Aussie producers recognised for essential COVID-19 support
27 November 2020
Australian businesses, producers and farmers have today been recognised at the 2020 Coles Supplier Awards for helping to provide essential food, groceries, beverages and service to shoppers across the country.
In a year marked by drought, bushfires and COVID-19, suppliers’ combined efforts have helped Coles to safely serve more than 600 million customers since the pandemic began.
Across 14 different categories, Coles food, liquor and service suppliers were awarded for innovation, service, sustainable practices and community initiatives.
Coles CEO Steven Cain said the 2020 Supplier Awards were an important opportunity to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contribution of Coles suppliers across the country.
“A key part of our Win Together strategy is to build sustainable long-term partnerships with our suppliers. In a year like 2020, with drought, bushfires, floods and then COVID-19, the strength of these partnerships has never been more important and we are enormously grateful to our suppliers for their collaboration and commitment to our customers,” he said.
“This year, we received a record number of entries, with nearly 400 nominations for 14 awards.”
“In 2020, Coles Group and its suppliers inspired customers by introducing more than 1600 new products to our supermarkets, liquor and Express stores with a growing focus on health, convenience, sustainability and local. Together with our suppliers, customers and team members, we also contributed $139 million to the community in FY20, up 21 per cent on FY19.”
The winners of the Coles Supplier of the Awards were:
- Sundrop Farms, which won the Coles Fresh Supplier of the Year Award for its outstanding commitment to quality and sustainability. The business in Port Augusta, South Australia, grows truss tomatoes with desalinated water from the Spencer Gulf and solar power generated from 23,000 mirrors.
- True Foods, which won the Coles Sustainable Supplier of the Year Award for its investment in its own onsite solar farm, LED lighting, and reduced plastic packaging to drive sustainability. The family-owned Australian business produces tortilla wraps, naan and roti breads at its bakery in regional Victoria for Simson’s Pantry and Coles brands.
- Suntory Coffee, which won the Coles Own Brand Supplier of the Year Award for helping deliver café quality coffee to customers in their homes with the launch of the Daley Street coffee range in June. The Daley Street range is blended and batch roasted at Suntory Coffee’s roastery in the Melbourne suburb of Preston.
- Pernod Ricard Australia, which won the Coles Liquor Supplier of the Year Award for its collaboration and innovation across the wine and spirits categories, including spirits and ready-to-drink products such as flavoured gins.
- MONDAY Hair Care by Zuru Edge, which won Coles Product Launch of the Year Award, for Monday Hair Care – a range of SLS free, Paraben free and cruelty free hair products which are packaged in recyclable bottles. Zuru Edge and Coles brought the range exclusively to the Australian market in April.
- Reckitt Benckiser (RB), which won the Coles Community Champion of the Year Award for its #FinishWaterWaste initiative, which encourages Australians to save water when washing dishes. The campaign has already enabled Rural Aid to deliver more than six million litres of water to drought-affected farmers already this year.
- Primo, which won the Coles Meat, Seafood and Deli Supplier of the Year Award for its innovative new products, its commitment to customers during the pandemic and the roll-out of recyclable packaging across 88 Coles Brand products supplied by Primo.
- George Weston Foods, which won the Coles Bakery Supplier of the Year Award for its customer focus, collaborative support for communities affected by bushfires and innovative products such as the family favourite, Crumpet Toast.
- Da Vinci, which won the Coles Convenience Supplier of the Year Award for its innovative ideas for the fresh pasta category and the introduction of a 100% recyclable tray for Coles Own Brand fresh pasta.
- The Milk Department, which won the Coles Dairy and Freezer Supplier of the Year Award for its crucial role in Coles’ innovative direct-to-farm milk sourcing model in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and more recently WA.
- Sukin, which won the Coles Non-Food Supplier of the Year Award for its collaborative, innovative and sustainable approach to haircare, skincare and personal care. Sukin’s products are Australian made, naturally derived and vegan.
- Asahi Beverages, which won the Coles Grocery Supplier of the Year Award for working with Coles to provide drinking water to communities affected by drought and bushfires; and for its flexible, responsive approach during COVID-19.
- Red Bull which won the Coles Express Supplier of the Year Award for the launch of the new Red Bull Red Edition, its collaboration on Coles Express Instant Win and Footy Finals campaigns; and its commitment to save energy and packaging.
- PROBE Group and The Resilience Project were joint winners of the Coles Service Champion of the Year Award for their outstanding service to Coles during COVID-19. PROBE Group’s support in providing customer service was invaluable during the pandemic and The Resilience Project created a dedicated program to support the wellbeing of our team members.
Steve Marafiote from Coles Fresh Supplier of the Year Award winner, Sundrop Farms
