Coles and Woolies hit out at ‘shonky’ consumer watchdog report on Australia-made claims of home-label products
Woolies own label brands: Aussie made?
Woolworths and Coles have responded angrily to a report from consumer watchdog Choice that claims that the supermarket giants have been making overblown claims about the Australianness of their home-label products in their advertising.
In research covering 360 products across 90 grocery categories, Choice claims that 55% of Coles’ home-label products and 38% of Woolies’ own-label products were locally made or grown, compared with 92% per cent for grocery items from branded goods.
This does not fairly reflect what the retailers have been saying in their advertising, the watchdog claims.
many years ago, before the internet, Choice published a survey which claimed Australia Post was taking a day longer than it should have to get overnight mail from Melbourne to Sydney. Unfortunately, Choice forgot to tell anyone the survey was done during the airline strike! Choice by name, selective by nature.
Who to believe, Choice or Woolies and Coles? Choice has no reason to be biased in favour of local producers (apart from common sense).
The refutation by Jon Church doesn’t even make sense. Why is it branded products are able to source more locally but home brands can’t? The reason isn’t a supply issue, it is a price issue. Your argument doesn’t make sense Jon.
It warms my heart to see Coles and Woolies called out for the misleading campaigns they peddle.
Choice spokesperson Ingrid Just said: “Coles and Woolies claim their buyers only look to overseas markets when local suppliers are unable to meet customers’ needs. However, one farmer told us that that 70,000 tonnes of vegetables including onions, potatoes and carrots will go to waste in Tasmania alone this year.”
That’s a non sequitur designed to appeal to ignorance. It’s also an unattributed anecdote that additionally fails to acknowledge that supermarket supply chain logistics actually help to reduce seasonal wastage.
Or let’s go back to horses and carts and hessian sacks, shall we?
What ever the current %, shoppers should remember that “What you buy TODAY will determine the Australia we live in TOMORROW”. The increase in generic brands on the big two convenience stores shelves is not going to increase shopper choice in the long term.
Of course 100% of fresh meat and milk is Australian – import restrictions prohibit importing fresh meat and many dairy products. If it was open slather, do you really believe Colesworth would “support” Aussie farmers or import cheap meat from South America?? Also Choice is clearly comparing canned and frozen products as opposed to (so called) fresh produce.
PR 101 – if you can’t refute with facts add a distraction.
Surveying 20% of the own branded products seems like a pretty good sample size to me. Seems like they are protesting a little too much.