Mother claims Asian group ignored Woolworths formula limit

Well-organised groups are flouting supermarket restrictions on baby formula sales to fill their car boots with dozens of tins, an angry mother claims.

Clara Warry-Bush snapped photos of who she said were half a dozen Asian buyers loading them into trolleys at a Woolworths in Brisbane. 

‘I counted at least six people involved and saw large amounts of cash changing hands in the centre,’ she said.

‘This doesn’t include the two car loads we saw being loaded in the carpark on our way in.’ 

The mother-of-two said the group got around a two-tin limit by taking turns to buy a pair each, loading them into trolleys just outside, and going back for more.

‘I approached the service desk and was told they can’t stop them as it is 2 per customer per transaction so they can come in and out as many times as they want,’ she said.

‘This is disgusting. Your staff have the right to refuse service. They were sitting outside the service desk in plain sight.

‘The same person was going in and out. They were tag teaming. [They would] take 40 cans, one per person.’

The mother-of-two said the group got around a two-tin limit by taking turns to buy a pair each, loading them into trolleys just outside, and going back for more

‘The same person was going in and out. They were tag teaming. [They would] take 40 cans, one per person,’ she said

Limits were introduced at Coles, Woolworths, and other stores last year to cut down on them being bought in bulk and sold for huge profits in China.

Ms Warry-Bush said the buying up of the popular formula tins left little for Australian mothers who needed it to feed their children.

‘No wonder we have a hard time purchasing formula when you are doing nothing to stop this abuse of the system,’ she said.

Woolworths responded to her complaint without directly addressing the incident or the loophole she said the group was exploiting. 

‘We introduced a two can limit per shop on the purchase of baby formula by customers from our supermarkets nationwide and online,’ it said.

Limits were introduced at Coles, Woolworths, and other stores last year to cut down on them being bought in bulk and sold for huge profits in China

‘We understand how frustrating it is for our customers when they can’t buy the products they need.

‘We’ll continue to work hard with our suppliers to increase supply of these products, as well as look at new ways to ensure guaranteed stock for families.

‘We’ve passed your feedback on to the store management team for their awareness.’ 

Supermarket shelves have been regularly raided in recent years by shoppers sending the higher-quality milk products back to China to meet huge demand. 

Professional shoppers, known as ‘daigous’, buy hundreds of the tins every week and sell them for more than four times as much – some making $4,000 a shipment.

Shelves were frequently left bare when Australian parents came to buy them, forcing them to go farther from their homes to find any.