The Brisbane take away and dining out market is suffering as Brisbanites stay home and cook, according to recent research by the local branch of global information and insight group TNS. Spending on take-away food and eating out over the past six months is down, with one in two Brisbane residents having spent less or put spending on hold in these areas over the past six months. While spend on take-away food and eating out is down, spend on groceries in Brisbane is up, with one in five spending more... ...Read more »

The operators of a former Melbourne restaurant which paid a full-time cook less than $10,000 for 18 months’ work have been fined more than $180,000.The Federal Workplace Ombudsman prosecuted businessman Poh Meng Hong for underpaying staff at his former Malaysian restaurant at Box Hill. In the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday, Magistrate Kate Hawkins imposed a $158,400 penalty against Penang Kayu Nasi Kander Pty Ltd, which formerly traded as Kayu@Boxhill. The Court also handed down a $25,000... ...Read more »

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) has welcomed a decision by the Federal Government to resist increasing the tax on wine in the Budget released on Tuesday night. In the lead up to the Budget there had been reports of a tax hike for both beer and wine, but both were left alone as the Government continues to push their alcopops levy. The Government did, however, include a change to the definition of beer, designed to stop beer or wine-based “alcopops” being produced. “Given... ...Read more »

Following an unprecedented response to a free offer of a Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal in America, KFC has announced that it can no longer accept the free coupon, and will instead introduce a rain check program for inconvenienced customers. KFC, best known for their fried chicken, introduced grilled chicken for the first time this year in the US and their complimentary offer to give sales a boost far exceeded their expectations. “We would like to apologise to our customers who have been inconvenienced... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest supermarket chain will continue the rollout of their upmarket Thomas Dux Grocer outlets, after announcing the purchase of up to nine store leases from Macro Wholefoods in NSW and Victoria. The deal also includes the purchase of Macro’s organic private label brand. Woolworths launched Thomas Dux, an upmarket grocery store, in April last year and currently operates two stores in Sydney -  Paddington and Lane Cove. The arrangement* will see the eight existing Macro stores... ...Read more »

Coles is reviewing its loyalty program after discovering that customer demand for flight rewards pales in comparison to more immediate rewards such as cash to spend in-store. Both the major supermarket chains have flagged changes to their loyalty rewards programs in recent months as they look to enhance their understanding of customers and tailor more effective offers to suit their needs. Woolworths, Australia’s largest supermarket chain, outlined a relationship with Qantas late last year,... ...Read more »

Australia’s leading representative of food and grocery manufacturers has hit out at this year’s Federal Budget for neglecting the sector despite applauding the $22 billion infrastructure spending. Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) Chief Executive Kate Carnell said the food and grocery industry – Australia’s largest manufacturing sector - would welcome the Budget’s significant investments in roads, ports and freight infrastructure across Australia. “Infrastructure... ...Read more »

The Senate has today passed legislation validating the revenue raised from the failed alcopops tax Bill, ensuring $424 million in revenue will not get handed back to distillers. The 70 per cent tax was introduced last year but, with the Senate blocking the legislation earlier this year, new legislation was introduced to validate the revenue already raised. Health Minister Nicola Roxon continues to maintain that the tax is good policy and will again introduce legislation to make it permanent next... ...Read more »

The National Health Survey of 2007-08, released on Monday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has again heightened calls for new food legislation. The research suggested that Australian waistlines had expanded considerably since the last ABS survey of this depth in 1995. Overweight and Obesity More adult Australians were overweight or obese in 2007-08 compared with 1995, with the Body Mass Index (BMI) approach discovering 68% of adult men and 55% of adult women were overweight or obese. In 1995,... ...Read more »

The 2009-2010 Federal Budget takes a long-term and hopeful view of Australia’s powers of recovery. It is a ‘dig deep and hope the recession ends soon’ approach, according to the Australian National Retailer’s Association (ANRA) – which represents major retailers including Coles, Woolworths and Franklins. “In a climate of confused and dramatically altered consumer confidence, retailers needed to see initiatives to stimulate the flagging optimism of Australians,”... ...Read more »