Marton business wins supreme food award

Staff at Speirs Foods in Marton prepare spiralised vegetable noodles. Photo / Bevan Conley

They're curly, delicious and nutritious - and Speirs Foods' vegetable noodles took the top prize at the New Zealand Food Awards on October 17.

They won the Massey University Supreme Award, as well as the Massey University Health and Wellbeing Award and the James & Wells Business Innovation Award at the gala dinner in Auckland.

The spiralised vegetable noodles come in four types - zucchini, butternut, kumara and medley (a mix of beetroot, carrot and zucchini). They are prepacked and can be eaten raw in salads, added to stir fries or microwaved.

The panel of four judges said they were a tasty alternative to pasta, and their growing popularity reflected the changing tastes of New Zealand consumers.

The noodles are made by Speirs Foods in Marton, under the The Whole Mix label.

Speirs' managing director Ross Kane said they were a celebration of the journey the company has been on over the past 12 to 18 months.

It had set a goal of being innovative and producing what people want in the market place, and it had a reinvigorated team with the right culture.

The awards are sponsored by Massey University, and have been going since 1987. Other products that won this year include a buffalo mozzarella, a feijoa kasundi, deer milk and a vegan cheese.

Another Rangitikei-based product won the supreme award in 2016. It was Richard and Suze Redmayne's Coastal Spring Lamb.