Coop Switzerland is promoting the cultivation of organic sugar beet in the country in association with Bio Suisse, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and other partners.
As part of the project, the retailer will use organic beet sugar for all sweetened Naturaplan yoghurts made from cow's milk, and Karma organic yoghurts.
The move will see Coop Switzerland support the preservation of soil fertility and make an important contribution to organic farming.
This project aims to increase the yield of organic sugar beet to around 12,000 tonnes by 2023 and diversify organic farming.
Previously, the retailer used raw cane sugar in its Naturaplan organic yoghurts and Karma organic yoghurts.
The retailer had already switched to organic beet sugar for The Naturaplan sugar assortment, comprising granulated sugar, sugar cubes, and icing sugar, as well as the sugar sachets in Coop restaurants.
Long-Standing Partnerships
In 1993, Coop Switzerland entered into a partnership with Bio Suisse, the umbrella organisation of Swiss organic farmers, to launch Naturaplan, of the earliest organic private-label brands in the Swiss retail trade.
The company promotes organic farming in accordance with the Bio Suisse guidelines.
It has also been working with FiBL on innovative research projects since 1993 and has already invested more than CHF 22 million.
The measures include, among others, new processes and soil cultivation equipment for climate-neutral organic farming and research into modern cultivation methods for organic cotton.
Recently, Coop Switzerland announced plans to raise lower incomes and minimum wages by a total of 0.8% in 2022.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Dayeeta Das. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
