Kiwiana is an expression common among New Zealanders referring to certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood"

Well-known examples

thumb|right|[[William, Prince of Wales, playing with a Buzzy Bee toy in 1983]]

thumb|Foxton Fizz

Arts and media

  • Footrot Flats — a popular comic strip by Murray Ball.
  • Goodnight Kiwi — animated short used to signify the end of nightly broadcasts on Television New Zealand channels.
  • Hairy Maclary and Friends — a series of children's picture books that became a major bestseller.
  • Mrs. Wishy-Washy — a series of children's picture books that became a major bestseller.
  • Legend (Ghost Chips) advert — an anti-drink driving advert broadcast in 2011, directed by Steve Ayson.
  • "Poi E" — a popular song by New Zealand group Pātea Māori Club that reached Number 1 on the New Zealand music charts in 1984.
  • "Slice of Heaven" — a popular song by New Zealand musician Dave Dobbyn that reached Number 1 on the New Zealand music charts in 1986.
  • The Dunedin Sound - a musical and cultural scene in the 1980s Dunedin that was the bedrock of modern indie rock.
  • Flying Nun - an iconic independent record label whose roster included various Dunedin Sound artists, such as The Chills, The Clean, The Verlaines, Straitjacket Fits, Able Tasmans, The Bats, and The 3Ds, and acts influenced by them such as Pavement, Aldous Harding, Fazerdaze and The Mint Chicks.
  • The Wonky Donkey — a popular children's book that was also adapted into a song by Craig Smith.
  • Toyota "bugger" advert — in which the Toyota Hilux's unexpected power causes several unintended consequences, each capped with the interjection "bugger" as a punchline.

Businesses

  • Air New Zealand — the national flag airline.
  • Bluebird Foods — manufacturer of snack foods, cereals and muesli bars.
  • Fisher & Paykel — major appliance manufacturer that has grown into a global company.
  • Four Square supermarkets — especially Mr. Four Square, the marketing logo.
  • Griffin's Foods — manufacturer of biscuits, snacks and confectionary food.
  • The Warehouse Group — the largest retail group in New Zealand that includes The Warehouse.

Fashion

  • Canterbury — sports clothing company that mainly focuses on rugby, the country's national sport.
  • Gumboots — calf-length rubber boots, usually in black.
  • Kozmik — brand of clothing popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s characterised by its bright colours.
  • Jandals — beach footwear with a bit of sole but very little else. Also known as flip-flops (UK and USA) and thongs (Australia).
  • Red Bands — a particular brand of gumboots made by Skellerup.
  • Swanndri — a 100% waterproof woollen overcoat. Popular amongst farmers due to it being 'warm in winter, cool in summer'. Typically made in a tartan or patch work pattern. Often blue and black, or red and black in colour. Often worn in conjunction with Gumboots and/or Stubbies. Also known as a "lammie" in some parts of the South Island, notably the West Coast Region.

Food and drink

  • Afghan biscuit — a chocolate biscuit with a soft biscuit base (containing cornflakes, Weet-Bix or rolled oats for texture), chocolate icing, and a walnut on top.
  • Anzac biscuit — a biscuit popular in Australia and New Zealand, made of rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda and boiling water, popularised during World War 1.
  • Black Knight — popular brand of black liquorice.
  • Buzz Bars — a confection of marshmallow topped with caramel and chocolate-covered.
  • Chesdale — brand of cheese chiefly known for its advertising characters Ches and Dale.
  • Chilly bin — an insulated box used to keep food and drink cool. Also known as a cooler, portable ice chest, icebox, cool box (UK and USA) and esky (Australia).
  • Chocolate fish — a confection of marshmallow covered in chocolate, in the shape of a fish.
  • Cookie Time cookies — a large chocolate chip cookie often sold individually and frequently heated up before being consumed.
  • DB Draught — beer that is one of the best-selling in New Zealand.
  • DB Export Gold — beer associated with DB Draught and within the same company. Rising to be one of New Zealand's best selling beers.
  • Edmonds Cookery Book — a popular cookbook featuring many traditional New Zealand recipes.
  • Fish and chips — a culinary staple of New Zealand.
  • Foxton Fizz — retro brand of soft drink from Foxton. Dates back to 1918. Was originally distributed in Foxton and as far south as Ōtaki, and north to Sanson. In 2010 it began enjoying a resurgence in popular cafes and some bars.
  • Fruit Bursts — a popular New Zealand confectionary item produced by Pascall.
  • Georgie Pie — former fast food chain specialising in meat pies.
  • Hāngī — method of cooking using heated rocks buried underground in a pit oven.
  • Hokey pokey ice-cream — vanilla ice cream with added small round lumps of honeycomb toffee.
  • Jaffas — a small round lolly consisting of a solid, orange flavoured chocolate centre with a hard covering of red coloured confectionery.
  • Kiwiburger — a hamburger sold at McDonald's restaurants in New Zealand consisting of a four-ounce (113 g) beef patty, griddle egg, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onions, mustard and ketchup on a toasted bun.
  • Kiwifruit — fruit from a vine originating in China but selectively bred by New Zealand horticulturalists to obtain egg-sized fruit with green or gold flesh. In New Zealand it was originally called "Chinese gooseberry".
  • Kiwi onion dip — a dipping sauce common in New Zealand.
  • Lemon & Paeroa — also known as L&P, a popular soft drink whose slogan is "World Famous in New Zealand since ages ago".
  • Lion Red — a lager-style beer that is the most popular beer in New Zealand.
  • The Longest Drink In Town — since 1968, this iconic blue and red giraffe image has appeared on the side of paper cups used by dairies, bakeries and icecream parlours for milkshakes.
  • Lolly cake — a popular dessert made of crushed malt biscuits, diced Explorers or Fruit Puffs, butter, condensed milk, and coconut rolled up into a log and sliced.
  • Mainland — brand of cheese sold throughout Australasia and parts of the Americas.
  • Marmite — a New Zealand-made dark and salty spread made from yeast extract, similar to the Marmite from the UK, but produced by Australian-New Zealand company Sanitarium.
  • Moro — chocolate bar that is caramel and nougat layered.
  • Pascall K-Bars — brand of fruit toffee bars.
  • Pavlova — a meringue dessert topped with whipped cream and fruit.
  • Pinky — chocolate bar produced by Cadbury, that has pink marshmallow and topped with caramel.
  • Pineapple lumps — confectionery made with a pineapple flavoured centre covered in chocolate, produced by Pascall.
  • Snifters — lolly that has a hard outer shell with a mint chocolate centre.
  • Sparkles — lolly that comes in orange and raspberry varieties.
  • Spaceman Candy Sticks — stick-shaped lolly.
  • Speight's Gold Medal Ale — beer that is one of the best-selling in New Zealand.
  • Sunday roast — a dinner time staple in New Zealand.
  • Tangy Fruits — small edible fruit flavoured round candies, often sold at movie theatres.
  • Tip Top — a popular New Zealand ice cream brand.
  • Tui — a popular New Zealand beer formerly produced out of the Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka. Famous for the "Yeah, right" ad campaigns.
  • V — energy drink that makes up 60% of New Zealand's market share.
  • Wattie's — a brand of tomato sauce (especially when served in a plastic container shaped like a tomato). Produced in Hawke's Bay with related shares to Kraft Heinz American company.
  • Wests — an old-style soft drink from Dunedin, known for its quirky flavours.
  • Weet-Bix — a wheat-like biscuit often served with milk and fruits. Produced by Sanitarium.
  • Whittaker's — a popular chocolate company from Porirua.

Māoritanga

  • Haka — traditional Māori war dance, now widely used as a challenge by sports teams.
  • Hei-tiki — Māori neck pendant, often in plastic versions

Tourism

  • 100% Pure New Zealand — marketing tool for Tourism New Zealand which aims to showcase the range of unique experiences on offer in New Zealand.
  • Bungy jumping<!--New Zealand spelling--> — an adventure sport commercialised in New Zealand.

Toys

  • Buzzy Bee — wooden children's toy. It is also used as a term that epitomises the "kiwi bloke" as someone who can turn their hand to anything.
  • Railway crockery — a typically heavy style of crockery made by Crown Lynn and used in the state railway system.