FEATURE Buy West Eat Best

The Buy West Eat Best 2026 retail activation, Try Local, Buy Local, held on Saturday 28 March, highlighted seasonality and broad diversity of Western Australian fresh produce and groceries by showcasing it directly to shoppers at the point of purchase.

Words Chelsea Sutton, Partnerships and Events, Buy West Eat Best

VISITORS enjoyed educational demonstrations showcasing local ingredients, children’s activities, in-centre displays, retailer collaborations and a Spend & Win competition. Each activation focused on making local choice easier, more visible and more practical for families, reinforcing the value WA producers bring to the community and economy.

The Alexander Heights activation served as the flagship event, with cooking demonstrations led by chef and educator Don Hancey, showcasing seasonal ingredients from across the state. His sessions focused on practical, family-friendly ideas highlighting the versatility and accessibility of WA produce.

Participating businesses represented a broad cross-section of WA’s food industry, including dairy, meat, fruit, vegetables, pantry staples and specialty products. Retail members including ALDI, Coles, Woolworths and IGA/Metcash played a key role in integrating and highlighting local products within their retail environments.

Participating members were given a platform to highlight the growing importance of supporting local and educating consumers about where their food comes from. “Certainly, now more than ever we need consumers to understand how important locally produced and processed food is and there’s not much better than getting it in front of people and explaining it to them” — Participating Buy West Eat Best member.

One standout product sampled at the event was WA Potatoes’ air-fried potatoes finished with Jingilli olive oil and Australian Black Lime salt. The combination drew a strong reaction, with many shoppers returning for seconds after being surprised by the depth of flavour. These simple, ingredient-led moments helped demonstrate how local produce can transform everyday meals.

Importantly, the activation demonstrated a clear shift from awareness to action. Shoppers were not only purchasing products on the day, but also sharing knowledge with others in-store and returning to engage with producers and retail staff.

After over a year of close collaboration and detailed planning with retailers, Buy West Eat Best Retail Marketing Lead Brigitte Jarvie noted exceptional engagement and genuine enthusiasm to bring the Try Local Buy Local activation to life in-store

“We partnered closely with retailers over an extended period, taking a considered approach to educate teams, strengthen brand understanding and build lasting advocacy that will continue to deliver impact beyond the event. These efforts were supported further by retailers expanded ranging of local products, prominent promotion of Buy West Eat Best members’ produce, and strong team involvement. The result was a noticeable uplift in customer response to local products and point-of-sale engagement, alongside the emergence of a network of proud, passionate Buy West Eat Best advocates.”

The new Buy West Eat Best Mini Cookbook was launched during this activation to support ongoing consumer education post event. This educational resource, developed for high school students, was very well received by shoppers. The selection of easy recipes is supported with a seasonal food guide, WA food map and practical cooking tips.

The Try Local, Buy Local activation generated a strong consumer response to simple recipes featuring local, seasonal produce. Shoppers engaged positively with demonstrations and recipe ideas showing how familiar ingredients could be easily elevated. Producers and retailers also reported more meaningful customer conversations and stronger authentic engagement. Producers experienced less pressure to focus exclusively on sales, allowing more meaningful interactions focused on trust-building and product education.

Program Manager Melissa Worthington summarised the activations success, commenting, “Try Local, Buy Local demonstrated the necessary need to be visible and front of mind for grocery shoppers. Memorable moments created through integrated retail experiences that combine education, sampling, demonstrations, and storytelling enables the program and participating members to authentically reach a broad demographic audience, strengthen consumer connections, encourage long-term purchasing behaviour and drive awareness to what we have on offer right here from across WA — even in challenging trading conditions.