Coles puts focus on Australian made products
There has been much made of local food products this year in westernised countries as the push toward “home grown” has stepped up in the wake of, both the concerns early this year about the future of the world’s food supply, and the economic crisis. The issue of food miles has been paramount to the debate, with arguments that the long distance freighting of food consumes too much fuel and energy.
The UK has been one of the most prominent in the push toward local as some supermarkets seek to highlight the distance food has travelled on products sold, but there has also been an upturn in interest in local goods here in Australia. It has seen the launch of the ‘Buy West, Eat Best‘ logo by the West Australian Government, designed to promote WA-produced food to consumers in the state. The logo has been well received by businesses and consumers alike, the government claimed in July.
With increasing consumer curiosity about where their food is coming from, Coles Supermarkets has announced a plan to use the ‘Australian made, Australian grown’ green and gold triangle/kangaroo icon in its weekly catalogues. The new icons will indicate to customers where their meat, fruit and vegetables have originated.
“We know that buying Australian grown fresh food is important to our customers and are committed to sourcing quality local produce, meat, deli and dairy, where possible,” Coles’ General Manager Fresh Produce, Peter Pokorny, said. “Over the course of the year 97 per cent of the fresh produce sold in our supermarkets is home grown.”
The icons will allow customers to identify the origin of fresh produce by state within Australia, such as Queensland Mangoes, or more regionally specific, Gippsland Asparagus.
Coles chose to display sourcing information by adapting the classic green triangle and gold kangaroo icon, which, according to Roy Morgan research; is recognised by 98 per cent of Australians.
The new icons will begin appearing in catalogues this week and follow the successful use of the ‘Buy West, Eat Best’ logo in WA.
