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 flavour 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.
