WESTERN Australian producers will have an exclusive opportunity to showcase their product to Coles' team of expert food buyers at the State's first virtual 'Meet the Buyer' event on Thursday, 18 March.
The event will give big and small WA producers the chance to talk to Coles buyers about why their product should be on supermarket shelves.
Producers could have their product stocked alongside a long list of homegrown products already on Coles' shelves, including chilli sauce from the Perth Hills, barramundi from Cone Bay, poultry farmed in Mt Barker and fruit juices from Harvey-based Harvey Fresh.
Coles WA general manager Pat Zanetti said the supermarket was on the lookout for new and exciting products to offer WA customers.
"Our 'Meet the Buyer' event will provide WA producers of all sizes with a great opportunity to show us why their product should be on our shelves, alongside hundreds of WA-produced products we already stock," Mr Zanetti said.
"Our customers tell us they love seeing local products in our stores, so we're lucky that WA has some of the most exceptional farmers, producers and food manufacturers in the country.
"We're already a big supporter of the Australian agriculture industry, with 96 per cent of our fresh produce sourced from Australian producers and the vast majority of our own brand products are grown and made in Australia."
Narrogin producers Three Farmers met Coles buyers at the first 'Meet the Buyer' event in 2012 and now supply quinoa to Coles across Australia.
Three Farmers co-owner Ashley Wiese said the 'Meet the Buyer' event had kickstarted a partnership with Coles and spurred growth in their business.
In 2015, the business was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Coles Nurture Fund to build the first quinoa processing plant in mainland Australia and the following year the business began supplying quinoa to Coles.
"To be able to go to our local Coles - or any Coles in Australia - and see our product on the shelves is a dream come true," Mr Wiese said.
- To register, WA producers can email meetthebuyer@coles.com.au outlining the products they wish to showcase.