Craft food is a whole different and rewarding experience. Shelves filled with intriguing ingredients, helpful and knowledgeable staff, and little bonus finds to pop in your basket (Mexican chilli hot chocolate balls, yes please!). Get to know your local gems and support small business owners while you’re at it – supermarket shopping is so 2019, darling.

Keeping it fresh and fruity at small grocers

Locally grown, in-season and organic fruit and veggies are the raison d’être at these fresh goods businesses.

Marshland Road is a fruit and veggie hotspot where excellent greengrocers rub shoulders and show off praiseworthy produce. Vegeland’s classic green crates are piled high with honest, imperfect, fresh and flavourful produce for very affordable prices. Your veggie bin will always be stocked with a subscription box from Streamside Organics, a certified organic garden farm in Leeston. You can also find Streamside stalls selling top-notch farm produce at Christchurch farmers’ markets.

An Edgeware fave since ages ago, Crisp and its accompanying café purvey the tasty and healthy. Get a load of premium groceries in the store and beautiful sammies, salads, smoothies and desserts in the café. Right in the heart of Riverside Market, Veggie Guy Bobby is peddling locally sourced fruit and veggies stacked in aesthetic AF wooden crates. Bobby and the team also make seasonal meals from their stock of fresh produce, including wicked breakfasts and energising salads. Speaking of markets, The Colombo runs its own indoor farmers’ market every Friday, with fresh goods and friendly faces aplenty.

Goodness straight from the oven at artisan bakeries

Carb lovers unite! These are the best places in town to fill your belly with bread-and-pastry happiness.

Vic’s Bakehouse is a household name around Ōtautahi, kneading out traditional loaves from a small artisan bakery in Ferrymead. The cinnamon buns are a must-try. If you’ve yet to indulge in a donut or morning bun from Grizzly Baked Goods, you haven’t lived. Order bread, bagels, sweets and even merch online, or treat yourself to a breakfast of champions at The Welder.

Bellbird Baked Goods specialises in perfect, chewy, flavourful sourdough and flaky, melt-in-your-mouth-y French pastries. There’s a huge selection to choose from in store and it’s all amazing. Bohemian Bakery smells heavenly and tastes even better. Get the village bakery feel at this local institution, perfect for stopping in for a morning pastry and coffee with people who know your name.

Zero waste and bulk buying at premium pantry fillers

Pass on the plastic and bust out your label maker, because the goods at these zero-waste stores will have you in pantry makeover mode.

Food For Thought is a haven for the plastic bad, refilling good mentality, with affordable prices, genuine goods, and great gifts like the jars of cookie mix. At GoodFor, you’ll find everything your pantry needs, neatly arranged in bulk bins and jars, and not a plastic bag in sight. It’s enough to have you making your own muesli and creating something magical from organic hulled buckwheat.

Liberty Market is a dream come true for anyone wanting the true 2022 grocery shopping experience – we’re talking special dietary foods, organic fruits and veggies, an in-store bakery, sustainable shopping and bulk buying.

Fresh cuts at quality butchers and fishmongers

Get the very best premium cuts and the freshest of fish from the experts in the field (and ocean).

Theo’s Fisheries is a Riccarton fresh fish institution that has been run by Theo and his descendants since 1950. You can also grab traditional fish ‘n’ chips from the window.

Make an at-home European feast with everything you need from Traiteur. This Merivale destination isn’t just Euro-style meat and smallgoods, but also cabinet food and pantry supplies to die for.

Well known for having one of the best ranges of top-quality meat in town, Peter Timbs has it all, from award-winning sausages to a special cabinet of aged meat. Christchurch’s top chefs use kai moana from Oceans North Seafood, and you can too. Get the catch of the day delivered to your door.

Ōtautahi has its own specialist in creating handcrafted jerky. Jerky master Mike at Stripped Jerky keeps things as natural as possible and works with a local meat supplier to keep waste to a minimum.

Something unique from speciality suppliers

Need an unusual, hard-to-find ingredient or just want to get more wholefoods in your life? These stores have you covered.

If you’re keen on living that healthy, organic and sustainable life, Piko Wholefoods has got what you need. Doing the special dietary ingredients thing long before it was cool, this wholefoods store is an icon for any Christchurch foodie.

The number one deli destination for any plant-based eater in Christchurch, Grater Goods is stacked with delicious alternatives to animal products, from meat and cheese to Worcestershire sauce. Taste @ Twenty is the corner store you’d give your right arm to live down the road from, serving fresh baked treats and killer coffee, as well as fresh produce, pesto, aioli, hummus, free range eggs and more.

Mikaku Tea is all about organic, hand-blended tea made right here in Christchurch. Get it online, join a monthly Mikaku tea workshop, or stock up at Lyttelton Market. And we guarantee you’ll find something you need at Riccarton Market, Christchurch’s largest market with artisan goods, fresh produce and flowers, and food from around the world.

Fitfood is your friend for saving time, eating healthy and hitting your goals with absolutely no compromise on taste. The selection of ready meals, meal kits and subscriptions cover the full culinary rainbow, from plant-based food to keto, weight management and family meals.

Premium coffee from local roasters

No shopping basket would be complete without caffeine, and these local roasters have the goods to put some pep in your step.

Crafted Coffee Company has been roasting its speciality coffee for over ten years, and sell blends and single origins both in store and online. You can sign up for a subscription as well, so you'll never have to struggle through a morning without coffee ever again. Switch Espresso is ethically sourced from some of the best coffee-producing regions in the world – pop in to any of the three wicked cafés or jump online to order a lip-smackingly good brew by way of beans, grind, or subscription.