New Zealand Commerce Commission green lights Woolworths' acquisition of Beak & Johnston

The Commerce Commission has approved Woolworths' acquisition of ready-meal maker Beak & Johnston, stating the deal is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in New Zealand markets. The decision was made after an intense increased scrutiny of the country's grocery market and followed an investigation into potential impacts on rival retailers and suppliers.

Beak & Johnston produces chilled and frozen ready-made meals, pies, chilled and canned soups and slow-cooked meats. Its brands includes Artisano, Beak and Sons, Pitango, Ready Chef and Strength Meals Co.

The decision follows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) verdict on April 9 to approve the proposal.


Commission chair John Small said the deal was "unlikely" to lead to the merged entity refusing to supply Beak & Johnston products to rival retailers.

"We don't believe that Woolworths would have the ability or incentive to restrict rival retailers' access to convenience or ready-meals, nor do we consider any attempt to do so would result in a substantial lessening of competition in relevant retail markets," Small said.

The decision came at a time of increased scrutiny of the big two supermarket operators' (Foodstuffs and Woolworths) power over the grocery market.

"Our investigation considered whether there was a risk of Woolworths either delisting the products of rival suppliers to Beak & Johnston or compromising the attractiveness of their products," Small said.

"Ultimately, we didn't consider delisting of rival suppliers to be a likely scenario in this case, as Woolworths is unlikely to want to reduce the range of products it sells in these categories, which are generally projected to grow."

In deciding whether to approve the acquisition the commission considered the potential impact on competition in national markets for a range of food products that B&J manufactures. This includes slow-cooked meats, chilled and canned soups, chilled and frozen ready-made meals, and pies (which are all different types of convenience or ready meals).

The business also manufactures private label products for retailers and other food service providers and is a non-exclusive distributor of the ‘Impossible’ meat alternative brand in New Zealand.

Small also said that rival grocery retailers could still acquire products from alternative suppliers across the relevant categories, whether they are branded B&J products or private label products that it manufactures.