Melbourne's trendiest suburb is now home to the city's hippest supermarket, as Coles today unveils its newest Coles Local store, revealing new sustainable features designed to cut plastic and cost.
Coles Local Fitzroy will help customers reduce plastic waste while saving at the checkout*, with an olive oil refill station from Squeaky Gate Growers Co. and a range of refillable shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and laundry liquids from ecostore.
In a first for Coles, Fitzroy customers can bring their own container and fill it with select dry Scoop & Weigh products, freshly-ground coffee from DC speciality coffee roasters, cereals and granola, candy, bulk smoothie supplements, and frozen fruit sourced from Australian farms.
Coles Chief Sustainability Property and Export officer Thinus Keevé said that like all Coles Local stores, the new Fitzroy supermarket featured a product range that had been custom-made to meet the needs of local shoppers.
"We've partnered with local butchers, bakers and producers to offer our Fitzroy customers an in-store experience that is uniquely tailored to local tastes and preferences," he said.
"At Coles Local, we test and trial innovative new features to see how our customers respond. In this store we're launching a new frozen fruit Scoop & Weigh station for the first time, and an offer where customers can grind their own coffee and take it away in a container of their choice.
"As part of our Together to Zero strategy to reduce waste and transition to a circular plastic economy, we're working with our suppliers to find innovative packaging solutions and trial them with our customers. We know that customers want us make it easier for them to recycle, and it doesn't get much easier than simply using the container again."
The initiative is one of a number of in-store trials Coles is conducting on reusable packaging, in March partnering with Unilever on a refill station for laundry liquids at Coles Moonee Ponds, and launching Coles' first refillable station with sustainable body and home care brand ecostore at Chatswood in November 2020.
Kristen Moxey, Marketing Manager with Australian olive oil producer Squeaky Gate, said: "Squeaky Gate is delighted to partner with Coles Local on the new Fitzroy store refill station. We are constantly looking for new ways to bring our locally sourced extra virgin olive oil to consumers in a way that minimises our impact on the planet. Giving people the option to reuse and refill their bottle is an innovative way for us all to be more environmentally friendly."
Coles Local Fitzroy features a large vegetarian section, bringing just under 300 vegetarian lines (78% of which are also vegan) into one central location, making it easier for customers to find plant-based alternatives.
The section ranges dahls, curries and stews from Shilu's and Delicious Foods, dairy alternatives including a vegan 'parmesan' from Dairy Free Down Under, and hummus and dips from Arlington's.
Continuing Coles' commitment to supporting local suppliers, the store will include meats from premium local butcher Meatsmith, chilled cakes from Cremorne Street Bakery, classic tiramisu and rich New York cheesecake from iconic Melbourne café Brunetti, as well as pizzas and pastas from Brunswick's popular Italian restaurant 400 Gradi.
Coles Local Fitzroy will also champion sustainability with free cardboard carry boxes available at the checkout, team member polos made from part recycled materials, and soft plastic recycling options for customers through REDcycle.
Coles Local Fitzroy will also reduce food waste by working with food rescue organisation SecondBite and its community partner St Mary's House of Welcome -- a local open access centre that provides essential services to people who are homeless and experiencing poverty.
As part of Coles' commitment to the Fitzroy community, the store has donated $5,000 to Fitzroy Primary School to help fund a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden so schoolkids can learn about healthy eating, and will also donate $5,000 to St Mary's House of Welcome.
The Coles Local Fitzroy store will create 17 new jobs as it unveils its new look to shoppers at 9.30am Thursday 17 June. The store is located at 95-103 Johnston St, Fitzroy and will be open daily from 7am – 10pm.
IMAGES OF COLES LOCAL FITZROY ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
* Ecostore refillable products vs. on-shelf average saving is %5
| Product |
Price |
Regular shelf price per 100mL |
Saving on regular shelf price per 100mL |
| Refillable Skeaky Gate 1L refillable |
$ 12.50 |
$ 1.25 |
|
| Shelf Squeaky Gate All-Rounder – 375mL bottle |
$ 5.50 |
$ 1.47 |
+17% |
| Squeaky Gate All-Rounder – 750mL bottle |
$ 10.00 |
$ 1.33 |
+7% |
