COLES NOW PARTNERING WITH PRODUCE GROWERS

Following the impact of floods and cold weather on their supply in south east Queensland, supermarket behemoth Coles is collaborating with its fresh produce suppliers to offer a temporary alternative for customers seeking to buy iceberg lettuces. Customers in South East Queensland will be able to get two smaller lettuces for the same price as one at Coles—$6.50—instead of just one. Due to the unusually cold weather, these lettuces haven’t entirely developed, but they are still delicious and in excellent form. The effort would increase customer availability by allowing growers in the Lockyer Valley to make use of some of the iceberg lettuce harvests that have been negatively affected by the recent rainy weather.

There is a lot of this product on their fields, according to Rugby Farm producer Matt Hood of Lockyer Valley, and this programme will ensure that none of it is wasted. “We’ve battled to get our lettuces to grow to a big enough size that clients would expect because we’ve had severe floods earlier this year, continued heavy rains, recent cold weather, and lower levels of sunlight,” Mr. Hood said. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Coles to create a product that will still taste great and be in season. Since the hearts of the iceberg lettuce are still crisp and delicious to eat despite their present little size, we are tripling our supply to provide customers two instead of one.

Craig Taylor, general manager of produce at Coles, stated that the Coles fresh produce team is collaborating closely with growers to aid in their quickest recovery. “Australia has experienced some chilly temperatures as winter has officially arrived. Although Coles has an abundance of some fresh produce, such as avocados, pears, oranges, kiwi fruit, onions, carrots, and potatoes that are very affordable, some goods are only available in limited quantities, according to Craig. When they met with the Rugby Farm team and learned that there was a lot of wonderful lettuces in the ground that wouldn’t grow to their full size due to the cold weather, Mr. Taylor stated they knew they had to come up with a way to assist our consumers and our producers. “A two pack will offer value to our customers with a price in line with a single full size iceberg lettuce, and it will help our growers make the most of their crops while giving our customers more supply.”