Coronavirus (COVID-19) Panic Buying?

[lovetravellingoz]

Indeed, I get the impression Aussies are too busy emptying supermarket shelves to go on holiday!
cheers skip

Not at the supermarkets I frequent. And at Costco, when don't shoppers here have full trollies?

I think it is more that hand sanitiser has a run on.

 

[Pushka]

One of my most common gripes is Coles and Woollies constantly removing locally made brands and replacing with homebrand versions which almost always come from overseas. They seem to think we would rather save 5 cents than support local farmers. Aside from some frozen Veggies, all the coles brand frozen ready meals (espcially dumplings and seafood) and frozen fruit come from asian (mostly vietnam and China).

That peeves me no end too. Refuse to buy no country of origin generics. Foodland stocks everything and very much local SA produce - their Beerenberg collection is superb - and so Coles is only an emergency purchase

 

[VPS]

I like Quilton, its 3 (or 4) ply, soft yet has integrity and is Aussie made. I cant stand that Kleenix stuff (USA style like Charmin) that disintergrates in your hand, the old formula 3 ply Kleenix was fine, but when they made it a replica of Charmin they lost me - that must have been well over 10 years ago now. Havent tried Sorbent in decades so dont know. Dad got me a 20 pack at his Coles this week, so I should be good til end of Nov now, buy which time I hope this nonsense has passed again.

I try to buy Australian wherever possible. With food in particular it is a safety matter (food handling standards, use of chemicals etc much stricter in Australia) and with toilet paper it is brand preference. Im less fussed on origin for things that dont get consumed or cleansers/moisturisers etc i.e. bin bags or a small appliance. For me Fruit, Veg, Seafood and meat have to be australian grown.

One of my most common gripes is Coles and Woollies constantly removing locally made brands and replacing with homebrand versions which almost always come from overseas. They seem to think we would rather save 5 cents than support local farmers. Aside from some frozen Veggies, all the coles brand frozen ready meals (espcially dumplings and seafood) and frozen fruit come from asian (mostly vietnam and China).

The problem is that there are a lot of people out there that will choose the Coles brand because it saves 5 cents. I have a friend with a small country supermarket and the stories he tells of suppliers that are right royally screwed by Coles and Woolies. I will always pay more for Australian made but I can afford to and many can't

 

[Gremlin]

One of my most common gripes is Coles and Woollies constantly removing locally made brands and replacing with homebrand versions which almost always come from overseas. They seem to think we would rather save 5 cents than support local farmers. Aside from some frozen Veggies, all the coles brand frozen ready meals (espcially dumplings and seafood) and frozen fruit come from asian (mostly vietnam and China).

As frustrating as it may seem, they don't think that, they know it. At least in aggregate.

Supermarkets spend a LOT of money on ranging and pricing decisions (ie what brands they put on their shelves and at what price points). If their topline sales and bottomline profitability improved by putting Aussie brands on the shelves, then they wouldn't hesitate to do so. Unfortunately for our local primary producers, in certain categories they sell more at better margins when they don't. And that comes down to their understanding of how we (consumers) behave when we are faced with the choice. Our collective behaviours drive that, not the other way round.

It's like in March/April when supply chains for PPE and medical equipment were being disrupted everywhere and Australia started to look to Australian companies to manufacture them. ScoMo made an impassioned plea suggesting that as buyers we need to be looking at quality that Australian manufacturers/producers may deliver over any price advantage of engaging overseas suppliers. The very first question posed by the media scrum was how the Govt was proposing to do this with its own procurement when almost every Govt tender has price as one of the key decision criteria. It turns out we collectively want OTHERS to pay the price premium to support local manufacturing and primary producers. And the answer wouldn't have been any different from the other side of the political divide.

 

[jakeseven7]

As frustrating as it may seem, they don't think that, they know it. At least in aggregate.

Supermarkets spend a LOT of money on ranging and pricing decisions (ie what brands they put on their shelves and at what price points). If their topline sales and bottomline profitability improved by putting Aussie brands on the shelves, then they wouldn't hesitate to do so. Unfortunately for our local primary producers, in certain categories they sell more at better margins when they don't. And that comes down to their understanding of how we (consumers) behave when we are faced with the choice. Our collective behaviours drive that, not the other way round.

Close, but not quite accurate and this is my job The two supermarkets have so much power in Australia they can actually subtly (and not so subtly!) force consumer behavior change through their planograms, category reviews and home brand strategies.

Both have been on a long journey to driving a switch to higher margin (for them) homebrands that often includes sourcing cheaper products from overseas.

The great news though is that over the last 9-12 months there has been an enormous surge in Australian made and Australian owned produce sales, for various reasons, climate change (sourcing local - less carbon), trust in supply chain, food safety standards, supporting local economy etc. This was pre-corona. Now we are in corona this has accelerated in almost all categories and not just food and not just in supermarkets. People are actively looking to where things are coming from.

Enough to make a material difference which is really heartening. And people are now prepared to pay a little extra too we see from our data.

 

[drron]

As frustrating as it may seem, they don't think that, they know it. At least in aggregate.

Supermarkets spend a LOT of money on ranging and pricing decisions (ie what brands they put on their shelves and at what price points). If their topline sales and bottomline profitability improved by putting Aussie brands on the shelves, then they wouldn't hesitate to do so. Unfortunately for our local primary producers, in certain categories they sell more at better margins when they don't. And that comes down to their understanding of how we (consumers) behave when we are faced with the choice. Our collective behaviours drive that, not the other way round.

It's like in March/April when supply chains for PPE and medical equipment were being disrupted everywhere and Australia started to look to Australian companies to manufacture them. ScoMo made an impassioned plea suggesting that as buyers we need to be looking at quality that Australian manufacturers/producers may deliver over any price advantage of engaging overseas suppliers. The very first question posed by the media scrum was how the Govt was proposing to do this with its own procurement when almost every Govt tender has price as one of the key decision criteria. It turns out we collectively want OTHERS to pay the price premium to support local manufacturing and primary producers. And the answer wouldn't have been any different from the other side of the political divide.

Most PPE is sourced by the State governments.At least in Tasmania they were sourcing a lot of their masks from the Australian manufacturer.They were better quality.

 

[Gremlin]

Most PPE is sourced by the State governments.At least in Tasmania they were sourcing a lot of their masks from the Australian manufacturer.They were better quality.

Yes, absolutely. The "buy Australian" manufacturing message from the Feds was far broader than that.

EDITED TO ADD: I can't comment on quality of masks, I'd defer to your expertise on that.

 

[p--and--t]

I was under the impression that at least one of the "home" brands for canned fruit actually came from Ardmona - an Aussie company.

Also there are some great frozen dumplings on offer that are made in Melbourne.

You have to look and read the labels but there are some great Aussie products amongst the imported stuff and on some items there is a dearth of Aussie product on display. A mixed bag.

 

[Denali]

Ardmoa is aussie made with aussie ingredients

 

[drron]

I was under the impression that at least one of the "home" brands for canned fruit actually came from Ardmona - an Aussie company.

Also there are some great frozen dumplings on offer that are made in Melbourne.

You have to look and read the labels but there are some great Aussie products amongst the imported stuff and on some items there is a dearth of Aussie product on display. A mixed bag.

But aren't those dumplings Mr.Chens.So not a home brand.

 

[p--and--t]

Ardmoa is aussie made with aussie ingredients

View attachment 221477

I am fairly sure these (and others) are also canned by Ardmona but woollies branded

But aren't those dumplings Mr.Chens.So not a home brand.

Correct. I was generalising that not everything in the supermarket is foreign made and the supermarkets are not solely focused on cheap stuff from overseas.

There are good Aussie brands of dumplings (as opposed to an earlier post) and there are also some Aussie products marketed in the "home" brand items as well. You have to read the labels.

As I said - a mixed bag.

 

[Denali]

But aren't those dumplings Mr.Chens.So not a home brand.

I tried Mr Chens after recommendation here and was happy with them - nice amount of filling and flavor.

 

[Lynda2475]

The big two supermarkets arent doing more home brand because consumers want more homebrand, they are doing it because they are cheaper for them. There are some lower income areas that are hugely price sensitive, but in more middle class and affluent areas I gurantee you people prefer to buy a name brand - the big two just make this harder and harder to do. Even the biggest brands have to fight to get their products on the shelf, any sales you see on Coke or Tim Tams isnt the supermarket taking a cut, but rather the manufacturer funding the special.

There are still Australian made/sourced products available, but fewer every week. I do not buy any homebrands for any food items, the only exception s white veinegar which i use for cleaning not eating.

This trend means i spend less and less at the supermarket each week. Im sure coles thinks my reduced spend is me shopping at Woolies, but it isnt. You stop stocking the brand name lollies i like, Im not going to buy your imitation home brand one that taste completely different, it means Im not buying lollies at all. You stop stocking other items I dont want to live without, well I go looking for them online and someone else gets my business if available.

 

[blackcat20]

Ardmoa is aussie made with aussie ingredients

View attachment 221477

The only tinned tomatoes I buy.

 

[serfty]

One of my most common gripes is Coles and Woollies constantly removing locally made brands and replacing with homebrand versions which almost always come from overseas. They seem to think we would rather save 5 cents than support local farmers.

Don't forget that the actual landing of the hombrand versions may save the supermarket 15¢ per unit of which they only pass on a 5¢ saving to the customer.

 

[Denali]

I know our GM talked back in April that this has given them a rethink on manufacturing and restarting a local facility has already begun. A couple of machines were dusted off and restarted as well and we had to get our office staff on site to get things out the door while we were sourcing new staff.

 

[jakeseven7]

There are still Australian made/sourced products available, but fewer every week.

Actually and pleasingly, the data shows that the supermarkets are reacting to the demand for locally manufacturing and the range is increasing in some categories.

I do not buy any homebrands for any food items, the only exception s white veinegar which i use for cleaning not eating.
This trend means i spend less and less at the supermarket each week. Im sure coles thinks my reduced spend is me shopping at Woolies, but it isnt. You stop stocking the brand name lollies i like, Im not going to buy your imitation home brand one that taste completely different, it means Im not buying lollies at all. You stop stocking other items I dont want to live without, well I go looking for them online and someone else gets my business if available.

Good for you and one thing to note is that homebrand copies of branded products made by companies that also make branded products are not always the same calibre of produce. I will explain in another post

 

[jakeseven7]

Ardmoa is aussie made with aussie ingredients

View attachment 221477

I was under the impression that at least one of the "home" brands for canned fruit actually came from Ardmona - an Aussie company.

Sometimes companies that make private label / brand label products are asked (very forcefully pushed / borderline blackmailed) into producing home brand products for the supermarkets that sit alongside their own products.

They are however not the same product inside the pack. The supermarket demands more margin so the supplier returns by using cheaper inputs, for example if we take tinned fruit - it will be the lower grade fruit/veg that goes in the tin. If you check closely as well you will notice ingredient percentages are different. Homebrand equivalents will often have more water as a % and less fruit. Sometimes the packaging will be poorer, thinner, break more easily. The big supermarkets are very tricky and you really have to investigate to notice these things.

Buying homebrand products also means less goes to the end suppliers (e.g. farmers) even if they are Australian.

 

[kyle]

One of my most common gripes is Coles and Woollies constantly removing locally made brands and replacing with homebrand versions which almost always come from overseas. They seem to think we would rather save 5 cents than support local farmers.

I have a feeling we're in the minority. Ppl shop at Aldi to save a few cents here and there. Same with generic brands at the chemist. One time the difference was like 10 or 20 cents.

 

[Archphoto]

That peeves me no end too. Refuse to buy no country of origin generics. Foodland stocks everything and very much local SA produce - their Beerenberg collection is superb - and so Coles is only an emergency purchase

Yup, I shop at the local Foodland and our local Drakes - another SA produce lover, with Coles & Woolies taking up the slack. Can't remember the last time I purchased C home-brand stuff, but I just picked up some Woolies HB drinking chocolate which isn't too bad, bummer it's not Aussie made, but at least it's from across the Tasman . . . On the other hand, Drake's shredded, Parmesan cheese is pretty good and gets bonus points for being at least 95% Australian!! (The packaging is pretty neat and rather eye-catching too.)

 

[JessicaTam]

Umm, what happened to the panic-buying discussion?

Just sayin'!