Coles seeks more local food for supermarket aisles

Coles is on the look-out for more South Australian food to stock on shelves and will actively pursue new local suppliers at a special “Meet the Buyer” event to be held in Adelaide on February 11.

Producers and suppliers from across the state will be invited to showcase their wares to Coles’ team of expert national buyers via one-on-one meetings.

The event, which will be held at the Adelaide Showground, follows the inaugural Meet the Buyer event held in 2012, which has since seen almost 80 new SA homegrown product lines introduced to Coles’ shelves.

Coles’ South Australian General Manager Kevin Gunn says Coles was delighted with the response to the first Meet the Buyer event and is looking forward to uncovering more new products to offer local customers.

“We’re excited about hosting Meet the Buyer in Adelaide again. Our buyers were really impressed with the response we received from South Australian suppliers in 2012 and the overall quality of products, which has prompted us to run the event again,” he said.

“Since the first Meet the Buyer event we have welcomed some fantastic new locally-made products, including Vella Pasta, Gelista Premium Gelati, Jonny’s Popcorn, Cucina Cibo and Pinnaroo Hill.

“We would like to welcome more homegrown products onto Coles’ shelves following the next Meet the Buyer event, which will be great for South Australian suppliers and shoppers.”

Kevin says Coles is already a big supporter of Australian made and grown products, with more than 90% of Coles Brand food and drink produced in Australia along with all fresh meat, milk and fresh fruit and vegetables when in season.

Coles established its Meet the Buyerconceptin Adelaide when the first event was held in August 2012. Since then, similar events have been held in Melbourne, Perth, Hobart, Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney, with dozens of new food producers signing on as new Coles suppliers.

Over the past four years, the number of lines of SA produced food sold in Coles supermarkets has doubled from around 500 to over 1,000.

The Coles Meet the Buyer event on Tuesday, February 11 will be held at the Adelaide Showground between 9.30am and 2.30pm. Appointments are not necessary but producers are encouraged to pre-register if possible so that they are guaranteed time with the Coles team.

To register, producers should email meetthebuyer@coles.com.au outlining the products they wish to show and their preferred meeting time. Whether pre-registering or arriving on the day, producers should bring a sample of their products.

When considering new local products, Coles takes into account a range of issues to ensure they will be a success for customers, suppliers and stores. These factors include ensuring the products meet quality and food safety standards, that there is consumer demand for the product, supply can be sustained, the business is commercially sound and that the process of getting the product to market is smooth and efficient.

For media enquiries, please contact Natalie Ciccocioppo, Hughes Public Relations on 84124110, 0413 489 231 or email natalie@hughespr.com.au