The Chip Group

The Chip Group was an initiative run by Potatoes New Zealand and funded by Ministry of Health. The aim was to improve public health through better cooking practices at chip shops. Businesses competed for public votes and a panel of judges selected a “supreme winner” in an annual contest. Business could only enter the competition if they had completed annual training.

The website delivered training through a comprehensive “Learning Management System” (LMS) that managed the various modules, videos, progress-tests and student accounts. Visitors to the site signed-up for an account and tracked their progress as they studied any of the modules. The site automatically generated a certificate on completion of modules, and Businesses were encouraged to put the certificates on display to help give their customers confidence that staff were trained. Certificates were valid for a year and the website sent a reminder email in Chip Group colours to students to encourage them to re-qualify.

The Awards schemes were aimed at further raising awareness. There were two schemes: “Best Chip Shops” and “Industry Awards“. A Business could enter only if one or more staff had completed training. The public were invited to nominate their favourite chip shop and vote through the website. Votes were associated with email addresses to reduce the risk of an individual submitting multiple votes. The website sent an automated report each week to Potatoes New Zealand on voting progress. We added a map with a search function and top Chip shops were displayed on the map automatically. Visitors could search for their nearest Chip shop and pull up directions.

The Industry Awards were given great publicity and presented at the Potatoes New Zealand Conference.