’Tis the season for (AI) shortcuts: Inside Coles and Woolies’ fight over Christmas

October 8, 2026 — 8:20pm

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No one hard launches Christmas earlier than retailers do.

Last year, Aldi kicked things off with a bang. This year, Australia’s two biggest supermarkets – Coles and Woolworths – are promising to bring their best, with a bigger-than-ever range, and a pledge to customers of cheaper items and less time spent slaving away in the kitchen

It’s become an annual end-of-year tradition for Coles to launch its Christmas range at a long lunch in early October. Canapes, crisp arancini, beef ribs, baked salmon, fresh salads and various iterations of ham were on full display for staff, suppliers, business partners and media invited to this year’s feast.

This year, Woolworths decided to host a launch event of its own. As Coles brand ambassador Curtis Stone carved up legs of ham for guests, Woolies invited media to its Christmas display of roast meats (“carvery corner”), with black forest tarts and carefully constructed gingerbread houses in tow.

If there was any indication of which event you’d rather be at, one could ask Andy Allen. The MasterChef judge co-owns Three Blue Ducks in Sydney’s inner-south suburb of Rosebery,........

© The Sydney Morning Herald