About Us

Penguin Wholesalers (Whangarei) Ltd was born out of Sherwood Fisheries Ltd, better known as the Onerahi Fish and Chip shop. Dave and Patsy Walters owned the "chippie" and needing to keep Patsy busy, they purchased a party ice machine and small truck. This grew to the point where they decided to sell the shop, take the plunge, and try their hand at distributing frozen food.

Thirty plus years later Penguin is a little different to what it was in 1975. But some things are the same, Dave and Patsy are still at work most days keeping standards up to scratch. Since the early days of Distribution a few more strings have been added to the bow:

• Importing and manufacturing. We import Italian olive oil, tomatoes and other gourmet products.
• Daregal - French herbs, Groko and Ardo Belgian spinach and Phillips Foods crabmeat are examples.
• And there are the homegrown products like kumara chips and baby kumara that come frozen and peeled.
• Crumbed seafoods are another Penguin speciality.
• Temperature controlled transport - seven big rigs running Auckland - Kaitaia.
• The original three staff have swelled to around seventy five.

Why has Penguin managed to survive and grow?

• - We know Northland - we support our customers all year, not just at peak times.
• - We know Food.
• - We try to respond to what our customers need - our customers pay the bills, Penguin only handles the money.
• - We're local - not part of a South African owned multi-national (Crean). We employ staff locally and support local businesses where possible.
• - Like everyone - we make mistakes. But we take responsibility and fix them if possible, and we deliver over 98.5% of what our customers order.
• - Our membership of the New Zealand Associated Refrigerated Food Distributors (NZARFD) gives us the buying grunt we need as this is New Zealands biggest broadline distribution network with 18 members nationwide.

If you need food delivered to you in Northland and it's important to you that it arrives how and when you ordered it, and you want to deal with locals who care about your business - call us.

Quality doesn't cost - it pays.