MEDIA RELEASE Woolworths is Australia’s Fresh Food People ‐ New multi-million brand campaign tells our iconic Australian grown story ‐ Addresses key customer issues around sourcing, quality and freshness Sunday, 17 June 2012: Woolworths is set to unveil a new campaign that marks the start of a fresh promise to our customers as ‘Australia's fresh food people’ and signals our ambition to become the country’s most trusted brand. Tjeerd Jegen, Managing Director of Woolworths Supermarkets and Petrol said: “Today we embark on a new journey for our company. We have a proud history at Woolworths of bringing Australians outstanding fresh food and value. We are building on this and our new campaign marks the start of a new promise to our customers as ‘Australia's Fresh Food People’. “By serving Australians with great quality fresh food from our very own backyard, as well as great value, we will live up to our ambition to be Australia's most trusted brand. “Ultimately we want shoppers to know that when they buy their fresh food with us they can feel proud that they are supporting a great Australian company as well as Australian farmers and suppliers. “A new ad campaign, which commences on Sunday night, features nine real Woolworths Fresh Food people. Our renewed focus on our people is testament to the faith we have that Woolworths’ people are our greatest asset. “Coupled with that is our new theme song, which highlights the rhythm of the seasons and celebrates that every day, every week, every month of the year, Woolies people open the doors to our stores and bake the freshest bread, serve the freshest fruit and veg and the best quality Australian meat and seafood.” Galaxy research commissioned by Woolworths has found extremely low levels of customer awareness of where their fresh food comes from. Most respondents believed that about 40 per cent of fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets are imported. In fact, 96 per cent fresh produce sold at Woolworths is Australian grown. When it comes to fresh meat, almost 30 per cent of respondents thought about 50 per cent or less is Australian grown. In fact, 100 per cent of fresh meat sold at Woolworths is Australian grown. There is also a significant lack of awareness about where Australia’s fruit and vegetables and meat come from and its freshness by the time it gets to store. “There is little doubt that supermarkets can be doing a better job in informing customers about who we are and how we are able to deliver the best fresh food in the country. That’s why Woolworths is embarking on a multi-million dollar brand and consumer awareness campaign. “While the change of wording to ‘Australia's Fresh Food People’ is subtle, it is significant. As a proud Australian company we want to highlight the depth to which we are part of every community through our commitment to: • our staff by employing more than 110,000 Australians; • our suppliers by supporting thousands of farmers and producers and indirectly contributing about $600 billion into the economy every year; and • our customers through great quality and great value food every day, week, month and year. “We have worked really hard over the last decade to improve our fresh food offer. We continue to improve and expand the offer in our stores. Recent key initiatives have included: • speeding up the delivery of fresh food from farm to store by one day; • offering customers a “Fresh or Free Guarantee; and, • expanding into new fresh areas such as in-store sushi kitchens to cater for an increasingly diverse tastes. “As Australia’s iconic fresh food retailer we are reaching out to customers. We have a responsibility as Australia’s largest national supermarket to better explain to customers where their food comes from and to improve their shopping experience,” Mr Jegen said. To find out more information about Woolworths and the campaign please go to www.woolworths.com.au For further information please contact Woolworths Press Office on 02 8885 1033