One of the impacts of COVID-19 has been South Australian consumers rallying around South Australian businesses, going out of their way to find ways to purchase their products and directly support South Australian jobs.

Food South Australia CEO Catherine Sayer says the industry saw consumers moving online in significant numbers to order direct from South Australian businesses.

“South Australians have proven over and over again that they care enough to go the extra mile to support local brands,” Ms Sayer said.

“While many retailers recognise the value of identifying local products in-store to help consumers find them on the shelves, there was a gap in the information available to retailers themselves in finding those South Australian products.

“We found there was no central body of data to help easily identify products that are both South Australian made and owned, and we discovered this was a key challenge for retailers,” she said.

“As the peak body for the industry in South Australia, we realised we are ideally positioned to gather that data to benefit both retailers and our industry.”

Food SA has been working with members for the last four months to compile the database, which now includes thousands of individual products. 

“Our aim has been to facilitate growth for our members by enabling retailers to easily identify which products fit this criteria, which in turn means they can introduce point of sale identification on those products,” Ms Sayer said.

“Having easy access to reliable information makes this a simple process for retailers and helps consumers when these products stand out on the shelf. 

“SA Made and Owned is being rolled out with Drakes Supermarkets from this week,” Ms Sayer said. “The team at Drakes really wanted to highlight South Australian products and have been incredibly supportive, working with us to develop this project from the initial idea to rolling it out, and are investing significantly in advertising allied to and supporting the campaign. 

“Now more than ever, it’s crucial that we support our local ecosystem,” says John-Paul Drake, Director, Drakes Supermarkets. 

“Our customers were begging us to make it easier to identify locally made and owned products on our shelves – of which we have thousands - and we’re proud to have worked with Food SA to make this happen.”

“Supporting local means keeping the money in our great state – by buying a locally made and owned product, you’re helping to create more jobs and opportunities right here on your homeground.”

“Food SA supports consumer-facing campaigns for South Australian products through programs such as Eat Local SA which focuses on food service venues heroing South Australian products, and I Choose SA, which covers all sectors of business in South Australia. 

The SA Made and Owned database is a tool to help retailers actively support these messages at the product level, in turn helping manufacturers connect with retailers to grow their business and, at the end, help consumers easily find and purchase the products they love – all of which means we’re keeping South Australians employed and growing an industry that is critical to the state’s economy,” Ms Sayer said.

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