German supermarket cooperative Edeka has launched a new service, offering fresh, pasteurised milk, supplied by local producers, through in-store filling stations. The service was launched on 9 January in Stendal (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany).
The filling-station system allows local or regional producers to interact directly with their markets. The revenue generated is returned, in full, directly to the producers. The cooperative supports the system by providing the retail space and the location, and benefits in return from offering its customers an additional service.
"With local projects such as the milk-filling station in Stendal, we meet the wishes of the consumers to have a direct influence on the income of farmers when buying milk," said Hans-Ulrich Schlender, managing director of Edeka.
He added, "We stand for food from our region. The self-sufficiency of regional milk is a building block for [the] sustainable, direct marketing of agricultural products."
The milk on tap, which is freshly delivered each day, costs €1.30 per litre. Customers can bring their own bottles or buy a new glass bottle from a vending machine for €0.80.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Martha Sparrius. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.