Coles announced the winners of its annual Supplier Partner Awards on 17 October, recognising its suppliers for providing quality food, drinks and groceries around the country.
The Supplier Partner Awards event celebrates the contributions of Coles suppliers across categories including meat, seafood and deli, fresh produce, bakery, liquor, supply chain, community champion, sustainability and ecommerce.
Coles chief commercial officer, Anna Croft, said she was delighted to honour supplier partners for their hard work and dedication throughout the year.
“We deeply value the partnerships we have with our suppliers – some that we have enjoyed for many decades,” said Croft.
“Whether it's across fresh food, packaged groceries, liquor or ecommerce, we are proud to work alongside such talented and devoted partners. Their creativity, expertise and commitment to the industry help deliver on our purpose to help Australians eat and live better every day.”
The award for Product Launch of the Year went to The Arnott’s Group, for its Tim Tam inspired by Jatz crackers. Initially launched as an April Fool’s prank, it became Arnott’s most successful 'Only at Coles' initiative for its sweet and salty taste.
Rock Ridge Fresh was named Fresh Supplier of the Year for its year-round fresh produce supply, and its meticulous attention to detail throughout the growing, packing and ripening process.
Mondelez received the Community Champion of the Year award for its support of SecondBite and FightMND, contributing one million equivalent meals to the Coles SecondBite Christmas appeal, and $250,000 to the FightMND campaign, funding research and care initiatives for Australians living with motor neurone disease.
Hewitt Foods won Sustainability Supplier of the Year for managing and investing in water conservation, prioritising renewable energy, and leading packaging innovation to reduce waste. In partnership with MLA, Bush Heritage and Integrity Ag, Hewitt undertook the first and largest sustainability research study of its kind, the Food For The Future study, which involved mapping biodiversity and natural capital across 2.3 million hectares of grazing land in Australia.
Additional winners of the 2024 Coles Supplier of the Year Awards include:
- New Yifa Group, which won Own Brand Supplier of the Year for working collaboratively with Coles to improve efficiencies and consistently deliver great quality and affordable products such as CUB nappies and baby wipes.
- MAP WA, which won Meat, Seafood and Deli Supplier of the Year for its investment to enhancing product shelf life, quality and freshness of Coles meat for customers, reinforcing the vital connections that support Western Australia's vibrant food industry.
- Lantmannen, which won Bakery Supplier of the Year for consistently delivering strong service levels ensuring availability of delicious croissants and danishes, and proactively sourcing raw ingredients.
- McCain, which won Dairy, Frozen and Convenience Supplier of the Year for supporting Coles during periods of availability challenges and offering delicious, easy-to-prepare and affordable meal solutions to customers.
- TMX and Accenture, which jointly won Supply Chain Partner of the Year for their close work with the Coles team to deliver two of its largest automated projects in Coles’ history with the opening of Coles’ Automated Distribution Centres and Customer Fulfilment Centres.
- Achievers, which won Service Innovation Partner of the Year for its partnership with Coles on the delivery of Mythanks, ensuring recognition is delivered consistently to the amazing team members across the organisation.
- PepsiCo, which won Digital Commerce Partner of the Year for providing a seamless online shopping experience for customers by integrating promotional activity between Coles, Flybuys and Liquorland on one platform during seasonal events including Footy Finals and Black Friday sales.
- Hanshow Australia, which won Digital Service Partner of the Year for empowering Coles to streamline its operations, reduce errors and deliver a seamless shopping experience.
- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, which won Grocery Supplier of the Year for achieving accelerated category growth by partnering with the Grocery team to simplify its range, deliver value to customers and execute with excellence.
- Lion, which won Liquor Supplier of the Year for its strong customer and retail media partnering and for driving initiatives to win through supply chain transformation.
- L’founders of Loyalty, which won Health and Home Supplier of the Year for delivering three customer loyalty programs this year including the much-loved Curtis Stone BBQ Collection, offering more value at the checkout and enhancing the customer experience.
