Coles applauded for ‘futuristic’ offering in new “bougie” locations

Coles has been applauded by shoppers for making a progressive move with a popular product in one of its new locations.

Supermarket giant Coles has been heaped with praise after launching a “futuristic” feature in a select number of stores.

Dozens of shoppers have applauded the retailer’s progressive move after an eagle-eyed consumer discovered it and shared a photo online.

Inside the supermarket’s “most bougie” location – its Coles Local in the Sydney CBD – is an array of modern offerings, including a “kombucha wall” and a mochi, macaron and gelato station.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash for $8/month and no lock in contracts. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Coles has been praised for a ‘futuristic’ move. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled

But what stopped a consumer in her tracks on Sunday was something that just five short years ago would have been entirely beyond comprehension.

It was a plant based milk selection attached to its self serve coffee station, completely separate to the dairy milk.

“This is the future,” an enthusiastic shopper announced on Facebook.

The “tap and go coffee” machine advertised a plant based beverage for $2.50 in its regular size, and $3 for a large.

“This is so good,” one fan of the option wrote, with another adding “OMG I love this”.

Someone else said they “absolutely” agreed it was a promising sign that plant based alternatives were becoming more mainstream.

Some were still not sold however, arguing it would have truly “futuristic” if there was no dairy milk at all.

“Obviously the future is where the left side doesn’t exist?” one wrote.

“The future would be where there is only plant based. But it’s a start,” another said.

Others agreed it would be even better if there was “no plant milk surcharge”, given the dairy milk was 50 cents cheaper for both sizes.

Sydney’s Coles Local branch, on York Street, was the seventh Coles Local store, with the first one opening in Melbourne’s Surrey Hills in 2018 followed by Glenferrie.

There are now four Coles local outlets in Sydney, with the other three located in Rose Bay, Chatswood and Manly.

Coles has been applauded by shoppers for making a progressive move with a popular product in one of its new “bougie” locations. Picture: Facebook

The first Queensland Coles Local opened in the Brisbane suburb of Ascot, with Coles chief sustainability, property and export officer Thinus Keeve saying the stores were a hit with shoppers.

“Every time we open a new Coles Local store the feedback from customers is fantastic, and we see that not just through increased sales but directly through major gains in our customer satisfaction scores,” he said.

“A key part of our property strategy is a tailored and targeted customer offer and our York street store has been customised using thousands of data points.

“The store has a bespoke layout focused on products that are most in-demand among CBD customers, complemented by innovations customers wouldn‘t expect to find in an ordinary supermarket.”

The “fancy” Coles Local stores have featured in a series of viral TikTok videos, with many shoppers lamenting the “bougie” supermarkets weren’t located close to them.

Originally published as Coles applauded for ‘futuristic’ offering in new “bougie” locations