HOME BRANDS? YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING
They call these homebrands. You’ve got to be kidding.
A new review shows that the two big supermarket chains are going overseas for ingredients for their homebrand products while Australian produce is being wasted and farmers are missing out on vital income.
Coles and Woolies make a meal out of supporting Australian suppliers, but a new CHOICE Magazine investigation into their homebrand products tells a different story.
Supermarket homebrand products. Image via The Age.
CHOICE reviewed the country of origin of 360 supermarket homebrand products and found that 55 percent of Coles home-brand products and only 38 percent of Woolworths home-brand products were locally made or grown.
This compares with 92 percent of market leader grocery items.
According to CHOICE spokeswoman Ingrid Just, Australian producers have said they are not even being given the opportunity to supply the two chains with produce for tinned and packaged products.
“While it’s clear that Coles and Woolworths support Australian produced products in the fresh food and bakery sections of their stories, it’s a different story when you walk along the aisles,” Ms Just said.
“Coles and Woolies claim their buyers only look to overseas markets when local suppliers are unable to meet customers’ needs,” says Ms Just.
“However, one farmer told us that 70,000 tonnes of vegetables, including onions, potatoes, and carrots will go to waste in Tasmania alone this year.
We have also been told that tenders to supply vegetables for private label products are not being made public, or are often by invitation only,” she said.
CHOICE’s review of the country of origin of packaged, tinned and frozen items found 13 of the 14 Woolworths home-brand frozen vegetable products were sourced from overseas. Additionally, 19 of Woolworth’s 21 home-brand tinned fruit and vegetable products came from overseas.
At Coles, nine of the supermarket’s 13 tinned home-brand fruit and vegetable products came from overseas.
CHOICE called for clearer country of origin labelling.
“Australian shoppers rate local products highly – many feel it’s important to know the food they are buying is made from Australian ingredients and packaged in Australia. The policies and advertising of the big two supermarkets taps into that sentiment, but what you find on the shelves is quite different,” says Ms Just.
Do you buy homebrand products? Is this a problem for you?
RELATED STORIES
Cheap Wine & a Supermarket Cover-Up
19 Responses to this article
-
Hannah September 6, 2012
I don’t buy home brands. I’d rather have less and better quality. Besides, to this old fashioned Nanna’s mind, buying processed foods is not only unhealthy and a waste of money, it’s actually a waste of time. Cooking fresh doesn’t have to take much effort or time and is a thousand times better on every possible level. Plus, it’s actually cheaper. If I buy a packet of flour compared to a packet of instant cake mix, it is going to be the base of many, many cakes, biscuits etc. A packet of pre-mix is only going into one. My choices are also (small p) political because the dominance and power of the two main supermarkets is wrong, uncompetitive and far too manipulative. Remember, also, unless you are really going to use three of something, it isn’t cheaper than buying one.
-
Jo-Anne September 6, 2012
Share Holders! Want their profits – want to see “Growth” – It’s screwing our brave & beloved farmers into the ground. They should be hailed as way more important than a Banker!
Short of having the time (and the skills) I’d be paper masheying my own loo paper & concocting soapy stuff….. I’m with you Hannah… we shop @ our local farmers market; go with a weekly food menu in mind & throw out nothing. -
Florally September 7, 2012
Thanks for this artical- home brand gives me the heebie geebies so it is nice to have a reminder to support locally grown goods
-
Viv September 7, 2012
No surprises here! If you have the time to read labels it is clear that this has been happening for a long time. The best idea is to go to independent grocers – usually locally owned, read the labels and get your fresh produce from markets or local fruit & veg shops. I haven’t bought anything from the big 2 in ages – and haven’t missed out on anything!
-
Bourke Ward September 7, 2012
I live in a remote town of 20,000 & I went to our local Coles this week to find all branded cheddar style cheeses replaced by Coles cheeses…. no choice whatsoever
-
Kerry Cleary September 7, 2012
Frankly, I don’t think the quality of either Coles or Woolies home brand products are anywhere near as good as branded products.
I find it convenient to shop at either coles or woolies, but don’t buy “their” brands. If nobody bought their brands, they would stop this practice.
-
Fiona Lake September 7, 2012
It’s been really depressing seeing all the old favourite household-name brands vanishing from the shelves of Coles & Woollies. Even sweet manufacturers are being squeezed out! Shareholders need to take some responsibility & demand C & W show corporate responsibility towards all Australians, including manufacturers & food producers of all kinds, rather than pretending they don’t know how the supermarkets achieve such high profits (short term gain = long term loss for whole community).
-
Annie Also September 7, 2012
I, too, noticed the cut back in the Big 2 in choice. Slowly over the past 12 months favoured and known brands are disappearing..( SPC being one)…
Do I buy home brands?
I’m afraid I do…why?Small village
Disability pension. -
Alberta September 7, 2012
I think it is very important to check the country of origin before you buy anything. I personally don’t want anything from China given the lack of food safety standards there. Most of the frozen vegetables are from China.
It is just awful to think of tonnes of food going to waste here when the Big Two are buying offshore.
This is where people power could do some good…..don’t buy products from offshore when you can buy local, -
anne September 7, 2012
I wish I had the where with all to set up an advertising campaign which would reach the masses. So many people are oblivious to this matter, and frankly don’t care. But they have set themselves up to be thoroughly manipulated into lower quality products at the expense of our primary producers and all the people between the farm and the store. Meanwhile the fat cats have got the cream. And their appetite is not finite.
-
MazT September 7, 2012
I too have noticed a progressive lack of choice in brand names, progressively more “Select” etc. Now they’re cheaper, but when all options are gone, so will the lower price. (How many times have we seen this!!) So, even on a disability pension, I refuse to buy the home style brands. This is as well as preferring only local Oz-first – which is getting harder and harder to find. It’s not only the processed stuff. Last summer, in an state well supported by fruit producers, Woolies were selling plums from Chile! When I questioned I was told this was the only place they could get them. BS!! So, pretty much all my “apart from bills” income goes on local market food and Aust brands. (What’s it like to go to a movie??) But worth it – my health is too important. I’m also trying to grow my own veges in my small garden area. I do agree this practice of the big 2 needs much greater public awareness, so thanks Choice and keep up the good work.
-
Julie Purdey September 7, 2012
I live in “The Food Bowl” Victoria’s Goulburn Valley and know what it is to see orchards uprooted, dairy farms abandoned and food processing plants closed. Then I go into the supermarket and find the choices for these no longer produced products are from Brazil or South Africa or New Zealand etc. Price should not be the only consideration, there is a long trail of jobs that disappear when farms go under.
-
Merryl Chantrell September 7, 2012
I live in a rural area so little choice but to buy some of Woolies home brand products which unfortunately seem to be replacing the well known brands.
-
Dashersmistress September 7, 2012
I am not surprised by these findings. Australians willingness to buy into the “home brand” concept is partly to blame. I refuse to buy them as I am deeply opposed to reducing the pool of food suppliers. Interestingly I am in Europe at he moment and food is significantly cheaper and muchnof it appears to be locally / regionally sourced. The small, local green grocer, baker, butcher thrives, enabling more people to control their lively hood. Let’s keep this conversation alive!
-
Susan September 7, 2012
My husband wonders why it takes me sooo long to do the grocery shop. It is because I need to know where my food is coming from. Labelling on home brand products is not good enough and occassionally it will be from Australia. Each week it is a different supplier and you need to check all the time. I really do feel for our Australian farmers, the duo’s really do screw them around with price how can they make a decent living.
-
Rhoda September 7, 2012
This is one of the things that really bothers me in this country. That we take food for granted. It just appears on shelves with a label that is mostly gooblygook and in such tiny print you need magnifying glasses to read it. And which I have just recently. Something I’ve discovered is that the different brands – be it Heinz or McCain source their vegies from different countries at different times. So if one month the label says ‘Product of NZ’, the next month or season it might say ‘Product of China’. You have to keep checking. So when I see ‘organic’ I tend to pick it up first now. Not that I totally trust that label either.
I’d much prefer to shop at local fresh food markets. Should be markets in every suburb and community gardens should also be encouraged by all local councils.
Only way to stop the rot.
-
Jennie September 10, 2012
If you really care about this issue, STOP SHOPPING AT COLES AND WOOLIES! Sorry for shouting, but things will never change while we all let this duopoly run our lives.
I started shopping at Aldi three years ago. Nearly all their stuff is Aussie made and they support Aussie farmers. We like their brands, the quality seems great to us. It’s also MUCH cheaper – I feed my husband and I and two ravenous teenage boys for at least $100 per week less than if I shopped at the majors, and that is a serious amount of money!
There are a few negatives, true, such as bagging your own groceries, a few things not available (so I still have to go to Coles once a month), only one brand available, and a bit further to travel to get there, but these are easily overcome by the thought that I’m not contributing to all the huge problems caused by the dominance of the ‘big two’. And no, I’m not employed by Aldi or have any association with them!
-
Lyn September 11, 2012
I read this quote only this week. “My grandfather used to say that once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman and a preacher but every day, 3 times a day you need a farmer”. It’s time we understood how important our farmers are before it is too late.
-
ellenni September 13, 2012
i dont buy home brands. i like to support oz products as much as possible. how long before coles and woolies will only stock their brands. have you noticed that there are less branded products and many more of the home brands. in some things there is only one brand and the rest are home brands or which there seem to be three. what do we do. writing here wont help. perhaps its time to set up a petition and hope this may make a difference.
