October 1, 2022 – Over the past few years, the demand for plant-based and vegetarian foods has seen explosive growth and continues to grow. At Ahold Delhaize, we also see a continuing shift towards health, well-being and sustainability. Customers are looking to our brands for fresh, healthy and sustainable inspiration to help them put delicious, nutritious family meals on the table every day. Therefore, our brands are continuously working towards improving their plant-based or vegetarian assortments and are helping make customers and associates more aware of what they eat and how it impacts their health and the planet.
World Vegetarian Day In honor of World Vegetarian Day today, we’re sharing the great initiatives our local brands are continuously working on to promote plant-based and vegetarian assortments in-store and online.
Giant Food in the U.S. for example has worked diligently to give customers a true omnichannel experience when shopping or searching for plant-based products on Giantfood.com. In relevant categories such as meat, seafood and dairy; plant-based has been incorporated into the online aisle experience for ease of customer shop ability. Additionally, Giant Food aims to place plant-based or vegetarian items as the first product customers will see as they enter a department.
FreshDirect, our leading online food grocer in the U.S. has increased its plant-based assortment within the dairy category by 6% in 2022, adding 76 new plant-based items to the site. They’re also ensuring that plant-based consumers are able to enjoy seasonal flavored products this year with a variety of festive flavors – pumpkin, maple, peppermint, etc. – across yogurt, alternative milks, and even an oat-based Nog! FreshDirect also has a dedicated vegan and vegetarian landing page where customers can easily shop the assortment.
Stop & Shop offers a free “Nutrition 101: Plant-based Eating” webinar with registered dietitians that explains how plant-based eating does not have to be difficult and shares tips to get started. It also offers a shoppable online page that includes better-for-you plant-based picks to inspire creative cooking ideas. In-store, Stop & Shop has integrated many plant-based items into its departments and it continues to see great innovation and growth in several plant-sourced products.
All of our other U.S. supermarkets including Food Lion, Hannaford and The GIANT Company also have a great range of plant-based and vegetarian assortments both in-store and online.
Albert Heijn, our local brand in the Netherlands is helping customers get more protein from plant sources by increasing its plant-based assortment with more than 1000 products on offer and 150 new products this year. It also encourages customers to adopt a healthy lifestyle by promoting the consumption of more fruit and vegetables, fiber, water, less sugars and fats via recipes from Allerhande (brand recipe magazine) and the help of their FoodFirst Lifestyle Coach app.
Other European brands including Albert and Delhaize Serbia are also increasing their plant-based assortments. Delhaize Serbia together with domestic producers are developing innovative items, which is opening the space for plant-based production processes.
Learn more
To learn more about how Ahold Delhaize is making healthier choices more widely available, check out our healthier choices webpage
