Consumers from across Australia have taken to Facebook over the past few days outraged at the shortage of branded milk at their local shops.
Some posted photos of shelves full of home-brand milk but no branded milk, while others claimed staff told them they had been ordered not to restock branded milk until the home-brand stock had been sold.
Both Woolworths and Coles denied the allegations when responding to complaints on Facebook, saying an increase in demand for branded milk had resulted in the shortage.
“We are stocking proprietary and own brand milk in the same way this week as we have done in previous weeks,” Woolworths said in a statement to The Courier Mail.
“Coles has not made any changes to the way we replenish our milk range,” a Coles spokesperson said.
Milk wars
There has been increasing public support to steer clear of home brand dairy products as farmers struggle to cope with unexpected milk price cuts.
Australia’s biggest dairy co-operative Murray Goulburn last month slashed milk solids prices from $5.60 a kilogram to between $4.75 and $5 a kilogram because of a global slump, with competitor Fonterra doing the same shortly after.
