Region in focus

This week Down Under

By Richard Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

This week Down Under

Related tags Aldi

Bargains work on most Australians, though Aldi bucks the trend

Although nearly half of Australia’s 14m grocery buyers will go out of their way to snaffle a bargain, 70% stick to their favourite brands for most of their purchases, and just 38% buy more stores’ products than well-known brands.

Aldi

Roy Morgan Research’s study also shows that one supermarket, Aldi, has bucked this trend dramatically.

Almost two-thirds of grocery-buyers who usually shop there say they buy more own-brand products products than name brands. Moreover, a noticeably greater proportion of Aldi shoppers will go out of their way for a bargain than Coles, Woolworths/Safeway and Foodland customers.

Grocery buyers who usually shop at Aldi are a striking exception [to the trend towards favoured brands], being keen bargain-hunters and prolific consumers of stores’-own products. A product’s brand or label is less likely to be a conscious factor in their purchasing decisions,​” said Angela Smith of Roy Morgan Research.

Experts call for NZ meat co-operative comparable to Fonterra

A report into the New Zealand meat industry has come out heavily in favour of creating a single co-operative business model that apes that of compatriot Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy player. 

Compiled by an group formed to “effect change in an industry that has struggled for years to function profitably”, the paper, Reforming the New Zealand Meat Industry Model​, sought to find solutions to decade-old issues of over-capacity and high levels of competition. 

It said billions of dollars had been lost from the sector because too many processors were competing for dwindling stock supply. The group, Meat Industry Excellence, has historic links with Fonterra. It said the meat sector’s current structure led it to lack a number of the financial benefits that come from pooled resources within a co-operative environment.

Dairy start-up to launch vegetable yoghurt

Yummia
Yummia founder Mia McCarthy with her new range

Yummia, an Australian yoghurt start-up headed by twentysomething entrepreneur Mia McCarthy, has launched a range of yoghurts that contain both fruit and vegetables.

The range, which is described as a “layered yoghurt”, contains a traditional yoghurt along with fresh fruit and vegetables mixed in.

Three choices will be available at launch: cinnamon and sweet potato, strawberry and beetroot and apple and carrot.

Each tub claims to contain a half-serving of daily recommended vegetable intake and has been given five stars on the Australian’s front-of pack labelling system. The yoghurts are designed for customers to “grab and go” with a spoon featuring in the packaging.

Home label juices fined for claims infringements

Supabarn Supermarkets and the Real Juice Company have been fined A$20,400 (US$25,830) for claims infringements on a private label juice range.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought action against the companies for the claims made for apple juice and cranberry juice products made by the Real Juice Company for Supabarn’s own range.

The ACCC found the labelling on the apple juice to be misleading as it claimed it was made from fresh apples grown in Australia, even though the manufacturer used reconstituted apple juice concentrate imported from China.

The cranberry juice claimed it did not contain added sugar or any other additives, which was not the case.

Truth in advertising is a priority area for the ACCC. Consumers should be able to make informed purchasing decisions and not be misled regarding the composition of products​,” said chairman Rod Sims.

Related topics Markets Oceania Industry growth

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