In November 1988 the Buy NZ Made message regained momentum when the NZ Council of Trade Unions and the NZ Manufacturers’ Federation launched the Buy New Zealand Made Campaign Ltd with principal sponsor Printpac- UEB. Buy NZ Made is now a wholly- owned subsidiary of Business New Zealand and licenses use of the kiwi in a triangle trademarks and logos. Manufacturing members may use the kiwi in a triangle on their goods that qualify, under the Fair Trading Act, to be labelled as Made in New Zealand.
The Buy NZ Made Campaign Ltd ran advertising campaigns in 1988/89 and again in 1990. A new television commercial in 1990, with production costs funded by the Government, featured Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. In 1994 television advertisements featured a cartoon character “Kenny the Kiwi”, who exhorted consumers to “Buy NZ Made & Keep Your Country Working.” The campaign was concerned both with increasing sales of locally made goods and in building more pride and belief in the quality of local manufacturing.
Mandatory country of origin labelling was applied to clothing and footwear in 1992 and use of the kiwi in a triangle label continued to grow.
The first Kiwi Pride Festival was held in March 1992. It had strong support from more than 2,000 retailers and generated more than 20 newspaper features and 30- 40 radio and television items. A steam locomotive was repainted with the World War 2 slogan and ran rides for the public around Auckland. Festivals ran again in 1993 and 1994.
By 1999, the Buy NZ Made Campaign had changed its emphasis from encouraging New Zealand consumers to buy locally made goods in preference to imported ones, to specifically promoting members’ products, adding value to their companies by increasing sales.
A blue and gold version of the logo was introduced to support the fashion industry. In 2007, to coincide with Maori language week, a bi-lingual red and black version was launched. A New Zealand Grown logo was also introduced in 2007 to apply to non-manufactured produce.
The classic kiwi in a triangle logo with variations.