Former Farro Fresh CEO Craig Williams leaves: reshuffle at top

Farro Fresh has had a quiet reshuffle at the top.

The chief executive of boutique food business Farro Fresh has left after being appointed last year.

Craig Williams became chief executive in early 2023 but now a spokesman says Garth Sutherland and Rachel Allison are joint chief executives.

A Farro spokesman said on September 30 that Williams no longer worked for Farro.

“Craig left the company earlier this month in order to pursue other opportunities. The business has co-CEOs to continue the growth plans, including a trial small-format store in Commercial Bay, which is due to open in the near future.”

Recruitment business Seqel Partners announced Williams’ appointment last February.

Craig Williams was appointed to head Farro Fresh in February last year but has since left. Photo / LinkedIn

Before Farro Fresh, he was with PETstock, where he was New Zealand country manager for five years, Seqel said.

He previously held national sales management roles with Royal Canin and worked as a chef in his earlier career.

The Herald’s calls to Williams were unanswered but he did speak in February, when a new North Shore shop opened.

He then announced that 30 staff had been hired for the upmarket 1000-square-metre store on the corner of Shakespeare Rd and Taharoto Rd. About 15 staff had transferred from other Farro stores, while people had been hired to work for the business for the first time.

“The store has been built to our design,” Williams said of the distinctive dark-coloured shop with 50 dedicated car parks off the busy thoroughfare between Takapuna and Wairau Park.

Farro Fresh is expanding its store network with a new Takapuna shop and plans to open in Commercial Bay.

Smales Farm owns the building, designed by RCG and built by Rucon Construction & Property, and Farro has a long-term lease on the premises.

Williams also talked then of the business he headed planning further expansion: a southeastern site was favoured, particularly covering the Botany-Highland Park-Bucklands Beach catchment.

In the 17 years it had been operating, Farro had never had a new store developed on greenfields land, on a site not built previously, Williams said, referring to the new Takapuna outlet.

Last month, co-CEO Gareth Sutherland announced Farro planned to open in Precinct Properties’ Commercial Bay. The smaller store would offer a select range of salads, sandwiches and convenience items. Farro viewed the location as ideal for professionals, shoppers and tourists, treating the opening as a trial.

Waterman Capital owns the business, founded by Janene and James Draper, who started with a store in Mt Wellington in 2013, selling upmarket and artisan food and drink brands.

In recent years it has expanded its network, opening last summer at Smales Farm, Takapuna.

The business started with 12 staff and now employs more than 300 people in stores at Epsom, Grey Lynn, Mt Eden, Mt Wellington, North Shore and Orakei.

However, not all has been happy on the employment front. In June, union workers threatened to strike over the company’s pay offer and plans to introduce a 90-day trial period for all new workers.

A union boss said workers served the city’s “elite” while being among the “very lowest-paid in the industry”.

The company said it was surprised and disappointed by the strike notices and was honouring the collective bargaining process.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.