Woolworths explains meat move after vegan backlash
Vegans have accused Woolworths of “gaslighting” customers after multiple stores allegedly displayed ham and turkey under vegan signage.
Woolworths has responded after a fridge in one its supermarkets, meant to house its vegan range, was photographed stocked with Christmas meats sparking complaints from angry vegan commenters.
In the r/Australianvegans Reddit thread, users vented after someone shared a photo of the fridge packed with ham, turkey, and crackling.
Above it, a sign proclaimed, “0 per cent meat, 100 per cent flavour,” causing confusion and anger in the comments.
“My well-intentioned mother-in-law would definitely get tricked by this, and I’d be eating ham,” one person wrote.
Others took offence.
“This is so messed up, are they trying to (be) immature?” said another.
Some called it “tone deaf” and “gaslighting,” while one vegan fired off a complaint to Woolies, urging others to follow suit.
Multiple commenters confirmed spotting the same at local stores, with one noting: “It happens every Christmas, sadly.”
However, others defended staff, with one saying: “I’m sure there would have been comms to remove the sign or flip it for Xmas, and they’ve missed or forgotten it. When you work retail, the amount of signs, point of sale, posters, prices, products, it’s just overwhelming.”
A Woolworths spokesperson explained the move, confirming it was simply a matter of extra space being needed for popular Christmas products.
“This is the busiest time of the year across all of our supermarkets and we’re focused on meeting customer demand for our extensive range of festive products,” a Woolworths spokesperson told news.com.au.
“As with every year, this includes a great selection of ham, turkey and other meat products that need extra space on our chiller shelves.
“There’s still room for our plant-based product range, but, store-by-store, it might not always be exactly in the spot customers are used to.”
The incident comes amid complaints of shrinking vegan sections at Woolworths.
A Change.org petition with more than 2000 signatures has urged the supermarket giant to bring back plant-based staples like tofu, tempeh and vegan cheeses that have vanished from shelves.
Petition organiser Sharon Leisk claimed, “In the past months, shoppers have watched vegan sections shrink dramatically, shelves merged, staples vanished, and variety reduced to a handful of products”.
When asked why, Woolworths confirmed to media that customer demand for plant-based protein products in stores has “most definitely softened,” in line with global trends, leading to its range shrinking recently.
But Ms Leisk argued that falling sales aren’t a sign of lower demand for plant-based food but a result of poor category management.
She also fears the move will reduce access to affordable plant-based foods for hundreds of thousands of people around the country.
One in 20 Australians (5.3 per cent) follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, per the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with females and 30-49-year-olds most likely to do so.
Originally published as Woolworths explains meat move after vegan backlash
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