Welcome to New World, probably one my favorite grocery stores.  In Auckland, there were two major grocery store chains, New World and Countdown. Both were about a half mile from the house and I did checkout both, but figured out I liked New World slightly better. It was newer, cleaner, and seemed to be better stocked.

Here’s my research data on New World in Birkenhead;

• 8 apple varieties
• 78 bread varieties, and frankly I could have missed some. There was SO much bread!
• 33 milk varieties
• 8 aisles

Other comments about food in Auckland, New Zealand:

• Produce was very seasonal. We were in New Zealand at the end of fall, which means I struggled to find produce that was out of season. For example, zero strawberries or berries of any kind actually.  We did find pumpkins, squash, and apples, which we enjoyed greatly.
• I cooked a lot in Auckland and it was lovely. We had a nice, full size kitchen at the house, so it made it easy to enjoy home cooked meals.
• I noticed more overweight people quickly in NZ. I hate to say that, but after traveling so much, and realizing how physical small the rest of the world is, it is a shock when you return to the western style of living.  After visiting the grocery store, I also quickly noticed all the western-type products. Tons of sugary cereal, a massive chip aisle, lots of frozen or prepackaged foods, and the bread aisle was insane.
• BYOB .. seriously. At New World, everyone brought bags. There was even a massive sign on the entry floor reminding you to bring your bags.  New World did not have any paper or plastic bags. If you forget, you had to purchase bags.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from New World:

^ This is something the USA must start doing! So great!

^ COLD MILK!  So happy!

^ The endless bread … 

^ We tried several bacon options, though we never found one we liked. 

^ The deli was incredible. We tried several of the salads, deli meat, and even some of the warm food options like the mac and cheese, rotisserie chicken, and baked ham.