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Aussies jump on global trend to break up with 'price gouging' Coles and Woolworths: 'So simple'

This new way of shopping is just like click and collect but without a big supermarket in sight.

Emma Levett
·Contributor
Updated ·3-min read
Erica Quinn in her kitchen (left) and two shoppers at a Reko ring picking up produce (right).
Shoppers like Erica Quinn (left) are making use of an innovative new scheme which allows them to buy fresh produce for less while avoiding the supermarket giants. (Source: Supplied)

It’s the way millions of people shop all over the world but, until recently, most Australians had never even heard of the innovative concept. Landing on our shores from Finland just a few years ago Reko is a way for families and individuals to save money on better quality groceries while avoiding supermarket giants like Coles and Woolworths altogether.

“I do it most weeks now and I never buy fruit, vegetable or meat from the supermarket,” Brisbane mum Erica Quinn, told Yahoo Finance.

“It’s changed the way I shop and the way, as a family, we eat.”

Accusations of price gouging were levelled at Coles and Woolworths as the cost of living soared for Australians. Despite the supermarkets' denials, many families started looking for more affordable shopping options, like Reko.

Reko, which means "fair" or "responsible consumption" is an idea developed by a Finnish farmer in 2013.

It enables shoppers to buy direct from producers on social media, cutting out the supermarket middlemen.

After selecting produce from a local Reko Facebook page customers go to a local pick up point at the specified time of the week.

Local farmers lined up with their car boots open.
Local farmers gathered and ready to distribute their goods. (Source: Supplied)

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Unlike with a farmers market, the producers all arrive knowing exactly how many customers they have. There’s also no cost to them or any time-consuming set up and pack down.

Customers come to the boot of their car and collect what they’ve ordered.

“I saw it on a local Facebook page three years ago and didn’t really get the concept at first,” Erica, 46, said.

Producers handing their goods to Erica (sitting in car).
Erica has now said goodbye to supermarket shopping thanks to her local Reko ring. (Source: Supplied)

But after trying out the one nearest her home in Dayboro, Queensland, she was quickly hooked.

“It’s so simple. You drive through, the boots are all up and it takes five minutes to collect,” she said.

"I love that it gives you that connection to food I think we’ve lost. You can chat to the farmers about the methods they’re using and teach the kids about it."

As well as supporting her local farmers she said the produce is next level.

“I’ll buy a crate of apples and they’re still crispy six weeks later. You’d never get that from the supermarket. It teaches you about seasons too,” she said.

"There’s no avocados or watermelon at the moment because they’re summer fruit and that’s fine."

Cost-wise it’s comparable to the supermarket and often a bit cheaper.

Seven kilos of apples cost Erica $37 compared to $4.90 for 1 kilo at the shops. And she spends around $147 for a premium pack of meat which lasts her 3-4 weeks and includes various cuts as well as sausages and mince.

Producers lined up next to open car boots holding their products.
Producers gather to distribute their wares to consumers often at much lower prices than they can find at the supermarkets. (Source: Supplied)

Erica is just one of a growing number of Aussies to turn their backs on the corporates and go local.

There are over six hundred Reko rings with over two million members in 14 different countries. It’s a growing movement in Australia with thousands of people signed up to the seven hubs here.

So far they are all located in Queensland but there are plans to go national.

“Families as well as empty nesters and anyone interested in what goes into their bodies are coming to the markets we operate,” Jacki Hinchey, a local producer who introduced the Reko concept to Australia, told Yahoo Finance.

Now she’s hoping it will take off and spread further afield so everyone can benefit.

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