Details have emerged about supermarket giant Coles’ plans to introduce a newer, and slightly more pricey, brand of home brand milk to help return more money to struggling dairy farmers.
The “Farmers Fund” brand of milk, which was announced in May, will arrive on select Coles shelves later this week and sell for a reported $2.50 a bottle.
According to the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) 40 cents from every two litre bottle sold will be returned to farmers via a fund distributed by the VFF.
VFF president David Jochinke told media he hoped the new milk could sway those who bought Coles own brand milk to switch to the Farmers Fund to support the dairy industry, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We’re encouraging anyone who is buying home brand milk to consider investing in this fund,” he said.
“We think supporting branded milk is a good thing but for people buying home brand milk this is an opportunity to get them involved.”
The idea of the new milk is that Farmers Fund will distribute money to successful farmer grant applicants every three months.
The first round of grants are due to kick off in mid-October and Coles have kick-started the fund with a $1 million contribution so grants can be given immediately.
While this might be good news for farmers, perhaps Coles – who amplified pressure on farmers with their home brand $1 milk – could still do more.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review in August The Farmers Fund brand “is forecast to raise about $2.5 million, including the $1 million contribution from Coles’ Nurture Fund, whereas if Coles increased the price of private label milk by 20¢ a litre it would raise $145 million nationally.”
The same report also said “Coles has resisted industry and political pressure to raise the price of private label milk, saying it would harm consumers, particularly those with a weekly shopping budget of $150.”
Only time will tell if the new plan is successful but similar plans have been implemented in South Australia where in 2012 the dairy industry introduced a milk brand and collected 20 cents a litre for farmers.
