Coles has launched its annual appeal for food rescue organisation, SecondBite, allowing customers to purchase $2 donation cards and help support Australians who have been hit hardest by COVID-19. Read more
Coles lowers meal prices for Autumn and Winter
Coles has lowered the price of over 200 products as part of its Autumn and Winter Value campaigns, helping to lower the cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner for Australian households. Read more
New Muscle Nation Custard Protein Bars launching at Coles
Muscle Nation, one of Australia’s fastest-growing online activewear and supplement brands, have successfully landed a deal with Coles to stock an exclusive Custard filled Protein Bar from Wednesday 13 July. Read more
Coco Pops Gluten Free cereal launches at Coles across Australia
Kellogg’s Australia have launched a new gluten free cereal – Coco Pops Gluten Free cereal. Read more
Deliciou plant-based meat launches in Coles and Woolworths
Plant-based meat brand Deliciou has launched its shelf-stable plant-based meat range in Coles and Woolworths in Australia, as well as more than 400 Whole Foods stores across the US, as it continues to increase its global market share. Read more
VIVIR brings its tequila range to Australia
Roll’d launches new range of pantry items and condiments
Roll’d Vietnamese have launched a range of authentic Vietnamese pantry items and condiments, available at Coles supermarkets and Roll’d stores this month. Read more
Pringles launches new Veggie Creations range
Pringles has delivered a new product, Veggie Creations, available at Coles supermarkets from this month onwards in three new flavours. Read more
Coles collaborates with Manildra Group for new bread recipe
Coles have revealed its new recipe for success for its white loaves and rolls which have been available in the bakery since February this year. Read more
v2sausages provide a plant-based alternative
v2, Australian plant-based meat manufacturer, has announced it will roll out their new plant-based sausages nationwide at Coles and Woolworths, v2sausages. Read more
Coles joins ANZPAC Pact, commits to packaging sustainability
Coles has reaffirmed its commitment to packaging sustainability by joining the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC) as a founding member. Read more
Coles moving from coals to renewable electricity
Coles has announced its commitment to switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025. As part of this announcement, Coles also revealed a new power purchase agreement with Lal-lal windfarm, Victoria.
Coles ‘Drop of Good’ helping to Clean Up Australia
Held over the weekend of 6 and 7 of March, Coles Liquor launched its ‘Drop of Good’ campaign to support Clean Up Australia in their mission to clean, fix and conserve Australia’s environment.
Coles opens new round for grants to drive innovation and sustainability
Australian farmers, producers and manufacturers can now apply for financial support from the Coles Nurture Fund to help them innovate and grow. Coles has opened a new round of the Coles Nurture Fund to provide grants of up to $500,000 for small and medium sized businesses to develop new products, technologies and processes.
Read more
Coles launch premium vodka
Coles Liquor has launched a new Tasmanian vodka, Pure Origin. Offering Australians an exceptionally high quality yet affordable vodka, Pure Origin is distilled using an all-copper Tasmanian-made pot still. The spirit is further refined, filtered through active carbon, then married with pure, pristine Tasmanian water.
Read more
Coles and TWU sign safety charter
Coles and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) have signed a charter on standards in road transport and the gig economy focusing on safety, driver education and mental health.
Manly gets Coles Local store
Coles has opened its latest award-winning Coles Local supermarket format on Sydney’s Manly Beach, tailored to the needs of Manly beachgoers, stocking hundreds of options perfect for a beachside barbecue.
Coles Local opens in Chatswood
Coles is opening a tailor-made supermarket – using the Coles Local format – that incorporates sustainability features and a product range personalised to meet the needs of the Chatswood community on Sydney’s North Shore.
The store is part of an expansion of the Coles Local format in Sydney, following the launch of the concept in Rose Bay in May – with Manly set to welcome a new Local store to the neighbourhood later this year.
Coles Local Chatswood has a range of refillable ecostore shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and laundry liquids available for customers through a new in-store refill station using bottles made from recycled and sugarcane plastic, eliminating the need for single-use bottles.
The store features more than 200 plant-based food products, ice cream just for dogs, a premium coffee and orange juice station, a macaron, mini gelato and Japanese mochi ice cream parlour, and a dedicated aisle with the largest Asian range in the country.
Coles’ chief sustainability, property and export officer Thinus Keevé, said each Coles Local supermarket is tailored to the specific needs of the local community.
“Coles Local Chatswood is a brand-new neighbourhood supermarket destination with new products sourced from 35 small Sydney suppliers, and innovative features that customers may not have seen before,” he said.
Read More: Tap the potential of craft brewing
“As we make progress on our mission to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket, we’re increasingly looking at new and inventive ways to reduce packaging on certain products.
“This new ecostore station is a first for an Australian supermarket, which we hope will resonate well with customers.”
Ecostore managing director, Pablo Kraus, said this was the first time the company had installed a refill station in an Australian supermarket to help reduce packaging waste.
“People are used to bringing in their reusable supermarket bags; now they can also bring in their reusable ecostore refill bottles to conveniently refill their home and personal care products at the supermarket.”
Supporting a sustainable circular economy, the trolleys at the store are made from recycled plastic milk bottles and REDcycle plastics, free recycled carry boxes are available in place of bags, unsold food that cannot be donated to food charities is diverted to organic composting and green energy generation, and team member name tags and uniforms also feature part-recycled materials.
How the refill station works:
The Refill Station has been designed with an easy four-step process:
- Customers choose a small or large ecostore refill bottle
- Select the product and apply the matching sticker
- Refill the bottle by positioning the bottle under the tap or pump, and fill to the top
- Purchase by taking the bottle to the checkou
Coles Liquor breaks fundraising record
Coles Liquor customers have raised a record $823,000 for national food rescue charity SecondBite to help provide the equivalent of 4.1 million meals for vulnerable Australians.
The 2020 Coles Liquor Winter Appeal was the biggest single community fundraising campaign held by Coles Liquor and takes the total funds raised by its Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and First Choice Liquor stores for SecondBite to $5.1 million since 2014.
The Coles Liquor Winter Appeal was launched in early August following a run of record-breaking national fundraising campaigns held across Coles supermarkets since Covid-19 restrictions were introduced in Australia.
With the $823,000 raised for SecondBite by Coles Liquor in the latest Winter Appeal, Coles customers and team members have together raised more than $8.1 million for SecondBite, FightMND, Bravery Trust and children’s hospitals since April 20201.
SecondBite CEO Jim Mullan said he was amazed and grateful for the results from this year’s Coles Liquor Winter Appeal.
“The fundraising effort by Coles Liquor team members and customers has been extraordinary, particularly in light of the current economic challenges,” he said.
“Like all not-for-profit agencies, 2020 has been an extremely difficult time and we have seen an increase in demand for support from a cohort of people who we usually don’t see under normal circumstances, such as international students, visa holders and recently unemployed people living in regional and rural areas.”
“The fundraising from Coles Liquor will help SecondBite support people who have previously never needed our help but may need it over coming months and potentially years as we ease off Jobseeker and Jobkeeper payments.”
Coles Liquor Chief Executive Darren Blackhurst said he was incredibly proud of the Coles Liquor team’s fundraising efforts.
“We didn’t know what to expect given the extenuating circumstances during COVID-19 but thanks to the generosity of our customers, we have reached new heights in our fundraising for SecondBite this year. The $823,000 raised is a testament to the resilience and community spirit of our team members and customers,” he said.
“SecondBite’s role in the community embodies Coles’ purpose to sustainably feed all Australians. It is wonderful to see our Liquor team play their part to support this vision and to help those less fortunate.”
In addition to fundraising appeals for SecondBite, more than 765 Coles supermarkets across Australia regularly donate surplus fresh food via SecondBite to around 1,100 community food programs that provide meals to Australians facing tough times. During Covid-19, Coles has also donated grocery essentials to the retail value of $7.9 million to SecondBite and Foodbank to distribute to vulnerable Australians.
Since 2011, Coles has helped donate enough surplus fresh food to SecondBite to provide the equivalent of 114 million meals to disadvantaged Australians.
Australian and NZ icons Whittaker’s and Bundaberg collaborate on new venture
New Zealand chocolate manufacturer, Whittaker’s, has come together with Australia’s iconic Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, to create the new Whittaker’s Brewed Ginger Caramel 250g Block. As well as a new chocolate flavour, the partnership reflects the special nature of the trans-Tasman relationship, the synergy between these two family-owned brands, and the resilience of both in working together virtually to create an exciting new product at such a challenging time.
Whittaker’s Brewed Ginger Caramel combines ginger caramel, encased in Whittaker’s five-roll refined creamy milk chocolate. The ginger caramel filling is made from Bundaberg’s ginger brew that is used to make its ginger beer, without the fizz. The amount of Bundaberg ginger brew provided to Whittaker’s for the chocolate is enough to make 335,600 bottles of ginger beer.
Whittaker’s co-chief operating officer, Holly Whittaker, said the two brands’ equally strong focus on quality was important to both in deciding to collaborate on product development.
READ MORE: Automated packaging solution for Montague
“Whittaker’s is proud to use only the finest ingredients and make all of our chocolate at our one factory in Porirua, which enables us to control quality from roasting the cocoa beans ourselves to the finished products. Bundaberg Brewed Drinks’ similar approach in using locally grown ginger and even growing and harvesting some of its own ginger, sourcing only the best ingredients and making its products locally fits perfectly with our ethos,” said Whittaker.
Bundaberg’s CEO, John McLean, who is the son-in-law of the business’ founder, Cliff Fleming, said the partnership with Whittaker’s is another milestone in the company’s history. It will be their first collaboration with another brand on a product to be distributed in supermarkets across Australia and New Zealand.
“Both family businesses have a long-standing commitment to excellence and are entrenched in the trans-Tasman way of life. It makes sense for Australia’s best soft-drink and New Zealand’s Most Trusted Brand to join forces, particularly during a time when consumers are looking for affordable ways to treat themselves. We’re very proud to be a part of this collaboration. We hope this will encourage Aussies and Kiwis to get together with loved ones to share some special moments, great food and delicious brews – while socially distancing, of course,” said McLean.
While the initial idea of collaboration between Whittaker’s and Bundaberg Brewed Drinks was first proposed in 2018 and product development and testing got underway last year, the critical final six months of development and launch planning have occurred under unique and challenging circumstances. With no possibility of getting together to sample products and review packaging, samples were sent across the Tasman and final product development and campaign planning meetings were held over Zoom.
Whittaker’s Brewed Ginger Caramel 250g Blocks will be available exclusively in Coles, in all of their stores across Australia, from 31 Augus