MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Coles Supermarkets in Australia is increasing efforts to support Queensland’s meat industry with an initiative designed to encourage purchases of Queensland beef. Starting on June 17, Queensland’s Coles customers are being assured they are supporting the state’s beef producers and their communities when they buy a Coles Butcher beef product marked with a 100% QLD Beef logo.

A partnership between Coles, Australian Country Choice and the National Livestock Identification System enables the supermarket chain to systematically trace the origins of its beef products. Working for many years to develop a fool-proof system, Coles, Australian Country Choice and a key group of Queensland livestock producers known as Colestock, say they are pleased to see the initiative come to fruition.


“From Mareeba in the North to Mt. Isa in the West and South to the Brisbane Valley, Queensland produces premium-quality beef products,” said Allister Watson, Coles general manager of meat, after a long-term development period. “This initiative is all about ensuring Queenslanders can easily identify and enjoy these products, with the comfort of knowing they’re supporting locals.”

Coles purchases approximately 225,000 head of cattle a year, 75% of which is procured from Queensland farmers. This equates to approximately 101 million kg. (222.7 million lbs.) of beef.

Coles operates supermarkets in every Australian capital city and is a leader in Australian food retailing, with more than 100,000 employees and more than 11 million customer transactions a week.