With consumers increasingly aware about the impact that the products they put in their shopping basket are having on the planet, a new retail concept in Amsterdam is seeking to raise the bar.
SUPER Market is the brainchild of SUNT Food, a Dutch producer of banana bread made from waste bananas at the supermarket. The outlet brings together 45 independent Dutch food brands, which are seeking to illustrate that there is an alternative to the traditional supermarket offering.
More than a third of CO2 emissions are generated by the food industry, yet with just ten international companies determining approximately 90% of what is available in the supermarket, the propensity for change is lacking, according to SUNT's Laura Hoogland, founder of the SUPER Market initiative.
'A Case For Real Change'
"It is high time that we, as new players, with better products, make a strong case for real change," she explains. "Fair wages for farmers, fish without bycatch, leaving out palm oil, eating more plant-based food, fighting waste, you name it.
"There are plenty of initiatives, but their impact on the shelf is still too often underestimated. Especially now we have reached a point where sustainable change based on trends is no longer enough."
The SUPER Market includes brands that boast a variety of different missions but the "same goal", Hoogland added, such as Moyee coffee, a sustainable coffee brand; Mister Kitchen, a sandwich maker that doesn't use palm oil; Fish Tales, a sustainably caught tuna brand; Lazy Vegan, a producer of vegan ready meals, and, of course, SUNT banana bread.
There are also vegan skincare products from Lekker; ice cream produced from end-of-life fruit from Skoop; beer-brush bars and sandwiches from Magie Creations, seaweed chips from Seamore and vegan cheese alternatives from Wild West Land.
Tie-Up With Albert Heijn
As part of the initiative, SUPER Market has teamed up with Albert Heijn, to provide a broader platform to brands taking part in the initiative – some 15 of the SKUs available in the new concept store are also available at Albert Heijn outlets, "and hopefully soon they all will be," said Hoogland.
An overview of all the brands involved can be found at www.wechangethegame.nl. The SUPER Market is open at Herenstraat 12, in Amsterdam from 3 to 19 September.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
