ACCC and Heinz in court over “Shredz” claims … State economic rankings revealed … Donut King heads to Scandinavia

By Dominic Powell and Emma Koehn. 

Heinz and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will be in court today to kick off a case launched by the consumer watchdog, which last year took issue with the food giant’s promotion of its toddler product, “Shredz”.

In June 2016 the ACCC announced it would be court taking action against Heinz over claims the promotion of its fruit and vegetable rope snacks, Shredz, could have misled the public on nutritional claims.

“Heinz is marketing these products as healthy options for young children when they are not,” said ACCC chairman Rod Sims in a statement in June last year.

“These products contain over 60 per cent sugar, which is significantly higher than that of natural fruit and vegetables – for example, an apple contains approximately 10 per cent sugar.”

AAP reports this morning Heinz will defend the claims, insisting the products, which are no longer on the market, complied with food labelling laws.

Victoria snatches second spot in states economic rankings

CommSec’s July State of the States report has been released, and while New South Wales has remained top dog, Victoria has edged out ahead of the Australian Capital Territory to claim the second place.

The ACT dropped to third due to a softening of the recent job market, but the report notes of Victoria “there is little to separate the state from the ACT”.

NSW has remained at the top due to its strong performance on indicators such as dwelling starts and retail trade, where Victoria excels at population growth but loses out on unemployment.

Western Australia has again claimed the last spot across the eight states and territories, remaining below national averages on all indicators, but CommSec believes strong tourism and agriculture growth could drive the state up in the coming months.

Here are the rankings from CommSec’s State of the States:

1. NSW

2. Victoria

3. ACT

4. Tasmania and Queensland

6. South Australia

7. Northern Territory

8. Western Australia

Donut King goes to Sweden

Retail Food Group (RFG), owner of iconic Australian donut retailer Donut King, has today announced it will be taking the brand to Scandinavia through a franchising agreement with Swedish company BC Food & Beverage AB, after it obtained the master franchise rights for the business.

The first store will be established in Uppsala before the end of 2017, and the company reports many sub-franchise enquiries have already been made, and the company believes Scandinavia is a “key growth area” for Donut King.

“During the past three decades, Donut King has evolved into Australia’s largest specialty donut and coffee destination, treating over 20 million customers per year to its world-famous cinnamon donuts and wide range of specialty treats,” RFG chief executive international, Mike Gilbert, said in a statement.

“Donut King has also built a loyal customer following amongst a number of international markets, and we feel the time is now right to introduce the brand within Scandinavia.”

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