Toni Auld Named in 2026 Top 50 Women in Food & Drink Aotearoa New Zealand

Toni Auld beside one of her copper Whisky stills at Auld Farm Distillery

We were both surprised and deeply grateful to learn that Toni has been named in the 2026 Top 50 Women in Food & Drink Aotearoa New Zealand.

The annual list, produced by Cuisine Magazine in partnership with Women in Food & Drink Aotearoa New Zealand, recognises women contributing meaningfully to the country’s food and beverage sector. To see Toni included among this group is humbling.

Toni is first and foremost a Southland farmer - a whisky farmer - and co-founder of Auld Farm Distillery. Over the years she has led our brand storytelling, visitor experiences and stakeholder relationships, helping shape how people understand what we do here on farm. Her work connects people back to provenance, place and process - to the grain in the paddock and the spirit in the glass.

What makes this recognition particularly meaningful for us is that it has grown from our farm here in Southland. Auld Farm Distillery began at the kitchen bench in 2015 and has been built steadily since - grain grown on site, distilled on site, shared on site. Everything remains seed-to-sip.

This acknowledgement reflects not just Toni’s contribution, but the wider Southland food and drink community we are proud to be part of. There are many women across New Zealand quietly building businesses, strengthening regional industries and backing their communities. It is encouraging to see that work recognised.

We remain committed to building Auld Farm Distillery carefully and sustainably - on farm, seed-to-sip - and to playing our part in the Southland and New Zealand food and drink landscape as we move toward the release of our first whisky and the next phase of our journey.

Rob and Toni Auld