Davis Food Ingredients

What Davis Food Ingredients does

Davis Food Ingredients, legally Davis Trading Co Limited, is a New Zealand-based, privately-held food ingredient distribution and supply chain company founded in 1967 in Wellington. The company sources over 8,000 food products globally and operates as what it describes as "the only fully integrated supply chain manager in the food ingredient business in New Zealand," covering importing, storage, blending, distribution, and retailing. It distributes through 11 strategically placed warehouses across the country, three retail storefronts in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington, and an e-commerce ordering platform at shop.davis.nz.

The company's product portfolio is organized across nine categories — bakery, convenience, dairy and eggs, desserts, dry foods, fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, seasonings, and sweets — and is complemented by a purpose-built production facility offering custom blending services and portion-controlled unit (PCU) solutions for jams, margarines, and gravies. Quality assurance is anchored in SQF/GFSI, HACCP, RSPO Supply Chain, NZ National Programme Level Three, and Woolworths Supplier Excellence Program certifications. Named enterprise customers include Woolworths, Costco, and YUM, alongside a "large food service client" reported to have saved more than NZ$25,000 annually through a matched custom gravy formulation.

Davis generates revenue primarily through transactional food ingredient distribution to B2B wholesale accounts (with credit account terms available on a monthly billing cadence) and B2C retail sales through its three storefronts. The company reports annual sales surpassing NZ$300 million, remains 100% Kiwi owned and operated, and shows no evidence of institutional or private equity ownership, public listing, or external capital raises. Customer segments are organized horizontally across wholesale food businesses, retail resellers, and direct consumers.

Name

Davis Food Ingredients

Legal name

Davis Trading Co Limited

Website

https://davis.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Davis Food Ingredients (Davis Trading Co Limited) is a New Zealand-based, 100% Kiwi-owned food ingredient distributor sourcing 8,000+ products globally and distributing them through 11 warehouses, three retail stores, and an e-commerce platform to wholesale food businesses, retail resellers, and consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Ingredient Distribution

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Other Food Manufacturing (3119)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic Groceries & Shelf-Stable Foods Wholesale (AFAIAIAA)

Keywords

• Food ingredient distribution
• Wholesale food supply
• Bakery ingredients
• Custom food blending
• Bulk food retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Food Ingredient Distribution: Distribution of food ingredients to wholesale and retail customers. Revenue generated from sale of food products imported, stored, blended, and distributed throughout New Zealand. Handles both B2B wholesale accounts and B2C retail store sales.
2. Credit Account Sales: Business customers can apply for credit accounts with agreed payment terms, allowing them to pay for goods after delivery rather than cash on delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Davis Food Ingredients is a fully integrated food ingredient supply chain company in New Zealand that imports, stores, blends, and distributes over 8,000 food products to wholesale food businesses, retail resellers, and the general public. The company operates a purpose-built production facility for custom blending, packaging, and portion-controlled unit (PCU) solutions, complemented by online ordering and a network of retail storefronts.

Product overview

Davis Food Ingredients operates as a fully integrated food ingredient supply chain company offering a diverse portfolio of over 8,000 food products across 9 main categories: Bakery, Convenience, Dairy & Eggs, Desserts, Dry Foods, Fruit & Vegetables, Meat & Poultry, Seasonings, and Sweets. The company provides end-to-end services including global sourcing, importing, warehousing across 11 strategically placed warehouses, custom blending according to client-specific recipes, distribution, and retail operations through three physical stores in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. The product portfolio is complemented by value-added services such as portion-controlled unit (PCU) solutions for jams and margarines, custom gravy mix formulation, and an online ordering platform (shop.davis.nz) for wholesale and retail customers throughout New Zealand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bakery Ingredients
• Convenience Food Ingredients
• Dairy & Eggs
• Desserts
• Dry Foods
• Fruit & Vegetables
• Meat & Poultry
• Seasonings
• Sweets
• Custom Blending Service
• Portion-Controlled Unit (PCU) Solutions

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual savings of over $25,000 for a large food service client through custom gravy mix formulation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Bunzl plc: Global distribution and outsourcing company with a foodservice and food-related packaging/distribution segment. Adjacent comparator given its similar role as an aggregator/distributor serving large enterprise foodservice end markets.

Broad incumbents

• US Foods: One of the largest US broadline foodservice distributors. Highly comparable in business model — broadline ingredient distribution to foodservice customers — and useful as a public-market comparable for Davis's blended distribution+manufacturing strategy.
• Performance Food Group: Major US foodservice distributor with broadline distribution model serving restaurants and foodservice operators. Comparable business model to Davis's wholesale foodservice channel.
• Sysco Corporation: Global leader in foodservice distribution. Although US-headquartered and far larger, it is the benchmark broadline foodservice distributor — directly comparable to Davis's business model of distributing broad-line ingredients to foodservice customers.
• Foodstuffs (North & South Island): New Zealand's largest grocery cooperative (PAK'nSAVE, New World, Four Square) which also owns wholesale operations. While primarily a retailer, its scale and grocery supply chain overlap with Davis's wholesale and retail store functions.

Direct peers

• Gilmours: New Zealand foodservice and wholesale food distributor serving restaurants, cafes, and hospitality operators. Direct competitor to Davis in NZ B2B food ingredient distribution with overlapping customer base of foodservice and small retailers.
• Bidfood New Zealand: NZ arm of Bidcorp, one of Australasia's largest foodservice distributors. Direct competitor serving industrial kitchens, restaurants, and catering operations — the same core customer segments Davis targets via its wholesale channel.
• Countrywide Meats: NZ-based protein/meat ingredient supplier serving foodservice and retail channels. Comparable to Davis's meat & poultry category offering and the foodservice enterprise customer use case.
• PFD Food Services: Australian/NZ foodservice distribution operator serving restaurants, hotels, and catering businesses with broad-line ingredients. Closely comparable to Davis in business model (broadline foodservice distribution) and customer base.

Regional players

• Cerebos Gregg's: Established New Zealand food manufacturer and distributor (branded food products and ingredients). Comparable as a NZ-headquartered, broad-line food manufacturer with overlapping product categories including seasonings, baking, and packaged foods.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/davisnewzealand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/davis-food-ingredients
• Instagraminstagram.com/davisfoodingredients

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Davis Food Ingredients