Snacksperts put taste buds to work in Great Kiwi Snack Off
- Almost 9000 people applied to become an Air New Zealand snackspert
- Foodies from 47 towns and cities across Aotearoa applied to become a snackspert
- Five snacksperts from Christchurch, Wellington, New Plymouth and Auckland chosen
- Multiple snacks tried and taste tested to be narrowed down further
Nearly 9000 foodies from around the country have applied to get their snack on as part of Air New Zealand's Great Kiwi Snack Off.
Earlier this month, the airline put the call out for five "snacksperts" to put their taste buds to the test and help Air New Zealand make its final decision on what snacks it will serve onboard.
The response was overwhelming with thousands of snack enthusiasts from Gisborne to Greymouth to Gore, from Bulls to Bluff, putting their names forward.
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says everyone from chefs to food bloggers to farmers, firefighters and doctors applied.
"People of all ages applied. From as young as eight to 83! We even had applications from people who used to work in chocolate, chip and ice cream factories."
"It's been amazing to see just how much New Zealanders love our snacks and how much they want to be a part of deciding which of our tasty treats get to go onboard for all our customers to enjoy."
After going through the thousands of applications, Air New Zealand's snack team had the difficult task of narrowing down them down to decide on just five.
The five snacksperts who were chosen wowed the team with their answers and their clear enthusiasm for the roles.
They came from Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington and Christchurch and included an 81-year-old who described herself as a naughty snacker, with a sweet tooth and a regular craving for an Air New Zealand cookie to dunk in a cup of tea.
The youngest snackspert was 10 and was joined by her mum from Wellington.
They were all flown up to Auckland and invited to Air New Zealand's headquarters to taste test the shortlisted snacks, many which highlight classic Kiwi flavours.
"Our shortlisted snacks were put to the test and our snacksperts gave each of them score them out of 10. With many scoring an average of 8 and 9 out of 10 for flavor and texture, we're confident our customers will love some of these new snacks as much as we do."
"The snacksperts also wrote down their feedback, and some of the reactions and comments we received were fantastic."
One of our snacksperts, a firefighter from New Plymouth, was a big fan of one of the chocolately treats being taste tested. "I'm a big fan of these, they're outstanding, I'd eat the plane empty if you had these onboard," he said.
While another snackspert was impressed by one of the salty snacks on offer, "salty, tangy, crunchy, tasty all dialled to the max," she said.
Now their feedback is being collated and considered and a decision about what snacks customers will soon be able to enjoy onboard will be announced in the coming month.
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Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.
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About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has 104 operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 7.3 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. Pre-Covid, the airline flew more than 17 million passengers every year, with 3,400 flights per week. Air New Zealand was recently named the World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety. Last year, Air New Zealand won Best Corporate Reputation in New Zealand – 8th year in a row.
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Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.