Michelle Reid: The Auckland Broker Connecting Premium Brands with the Buyers Who Matter

For a premium food, wine or lifestyle brand, a good product is only half the job. The other half is reaching the person who can put it in front of customers: the supermarket category manager, the duty-free operator, the cruise line or the boutique hotel. In Auckland, making those introductions is the work of Michelle Reid, founder of MNR Consultants New Zealand and a nominee for Founder of the Year at the TPC Awards 2026.

A business named for a grandmother

Reid founded MNR Consultants New Zealand Ltd in 2017, naming it in honour of her grandmother, Myrtle Nance Reid. The company began trading in 2019 as a specialist boutique brokerage for luxury products, representing New Zealand and international brands across food, wine, beauty and lifestyle.

She brings more than 25 years of experience in food, wine and premium products, much of it in brokerage roles at other organisations before she went out on her own. That grounding in how products are bought and sold, and who makes the decisions, underpins the business.

Placement, relationships, growth

Reid sums up her approach in three words: placement, relationships and growth. MNR connects brands with decision-makers in supermarkets, pharmacies, duty-free and travel retail, cruise ships and luxury yachts, hospitality, premium retail, corporate gifting and international markets.

Beyond introductions, the firm helps brands with product placement, positioning, in-store branding and staff training, and account management, as well as events and sponsorship. Its market-entry work in Asia stands out: MNR takes brands to expos and trade shows and presents them to influencers and key opinion leaders, while tracking consumer trends in Korea, Japan, the United States and Europe.

Built independently

MNR is deliberately small. Reid has built it as an independent specialist business, relying on established industry relationships rather than scale, and has kept it trading through changing economic conditions since 2019. Her focus has been on creating value for the brands she represents rather than growing for growth's sake, and that persistence is central to her nomination.

For New Zealand producers hoping to reach premium buyers at home and abroad, a well-connected broker can be the difference between a good product and one that actually makes it onto the shelf.

Michelle Reid is a nominee in the Founder of the Year category of the TPC Awards 2026. Details are as provided in the nomination submission.