Buy SA Week launch encourages more South Australians to buy and try local food and beverages

Sample a taste of the state’s best produce this week and help support local communities and the economy

Food SA CEO Tori Dixon-Whittle at Foodland Frewville with South Australian produce. Picture: Russell Millard

Brand SA’s Buy SA. For SA. campaign encourages more SA shoppers to buy local, providing a boost to the state’s economy by billions of dollars each year, and creating more jobs for South Australians to support more local businesses and communities.

With the campaign in its second year, Brand SA has introduced a new initiative – Buy SA Week.
Running until Sunday, the inaugural Buy SA Week is celebrating the state’s internationally acclaimed food and beverages, with an exciting week of events and activities running across metropolitan and regional areas.

Part of Brand SA’s Buy SA Week activities include sampling and promotional events, delivered in partnership with Food SA, the state’s peak industry body. “Buy SA Week brings profound economic benefits to the state,” Food SA CEO Tori Dixon-Whittle says.

“South Australians spend more than $10 billion in supermarkets and grocery stores each year. If even a small percentage of that can be spent on SA products, it supports the economy many times over. It boosts local employment because local businesses tend to hire locally, and it has particular significance for regional South Australian food producers and manufacturers, as employment opportunities in those areas can often be limited.”

Money spent on locally made and grown products often circulates through the local economy multiple times, boosting the broader South Australian economy in turn.

Food SA CEO Tori Dixon-Whittle. Picture: Russell Millard

“Local businesses frequently use SA services and suppliers for needs such as packaging, transport and marketing,” Dixon-Whittle says. “This keeps the money within the community and the multiplier effect helps to drive economic growth.

“With the cost of living a challenge for many at the moment, knowing that what they’re spending is actually having a positive benefit on the local economy can help ease the pain a little bit.”

Buy SA Week events will be held at Victor Harbor, Mount Barker, Castle Plaza, Norwood, Rundle Mall, Festival Plaza and Golden Grove over the next six days, as well as in-store sampling, giveaways and entertainment at shopping centres and supermarkets across the state.

A cooking demonstration will take place at the Adelaide Central Market Community Kitchen, featuring Nabula Brdar creator of popular shopping app Supermarket Swap and chef, food stylist and former MasterChef contestant Larissa Sewell on Friday, while matchgoers to the AFL Showdown on Saturday can enjoy activations, giveaways and entertainment.

“Being able to sample is a great opportunity to try an SA-made product that you might not have before,” Dixon-Whittle says. “That direct experience can influence people’s buying decisions because often people will buy something if they’ve enjoyed it. “It can be quite inspiring – who knows what new taste experiences might unfold from sampling these
products.

“Buy SA Week is a wonderful win-win for everyone: For our local producers, for the state and for consumers because they are getting an opportunity to try the exceptional food and beverages South Australia is known for around the world.

“Food SA is delighted to partner with Brand SA to deliver this activity”

For more information, log on to brand.sa.gov.au/buysaweek

Flying the South Australian flag

Eatwell by Kitchenhand co-owner Leanne Cittadini and Tina Germanos. Picture: Russell Millard

The team behind ready-to-eat meal business EatWell by Kitchenhand is wholeheartedly South Australian.

The family-run operation proudly uses quality fresh SA produce for the more than 70 different “paddock to plate” dishes it prepares in its Keswick-based kitchen and supplies to almost 100 stockists around the state.

And as a key supporter of Brand South Australia’s Buy SA. For SA. campaign, the business – founded almost 30 years ago by Tina Germanos – is also a proud flag-bearer for the best of what the state can offer.

EatWell by Kitchenhand co-owner Leanne Cittadini says customers are becoming increasingly discerning about the origins of the food they eat.

“We’ve definitely noticed a growing trend and customers are coming to us directly, wanting to know more about where their food is coming from,” she says.

“We want to make it easier for them to identify locally-made food so when they’re out shopping – and they’re looking at 10 products, for example – they should be able to go ‘what’s South Australian, and how can I identify it?’”

As such, Cittadini describes the distinctive Brand SA logo as a “quick purchasing” measure for those customers choosing to support local businesses.

“We proudly use the state brand logo across all of our packaging,” she says. “We use it in our media campaigns, when we’re out doing promos in-store ... I guess every opportunity to tell our customers that we’re South Australian, we’re going to go ahead and do it.”

“Buying local adds to the economy, supports the community, increases employment and keeps the money in our state,” Cittadini says. “Naturally, the busier we are, the more people we can employ. And we’re supporting local producers and growers as well. So if we’re busier, then they are too.

“It also has a positive impact environmentally – there’s a shorter supply chain and we’re not waiting on goods being transported from further away. “We’ve got some amazing food and beverage businesses here in South Australia and I encourage them to use the state brand wherever they can to strengthen the local message.

“There are phenomenal benefits for our state if we keep supporting local businesses.”

Details: brand.sa.gov.au

Buying our best on a budget

Callum Hann in his Olive restaurant dining room. Picture: Russell Millard

Eating healthy meals using quality fresh South Australian produce doesn’t need to be an expensive exercise.

That’s the verdict of noted chef and food educator Callum Hann, who says people can save on their grocery bills and still support local businesses by following a few simple purchasing and preparation tips. The Brand SA advisory board member and Sprout Cooking School founder believes most South Australians want to “Buy SA” but spiralling costs are prompting second thoughts.

“We’re pretty parochial,” Hann says. “We want to buy local and support other businesses. Everyone knows that if you do this it helps the economy and leads to jobs. But when you are looking at every dollar then sometimes cost does become more important, and supporting your local business maybe becomes a secondary thing.”

Hann says buying local produce while in season, being “flexible” with your planned menu, taking advantage of store specials and working on your culinary skills can all aid your hip pocket. Making more frequent – but smaller – food shopping trips on an as-needs basis and buying loose produce can also prove worthwhile in reducing waste.

Cooking in bulk and adding extra vegies are other smart ways of having healthy, tasty meals on hand, particularly if you’ve got a few options to keep the menu fresh. Cooking in bulk and adding extra vegies are other smart ways of having healthy, tasty meals on hand.

Brand SA’s latest campaign activity will directly address the cost-of-living challenges by highlighting on their social media channels which SA products are on sale each week.

Government contracts boosting economy

State Government contracts to South Australian companies and workers are bringing billions of dollars’ worth of economic benefit to the state.

Tenders for government projects including hospitals, schools, emergency services, building and construction and roads are providing extensive opportunities for South Australian businesses to engage in the government tendering process.

The Industry Advocate’s office is currently monitoring more than 1800 government projects and contracts with a value of $35.3 billion. “In the 2022-23 financial year, the office monitored industry participation plan contracts which totalled $16.8 billion,” Industry Advocate John Chapman says. Approximately 73 per cent of that total work spent was going to South Australian-based businesses, which equals about $12.2 billion worth of economic benefit going into the state from government contracts, up 59 per cent from the previous year.”

Sweeping changes were introduced by the State Government in early 2023 to increase support to local businesses. The changes include ensuring South Australian workers deliver a minimum 90 per cent of labour hours on major infrastructure projects worth more than $50 million, with 20 per cent to be delivered by apprentices, trainees, Aboriginal workers and long-term unemployed.

“The Industry Advocate’s office has also played an important role in the development of Aboriginal businesses supplying to government,” Chapman says. “We have more than 180 listed on our website. Government procurement is a great opportunity for these businesses to grow.”

A list of around 460 procurement opportunities are listed on buying4.sa.gov.au which is updated daily.