Woolworths New Zealand opens a supermarket for bees

Bees pollinate approximately 75% of human crops and 90% of wild plants, playing a pivotal role in global food security and the natural world. And yet, the average lifespan of an adult honey bee has halved in the past 50 years, and one in ten species of wild bees are facing extinction. As New Zealanders welcome spring, Woolworths New Zealand raised awareness about the plight of pollinators by opening a supermarket for bees.

Designed as a miniature supermarket, the Woolworths for Bees pop-up was stocked with fresh flowers that bees love. Human visitors could learn more about bees from on-site beekeepers and information placards, complete education challenges, and purchase seeds to grow their own bee-friendly garden. The supermarket was open from 28 September to 6 October 2024 at Ambury Farm in Auckland.

Missed opportunity: Woolworths doesn't mention the role of pesticides in the demise of bees. As the country's second-largest grocery chain, it could arguably do more to protect bees by stimulating sales of produce grown with no or minimal pesticides than by opening a temporary haven for pollinators. That said, the activation reflects a growing understanding that environmental and human welfare are deeply interconnected.

Woolworths highlights that interconnectedness by creating a 'shop' that provides the same kind of essential service for bees that supermarkets do for people — thereby drawing an easily understood parallel between the natural world's needs and human needs. Related initiatives? Last month, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa submitted a proposal for the International Criminal Court to classify ecocide as a crime, alongside genocide. Earlier this year, Spotify recognized Nature as an artist.