Lidl has set itself the goal of becoming the most sustainable discounter in Germany, by meeting its consumers' demand for more organic products.
According to the purchasing director at Lidl Germany Jan Bock, consumers, particularly those aged between 14 and 30-year-olds, and over-50s prefer organic food.
"The sale of organic food at Lidl is growing at a double-digit rate", said Bock.
Furthermore, Bock added that the company supports the goal of Germany's federal government to extend the organic cultivation area in Germany to 20% by the year 2030. Today, it accounts for 10% of the total cultivation area.
Food Appreciation
The purchasing chief also encouraged German consumers to appreciate their food more.
As an example he cited the sale of Fairtrade bananas, which are offered by Lidl. Because a kilo of these is ten cents more expensive than a kilo of conventional bananas, Lidl has seen a dip in sales.
As he explained, purchasing Fairtade bananas would cost the typical consumer just €1.20 more per year, which is the same as the "bottom two inches in the Starbucks mug that you can dump because the coffee has gone cold".
According to Bock, this data indicates shows that the origin of bananas doesn't concern the consumer very much, because the producers in Colombia or Ecuador are too far away for him or her.
"The closer it gets to me, the more important it is. That's why organic food works," he added.
Moreover, Bock is in favour of the idea that farmers adhering to more sustainable practices should receive more money from Brussels, which is an important topic in the current political debate about the allocation of EU allocations
"That's the only way for the ecological conversion to succeed." he said.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jana Zimmermann. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
