New World says it's done "pretty robust calculations" to ensure this year's Sticker Promotion won't be plagued with the same issues as previous years.

The MasterChef six-piece and non-stick range launches on Monday, aiming to bring "a little cooking joy and inspiration into" Kiwi kitchens, New World head of marketing and CX Giselle Bleakley said.

It includes a two-piece utensil set, 26cm fry pan, 28cm non-stick fry pan, 18cm saucepan – suitable for all cook-top types – as well as a heavy-duty non-stick roaster with rack and 24cm casserole dish.

She said the supermarket chain had made significant efforts to make sure the cookware wouldn't run out, so shoppers could get their pick.

"We have to do some pretty robust calculations to predict what item is likely to be the most popular and make sure we have the right amount available where and when customers want it, which is a huge undertaking for a nationwide promotion across 148 New World stores serving thousands of customers every day."

Previous New World Sticker promotions, during which customers collect a sticker for every $20 spent, which can later be redeemed for promotional products, were mired in complaints after customers couldn't get their hands on the giveaways.

So in the wake of the latest release, let's look back at previous promotions.

This is the sticker promotion's fifth year, with previous freebies including two rounds of Speigelau glassware, as well as Smeg knives, and Kitchen aid cookware.

Frustrated shoppers spent weeks collecting stickers for New World's Spiegelau glassware promotion in 2019, only to be left empty-handed.

A man who collected 12 sets of glasses defended the giveaway, which had copped flack from customers who missed out.

But Daniel Lysaght, who runs catering company All Fed Up in Ashburton, ended up with so many glasses he gave them away as Christmas presents – a frustrating turn of events for those who missed out.

The second glassware promotion, in 2022, was quiet, but they were still well sought after, with 4100 searches on Trade Me for Spiegelau in the four weeks after it went live.

To try and remedy the earlier product shortage, New World ordered more than one million Smeg knives for its next sticker promotion and urged customers not to delay redeeming them.

But then the supermarket chain was alerted a batch of those knives containing faulty products, with noticeable black spots.

People who got one of the 10,000 blemished knives were able to swap them for another, but that put extra pressure on stock levels – with many supermarkets still running out.

One frustrated customer even launched a complaint with the Commerce Commission after he believed continuing the promotion when New World knew products were unavailable amounted to misleading conduct under the Fair Trading Act.

New World's not alone, however. Countdown promotional giveaways have met with similar issues. Last year it had to stop giving out stamps for its cutlery giveaway, ending the promotion prematurely, after it ran out.

In 2021, it also ran out of glass containers due to high demand and shipping issues.

New World also did a KitchenAid ovenware sticker promotion in late 2021, which included a stoneware pie dish, medium baking dish and mini cocotte, as well as a cast iron grill pan.

New World wanted to give New Zealanders more opportunity and resource to get creative in their kitchens, said Bleakley, so this year, quick and easy recipes had been created to accompany the MasterChef cookware.

"We've designed the range to be versatile, so you don't need the whole collection but can mix and match with what you might need or want at home,

Bleakley said. "We've also included prominent displays at the front of stores to show what's available in real time.  

"We really appreciate that our collectable promotions resonate with New Zealanders, so we want to ensure where we can, that they get the best chance of redeeming the items they want."