Belgian retailer Colruyt Group is set to open its 30th Bio-Planet store in Liege on 19 June.
The store is spread across an area of 650 square metres and will offer around 6,000 food and non-food products.
The products are healthy, environmentally-friendly, organic, fair trade, and locally produced.
It will also offer a wide range of options for people with food intolerances and a plant-based range for flexitarians, vegetarians and vegans.
Eco-Friendly Store
The new store is 100% fossil-fuel free and equipped with eco-friendly technologies.
The store's heating system does not use any natural gas or fuel oil, and the electricity is supplied by its renewable energy partner, Eoly.
"The fresh produce department and the service counter are cooled by a propane cooling system. This system emits 90% less greenhouse gases than synthetic refrigerants throughout its lifetime," explained Fabrice Gobbato, the general manager of Bio-Planet.
"The ventilation system also recovers 75% of the available heat in the air. [...]And an air curtain at the entrance keeps out the cold air," Gobbato added.
Skylights in the roof maximise the use of daylight, and LED lighting in the store will help in reducing energy consumption by 30%.
Low-Energy Outlet
The second launch is a Colruyt store in Sint-Denijs-Westrem, which is a low-energy outlet with optimum insulation and ventilation.
It will offer a wide range of products that include national brands as well as the private-labels Boni Selection and Everyday, Colruyt said.
The store houses a self-service butcher's counter for fresh meat and provides an overview of the range of meat, cold cuts, and salads.
Head butcher, Patrick Wandels, added, "Customers can see the butchers at work in an open workshop and talk to them if they have questions or special order."
The store occupies an area of around 1,700 square metres, with nine checkout counters and a parking area with a capacity to house 128 vehicles.
The store has incorporated electronic labels on products for efficiently updating price changes and saving paper.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
