German retailer Edeka is rolling out its 'Gut & Günstig' economy private label line within its fresh fruit and vegetables range, in order to compete with discounters, according to reports by Lebensmittel Zeitung.
Starting this week, a range of 20 discount fresh SKUs can be ordered by independent Edeka shopkeepers, including bananas, apples, clementines, oranges and tomatoes.
Discounter Competition
The retailer's main competition in the fresh produce area, Aldi, has recently been advertising heavily and outperforming Edeka's sales in the loose fruit and vegetable section, according to reports.
Earlier in the year, Aldi Süd followed Aldi Nord by offering loose produce, rather than only selling it pre-packed or as single items.
Competition
However, the major German discounters are also upping the ante with their organic foods. Aldi Süd now offers around 250 products, while Aldi Nord has 180 items, and Lidl has 150. Meanwhile, Edeka’s Netto Marken-Discount store offers as much as 480 organic products, according to the store’s most recent leaflet.
In September, Edeka announced the opening of a new carbon-neutral banana ripening plant in Borna, near Leipzig, following a €7 million investment.
The facility was opened with the goal to ripen around 286 million bananas per year, which will be delivered to Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount stores across Germany.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
