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It is an iconic Australian logo, but is the kangaroo in the triangle confusing customers?
A survey of more than 1,000 people commissioned by dairy cooperative Norco found more than half of consumers were guided by the Australian Made logo.
But Norco CEO Michael Hampson is concerned grocery buyers believed they were supporting Australian-owned businesses when they buy products with the logo when that was not necessarily the case.
"Eighty-one per cent of consumers are buying a product that they believe is Australian-owned but it's actually foreign-owned," he said.
"Three-quarters of consumers believe that country of ownership should be on the food labels they buy on the supermarket shelves to take this confusion out when they're making their purchase decisions."
The Australian Made campaign features several similar logos. (Supplied: Australian Made Campaign Limited)
The logo is administered by Australian Made Campaign Limited, a not-for-profit public company established in 1999 by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the support of the federal government.
In 2016, as part of a shake-up of food-labelling laws, the Australian government incorporated the kangaroo logo into a new country-of-origin label.
There are several versions of the logo:
- Australian Made, where the product has undergone its last substantial transformation in Australia;
- Australian Grown, where all of the product's significant ingredients have been grown in Australia and all or nearly all of the processing has been carried out in Australia; and
- Australian Grown & Owned, where businesses can choose to include "& owned" with the relevant country-of-origin claim for their products.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) there are no requirements under Australian Consumer Law for businesses to provide specific information on their country of ownership, but businesses may voluntarily do so.
The Norco survey found only one in 10 shoppers did their own research on where products came from.
'Owned' vs 'made'
Mr Hampson said foreign-owned companies were still able to use the Australian Made logo if the product was grown, made, or produced in Australia.
"Two-thirds of consumers say that they would actively support more 100 per cent Australian-owned businesses if that information was readily available," he said.
A coalition of Australian-owned food businesses is now calling for clearer labelling on supermarket grocery items.
The companies include Weet-Bix maker Sanitarium Health Food Company, Norco, canned fruit giant SPC, nut spread and snack producer Mayver's Foods, and Sunshine Sugar.
Mayver's Food CEO Bethaney George wants people to know their peanut butter is Aussie-owned and Aussie-made. (Supplied: Norco)
Mayver's Food CEO Bethaney George said customers want more information about their food and where it comes from.
"There's mass confusion. A lot of consumers don't understand that we are family-owned and Australian-made," she said.
Consumer insights expert Cori Hodge echoed that sentiment.
"[Consumers] are looking for that information. They want to support local, but finding where those profits go is a really difficult information search," she said.
"That's something that the industry is not really delivering right now."
Benefits back home
Michael Hampson wants to eliminate shopper confusion over what products are Australian or foreign-owned. (ABC North Coast: Leah White)
The Norco research, which was conducted in May 2024 across all states and territories, found 30 per cent of respondents have increased their support for Australian brands and products over the past two years, even if they cost more.
Mr Hampson said just because a product is Australian-made and owned does not mean it is more expensive.
"If you look at the supermarket shelves there's a lot of Australian-owned companies [whose] products are in larger pack sizes and selling for a lower per unit shelf price," he said.
The food coalition believes supporting Australian-owned puts profit back into the nation.
Norco suppliers Andrew Wilson and Kelly Boyd are among producers calling for clearer labelling on Australian-made products. (ABC News: Elloise Farrow-Smith)
Sanitarium Health Food Company executive general manager Todd Saunders said he did not want there to be confusion over Sanitarium's Australian ownership.
"It's important that we support our local suppliers and it's important that the profits of Australian-owned companies are reinvested in the community," he said.
"We're proud to say that we have donated six million serves of food over the past 12 months to relieve food insecurity in this country, and that's what being Australian-owned helps us do.
"Australian-made is good, but Australian-made and owned is great. And that's the conversation we want to start today."