The Austalian supermarket chain Coles has been criticised by a vegan woman who claims she was ‘tricked’ into eating real meat.
Heidi Marshman rushed to Twitter to criticize the retail behemoth, tweeting a photo of chicken goods in the freezer department next to vegan dishes.
She captioned the photo with the following statement (via 7NEWS.com.au)Is it intentional that you put non-vegan products on the shelf between 2 vegan products?”.
“I am disgusted that you’ve just tricked me into buying & eating chicken, when we are all trying so hard to save the planet. Do you not care at all?”
In response to the Tweet, Coles wrote: “Thanks for reaching out. As you can appreciate, in some instances it may be necessary to relocate items to create the additional space required to introduce new products and sections into our range.”
“We attempt to create uniform layouts throughout our supermarkets, however different store sizes and physical limitations mean that this is not always possible.
“Nevertheless, your specific concerns have been noted and referred to the National Grocery Space Department for their information.”
It’s no wonder that occurrences like these occur now that more meat-free products are hitting the shelves to cater to the ever-growing vegan community.
Nonetheless, the shopper was unsatisfied with the response, saying, “No, I can’t ‘appreciate’ this-it definitely means a complete lack of customer attention.”
“Your lack of apology only goes to show how little empathy & understanding you have of this issue! & even if your excuse is true, you still wouldn’t put meat items betw 2 non-meat items.”
However, many consumers pointed out that the meat in question was I’m Free From Chicken Nuggets and I’m Free From Chicken Tenders, both of which are gluten-free and hence belong in the free-from area.
One member commented on the thread, saying: “I can’t eat gluten so I have to read every label, you’re not smart enough to do that? These products are there for other dietary requirements too..”
A second person added: “Well, it’s more dangerous to put gluten containing products among the gluten-free ones. That’s why we read labels.”
Coles has since talked with 7NEWS.com.au, stating that the company is committed to providing more vegan alternatives and that the customer’s accusations will be investigated.
“We have a rising number of customers preferring to purchase vegan and meat-alternative foods, and we are working hard to continue
“We have a growing number of customers choosing to purchase vegan and meat-alternative products and we are working hard to continue to expand that range to meet their demands.
“Where possible we group similar items together, but this is not always possible due to the different shelf space and layouts in our stores across our network.
“We are concerned to hear about this customer’s experience and have referred this issue to the National Grocery Space Department for their consideration.”
to extend that variety to suit their requests,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“Wherever possible, we put similar items together, however due to the various shelf space and layouts in our stores across our network, this is not always possible.”
“We are worried about this customer’s experience and have inquired about it.”
“Wherever possible, we put similar items together, however due to the various shelf space and layouts in our stores across our network, this is not always possible.”
“We are disturbed by this customer’s experience and have forwarded this matter to the National Grocery Space Department for review.”
