Page 60 - RetailWorld-May2021-Tobacco-Updated

THE MARKETPLACE FROM PAGE A to store – “from the sea to the shelf and from the fields to the fridges”. “The campaign is a celebration of real people and great food, and evidence of the positive role Foodland plays in the economy of South Australia,” he said. The campaign is running across outdoor media (tram, static and digital billboards, bus shelters and bus backs), as well as across Foodland catalogues, at stores and across social media. Embracing many avenues of sourcing Foodland’s approach to sourcing, says Mr dos Santos, involves the team exploring many different avenues, including established and emerging farmers markets, small speciality boutique markets and shops. “These avenues often provide a plethora of choice for unique and diverse products, and we offer those standout brands and products a stepping stone to gain access into our stores,” he said. “From there, they can go on to become household names in fridges, freezers and pantries.” In many instances, however, Foodland goes straight to the source. “\\\\\\\[We go\\\\\\\] direct to the farmer and producer to guarantee we’re delivering the best quality product to our customer, as well as the best price for the producer,” Mr dos Santos said. “We also work with established brands to bring exclusive co-branded products to market. Recently we’ve worked with brands including Spring Gully Foods, Ashton Valley Fresh, Barossa Fine Foods ... right through to Gaucho’s \\\\\\\[Argentinian Eatery in Adelaide\\\\\\\], to create new and exciting products for our customers.” Local according to Romeo’s Local is “really, really important” to Romeo’s Retail Group in South Australia, according to National Marketing Manager Alan Jones, because of the nature of the SA market. “SA is a very, very different market,” Mr Jones said, comparing it with Romeo’s other market in NSW. “\\\\\\\[The SA culture\\\\\\\] is very parochial. \\\\\\\[Consumers\\\\\\\] want to know that the pears are from Adelaide Hills... They’re very, very parochial. “This has been embedded in our business right from the beginning \\\\\\\[as a matter of necessity\\\\\\\].” In NSW, Mr Jones says, consumers aren’t “walking into the store and looking for a ham that’s from Alexandria, or you know, Nick’s pickled onions from Bondi.” Mr Jones, however, believes the trend for local is growing in NSW, which he says Romeo’s has begun to promote. In terms of what consumers are after when it comes to local, Mr Jones notes that “we’re predominantly talking fresh – paddock to plate”. “It’s predominantly fresh produce: cheeses, fruit and veg, and meats. Stuff that’s consumed regularly and consumed in quite a short period of time,” he said. “There probably is a market as well for things like, you know, pickled onions, pastas and all that sort of stuff. But I think people predominantly look for local when they’re after fresh.” When it comes to sourcing new local products, Mr Jones says suppliers often approach Romeo’s through its website to organise an appointment with a buyer. “But we did have a bit of a rare case when we built our store in McLaren Vale,” he said, referring to the area south of Adelaide well known for its produce. “There are a lot of producers on that peninsula. We door knocked and went around to, like, this little creamery and a little cheese manufacturer, and we just asked them if they’d like to range their stuff in our stores. “At first, some of them were a little bit scared, because they think you’re a multinational... but once they got to know our story and saw the store built and everything, they loved it.” A campaign embracing local suppliers Romeo’s is showcasing its local suppliers in a new media campaign, ‘Romeo’s Local Love’. A dedicated page on the retailer’s websites features links to the stories of 20 of its local suppliers. These brands will be rotated every 12 months. According to Mr Jones, the aim of the campaign is to allow the public to delve into the stories behind some of the brands they may be buying regularly. “They can go to our website and read the whole story of how the family got into the industry, and where they’re sourcing their milk \\\\\\\[for example\\\\\\\],” he said. “I suppose it’s like an online book. “We’re also going to showcase \\\\\\\[these suppliers\\\\\\\] in our catalogue to direct customers to our website...” White’s IGA promotes locavore movement White’s IGA Company Director Roz White describes her business as “passionate grocers spearheading a movement that supports producers, suppliers and community throughout \\\\\\\[Queensland’s\\\\\\\] Sunshine Coast”. Ms White notes her business’s “unique” Locavore program was created to help customers find locally sourced food and understand more about food origins. “The locavore food movement is something that’s totally distinctive to our five supermarkets,” she said. “It helps customers to easily identify the abundant range of locally sourced, grown and produced grocery goodies. “When food is sourced locally, it travels less distance and stays almost as fresh and nutritious as on the day it was plucked from the soil, trees or plants. It also puts dollars back into our community and supports Sunshine Coast families.” While the Locavore program was officially launched in 2013, the White’s IGA team have been buying goods from local suppliers for almost three decades. “Our local supply network is well TO PAGE D B RETAIL WORLD MAY, 2021