What Speirs Group does

Speirs Group Limited is a New Zealand-incorporated investment holding company with origins dating to 1966 and a 100+ year business heritage. Following its 2016 delisting from the NZX Alternative Market, the group operates as a fully private, 100% New Zealand-owned entity with approximately 1,133,596 shares held across 353 shareholders, the top 20 of whom control roughly 70.81% of the equity. Its principal operating asset is a 67% interest in Speirs Foods (2018) LP, the vehicle through which all material operating activity is conducted; non-core financial services (EL&F) were divested in May 2024 and the group's 2025 Redeemable Preference Shares were redeemed early in May 2025, simplifying the capital structure.

Speirs Foods produces fresh salads and fresh-cut vegetables at a 2,000 sqm facility in Rangitikei, New Zealand, running up to 70 product lines five days per week and supplying both supermarket retailers and the broader food service industry across the country. The business model is wholesale B2B: volume-based supply of perishable prepared produce into NZ retail and foodservice channels, with revenue mechanics driven by SKU volume, category penetration with major grocery customers, and production-throughput efficiency at the single Rangitikei site. The group employs between 101 and 250 people, the majority of whom sit within the Speirs Foods operating subsidiary.

Governance is led by Executive Chair Lee Simpson (CEO since 2008, Chair since November 2022), alongside founder-family directors Nelson Speirs and David Speirs, preserving long-tenured continuity. The holding-company structure means the group's reported earnings reflect equity-accounted contributions from Speirs Foods (2018) LP and investment income, rather than consolidated product revenue, and no consolidated revenue, ARR, or segment turnover is publicly disclosed.

Name

Speirs Group

Legal name

Speirs Group Limited

Website

https://speirs.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Speirs Group Limited is a privately held New Zealand investment holding company whose principal asset is a 67% stake in Speirs Foods (2018) LP, a Rangitikei-based producer of fresh salads and fresh-cut vegetables supplying NZ supermarkets and food service operators across the country.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rangitihi

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: Speirs Group is an investment company focused on the food sector. The primary investment is Speirs Foods (2018) LP with a 67% holding. Investment returns over the medium term aim to exceed the average NZX50 return as measured by capital growth and dividends to shareholders.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Speirs Group is a New Zealand investment holding company whose core operating business, conducted through its 67%-owned subsidiary Speirs Foods (2018) LP, is the manufacture of fresh salads and fresh-cut vegetables. Production occurs at a 2,000 square metre facility in Rangitikei, where up to 70 product lines are produced five days per week for distribution to supermarkets and the food service industry across New Zealand.

Product overview

Speirs Group is a New Zealand-based investment company focused on the food sector. Its primary asset is Speirs Foods, which operates a fresh food production business specializing in salads and fresh-cut vegetables. The company manufactures up to 70 product lines at its 2000 square metre Rangitikei facility and distributes nationwide to supermarkets and food service industry. Speirs Group holds a 67% stake in Speirs Foods (2018) LP as its main investment vehicle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Speirs Foods Fresh Salads and Fresh-Cut Vegetables Fresh salad and fresh-cut vegetable products manufactured at a 2,000 square metre production facility in Rangitikei, with up to 70 product lines produced five days per week and distributed to supermarkets and food service operators across New Zealand.
• Speirs Foods (2018) LP Investment Holding The 67%-owned investment vehicle through which Speirs Group operates its fresh food production business, with a strategy of maintaining a strong national position in fresh salads, growing sales through new product development, improving production and distribution efficiency, and maintaining the highest levels of food safety.

Quantifiable outcome

• Investment returns target exceeding average NZX50 return

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• LeaderBrand: LeaderBrand is a New Zealand fresh vegetable producer and supplier with broad retail and foodservice distribution, including packaged salads and fresh-cut produce. It is directly comparable to Speirs Foods in product mix (fresh vegetables/salads), NZ supermarket and foodservice customers, and category.
• Fresh Express: Fresh Express is a major US producer and processor of packaged salads and fresh vegetables, sold through supermarket and foodservice channels. It is a direct product-category peer to Speirs Foods in fresh-cut salads, even though geographically distinct.
• Woodhaven Gardens: Woodhaven Gardens is a New Zealand grower and packer of fresh vegetables supplying major NZ supermarket chains and foodservice operators. Its scale, customer base (NZ grocery and foodservice), and fresh vegetable focus make it a close regional peer to Speirs Foods.
• Taylor Farms: Taylor Farms is one of North America's largest producers of fresh-cut salads, vegetables, and prepared produce serving retail and foodservice. Although US-based, its product category (fresh salads and cut vegetables) and dual-channel retail/foodservice model closely mirror Speirs Foods' core business.
• T&G Global: T&G Global is one of New Zealand's largest fresh produce growers, marketers and distributors, supplying fresh fruits and vegetables to domestic and export markets. Like Speirs Foods, it operates within NZ fresh-produce supply chains serving supermarkets and foodservice.

Broad incumbents

• Bonduelle: Bonduelle is a global leader in packaged and fresh vegetables (canned, frozen, fresh-cut salads) with retail and foodservice distribution worldwide. It is a broader incumbent in the same underlying fresh/preserved vegetable category as Speirs Foods, though at much larger scale and with international reach.
• Heinz Wattie's: Heinz Wattie's is a major New Zealand processed-food manufacturer (owned by Kraft Heinz) producing canned vegetables, sauces and prepared foods for the domestic market. It is a broad incumbent in the NZ food-manufacturing space and shares supermarket-customer overlap with Speirs Foods.

Others

• Scales Corporation: Scales Corporation is a New Zealand-listed agribusiness investment and operating company with interests in food, produce and logistics. It is comparable to Speirs Group as a diversified NZ-based food/agribusiness holding structure, though it is publicly listed and significantly larger and broader.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Speirs Group