KolesWorth Supermarket

How do you take on the big guys? It seems an independent supermarket in Melbourne’s South East may have found the answer, or at least are having a crack at it. 

In Australia the big boys Coles and Woolworths (or Safeway if you were born in Victoria pre 2000) really have the market cornered when it comes to Supermarket shopping. Their iconic logos towering above us as we park our cars in lots across Australia and venture in for the necessary task of buying food.

If you are anything like me, I feel guilty for constantly buying from the big bosses, I want to support the smaller guys such as IGA, Foodworks or a local independent. But as good as my intentions are I always seem to find myself driving towards the bright lights, an eternal slave to the Curly Green Apple. 

It seems one small player has had enough, and have launched their new branding. A cheeky amalgamation of Coles and Woolworths aptly named ‘KolesWorth’ which you can find on Poath Road in the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena. 

KolesWorth supermarket on Poath Road, Murrumbeena.

Blatantly laughing in the face of the ‘graphic designers code’ of never coupling red and green together (unless you’re Bunnings and have immunity), KolesWorth have broken onto the scene with their new brand in full force. Street signage, point of sale signs, in store advertising and wall banners all proudly ‘flipping the bird’ to Australia’s 2 biggest supermarket players. The name and brand is different enough not to encroach on copyright but clever enough to know exactly what they are getting at. 

The loud and proud banners at KolesWorth supermarket

Much to my delight, their mocking doesn’t stop at the logo – taking inspiration from the most successful advertising campaign Coles has seen – “down down, prices are down” (sorry, it’s probably in your head now). The front of the store is littered with their own rendition, comprising a big thumbs down and eerily similar language to both Coles and Woolworths ad campaigns. The jury is still out wether it’s a thumbs down to high prices or to Coles and Woolworths themselves. I’ll let you decide. 

A new take on an iconic campaign

Boldly breaking all the design rules with the use of a ‘negative’ thumbs down, the repeated use of red over green and no respect for continuity of fonts, I have to give a hats off to KolesWorth. I applaud what they are trying to do and let’s face it, who amongst us has not fantasised about sticking it to the giants? With their monopoly on house brands and terrible quality of fresh produce to name a few gripes. Not to mention their treatment of Australian farmers and suppliers, plus the milk pricing scandal going on at the minute. 

Will it be enough to attract attention of the local neighbourhood and entice shoppers to make the switch? We’ll see.  

KolesWorth advertising budget was spent on signage