The team behind Aussie Farmers Direct has announced a plan to take marketshare from Coles and Woolworths in the national online food and grocery market.
Aussie Farmers Direct has launched The General Store, an online-only supermarket that will stock a huge range of Australian grocery brands at low prices.
The store, which launched in Melbourne ahead of a national rollout, will offer hundreds of bulk value lines not available in current supermarkets.
The combined product range from Aussie Farmers Direct and The General Store will far exceed the average Aldi or IGA, and provide real competition to Coles and Woolworths, according to the company.
Aussie Farmers Direct CEO Keith Louie said The General Store addresses a long-standing customer need.
“Our customers love getting their fresh produce delivered from smaller Australian farmers and local suppliers direct to their door. But until now they still needed to visit the supermarket for all their pantry staples. The General Store solves that problem,” Louie said.
“Now shoppers can visit one website, shop into one basket from Aussie Farmers Direct and The General Store, and receive one doorstep delivery. No more trudging to the supermarket.”
Unlike Coles and Woolworths there is no minimum spend, and The General Store will offer free delivery for all but the smallest orders, according to Louie, and would give prominence to Australian-grown and Australian-made products.
“In The General Store we will look wherever possible to support Australian food and grocery manufacturers, and we’ll also donate 10 per cent of the profits from imported products to the Aussie Farmers Foundation, which supports charities and grassroots community groups making a real difference in rural Australia,” he said.
“With Aussie Farmers Direct and The General Store becoming the third pillar in the online grocery market, local grocery manufacturers are no longer in the grip of an online supermarket duopoly.”
