Formed in 1970 as a private company, Meadow Mushrooms Ltd. is today the largest producer of mushrooms in NZ and one of the top two in Australasia. With the head office based at it’s original site in Prebbleton 20 minutes outside of Christchurch, Meadow Mushrooms Ltd. employs approx 500 people nationwide.

It is the only NZ grower with full vertical integration from the production of spawn through to the dispatch to market and has a diverse range of products all with the common theme of a mushroom base.

Meadow Mushrooms Ltd. has invested significantly in it’s development particularly in recent years. In 1995 the New Zealand Mushrooms farm in Morrinsville was purchased. Following this substantial investment was made in the upgrading and expansion of facilities. This involved the introduction of the latest technology and computerised growing systems to both farms (in Christchurch and Morrinsville), and the building and utilisation of new state of the art aerated compost yards for the provision of compost to the two farms.

In addition to these changes have been an expansion of the product range and many developments in packaging.

The combined farms now produce on average 125 tonne a week. Two thirds of this comes from the Christchurch farms and one third from the Morrinsville farm. The product mix is dominated by the market favourite, the white button mushroom. In addition to this are the more exotic varieties - Portabellos (Breakfast and BBQ Flats) and Swiss Browns (brown buttons).

The range of fresh products are sold domestically as well as a portion that are exported. They are dispatched pre-packaged as well as in bulk loose trays containing three or four kilo’s dependent on the product.

Meadow Mushrooms Ltd today consists of Meadow Mushrooms in Prebbleton, New Zealand Mushrooms in Morrinsville (an hour south of Auckland), Miranda Laboratories where spawn is produced and Emma Foods where mushrooms are processed for canning and dehydration.

Over the years Meadow Mushrooms has become a well known brand nationally. Heavy branded promotions began in 1997 as a means to drive growth in the market. In 1999 the two farms begin promoting under a single brand identity of Meadows. The product range under this brand extends beyond the fresh category into prepared frozen foods such as golden and garlic crumbed mushrooms.