive season.”

As well as new flavour profiles there are also new and innovative techniques that Z have introduced. “We’ve brought in cold foam beverages” says Darren, “cold foam is a silky, blended foam that goes on top of a cold beverage, it’s an absolute winner and unique to the fuel channel.”

Always blow on the pie

Naturally, no discussion about New Zealand’s biggest hunger busters can take place without a discussion on pies. “Kiwis are fanatical about pies,” laughs Darren. “I’m an Australian and I thought I came from a pie country… until I moved to New Zealand. The quality of pies here is significantly above anything I’ve seen in the convenience channel. The hot bakery section is therefore always going to be at the heart of things for us.”

So, what’s winning in the warmer? “Of course, there are the classic Kiwi flavour profiles that you’ve always got to be on point with, like mince and cheese and butter chicken. But we’re also making sure we’re on trend with some different options like beef rendang and leading into Christmas we’ve got an amazing festive pie, with turkey, ham, potato, leek and cranberry sauce – basically it’s Christmas lunch in a pie.”

And it’s not just meat lovers that are catered for in the bakery. “The vegan space for us has grown strongly,” says Darren. “We’ve got a vegan pepper ‘shroom pie, a rotating limited time offer vegan mince and cheese pie, and we have a vegan sausage roll to go along with our vegan sandwich.”

Sweet escape

For fans of sweet treats, Z has been active in adding new offers to the cabinet, with a range of baked in-store pastries coming into the range. “We’ve got a maple pecan swirl, custard danish, cinnamon swirl and a ham & gouda croissant for the savoury lovers” says Darren. “Our site teams bake them every day, and they are really high-quality pastries. We’ve also brought back mini bites which are a customer favourite. These are a snack size slice of ginger oat crunch, caramel slice, lolly cake or rocky road. You can buy them individually or in pots and keep them in the car cup holder while you’re on the road.”

Along with adding great options to the mix there’s been another key factor to consider when catering to Kiwis over the past year. “One thing to acknowledge is the significant cost of living headwinds that New Zealanders have faced in recent times,” says Darren. “People are naturally watching their spending and that means customers are looking for real value in their purchases. That value needs to be underpinned by quality and in a format that is convenient for customers on the move.”

But even with Z’s elevated offering – designed to meet the needs of many tastebuds – there’s no sitting still when it comes to the menu. “As we look to the future and customer’s habits and shopping missions change, we’re making sure we’ve got great plans around food for now and food for later,” says Darren.

That’s good news for those who know that good quality fresh, fast and tasty food is always on trend.