Food and Beverage

The industry is naturally collaborative, collegial, visible, and focused on meeting the shifting demands of consumers. Providing a unique opportunity to build upon its heritage, skills, and creativity to deliver a coastal food and culinary wonderland.

The sector has a well-established Cluster group that is a collaborative response to artisanal and entrepreneurial appetite to develop innovative products, create and share resources, and build unique destination-based hospitality experiences.

The sector has a strong interest in working together to unlock further market success and growth and has developed an industry led game plan that will support that future growth.

Together we can grow a food and beverage sector that is sustainable, productive, and economically beneficial for the people and the land. Maintaining our competitiveness through the sharing of skills, labour, space and infrastructure to grow profitably, are vital for achieving our vision.

The Committee was endorsed by active cluster members in July 2026 and has been designed to provide a clear sector voice as the cluster continues to grow, mature and move from connection into practical action.

The Committee will help guide priorities, shape the 2026/27 work programme, support stronger communication across the sector, and make sure future activity reflects the needs and opportunities of Kāpiti food and beverage businesses.

This is an important step in the cluster’s development, moving from Council-supported connection and facilitation toward a more sector-led model.

"It’s a privilege to step into the Chair role for the Kāpiti Food and Beverage Cluster Leadership Committee. There is already so much strength across this sector, with our growers and producers through to hospitality, retail, beverage makers and visitor experiences. The opportunity now is to bring those parts together in a more practical way, listen to what businesses need, and help shape a work programme that creates real value for the wider cluster."

Harry Gibbs, CLC Chair

A sector-led structure

The Leadership Committee is based around six key parts of the local food and beverage value chain.

What the Leadership Committee will do

The Cluster Leadership Committee will help guide the next stage of the Kāpiti Food and Beverage Cluster. Its role is to support sector leadership, bring industry feedback into planning, and help shape practical activity that creates value for food and beverage businesses across the district.

The Committee will help:

• bring sector feedback into planning and decision-making

• identify shared barriers and opportunities

• shape the annual work programme

• support market access and buyer pathway activity

• strengthen local procurement and supplier connections

• guide future capability, networking and promotional activity

• support food and beverage events and activations

• keep the wider food and beverage community connected

Focus for the year ahead

Over the next year, the Cluster Leadership Committee will help shape activity across a number of priority areas.

These may include:

• market access and B2B opportunities

• local procurement and supplier-buyer connections

• Kāpiti food and beverage promotion

• capability and networking support

• food and beverage events and seasonal activations

• Kāpiti producer visibility

• sustainability and long-term cluster development

• shared infrastructure and scale-up pathways

• collateral and storytelling for the sector

The wider cluster will continue to be kept informed as this work develops, with opportunities for businesses to provide feedback and help shape future activity.

The Kāpiti Food and Beverage Cluster is open to local food and beverage businesses across the district.

The cluster connects businesses across the food and beverage value chain, including:

• growers and primary producers

• artisan food makers

• beverage makers

• cafés, restaurants and hospitality businesses

• food trucks, caterers and venues

• retailers, markets and distributors

• visitor-facing food and beverage experiences

• businesses supporting local food production, promotion and growth

Being part of the cluster means you can stay connected to sector updates, networking opportunities, capability support, campaigns, events, market access activity and wider food and beverage initiatives.

Cluster members will also have opportunities to provide feedback as the Leadership Committee shapes the work programme for the year ahead.

Whether you are an established business, a growing producer, a new food venture or a visitor-facing operator with a food and beverage connection, we encourage you to get involved.