“Supermarkets are crucial to healthier and more sustainable diets”
Interview Marieke van Zoggel, sustainability adviser at supermarket chain Jumbo
Supermarkets play a central role in society. Everyone goes there to do their shopping, whether they like a friendly chat at the checkout or prefer to sprint as fast as possible to the self-scan. So, this is the perfect time to bring greater attention to healthier and more sustainable food. “We’re happy with every step in the right direction,” says Marieke van Zoggel, sustainability adviser at supermarket chain Jumbo.
When Marieke started at Jumbo over ten years ago, sustainability was not yet a central component of the company strategy. That has since changed, she says. “We integrate sustainability in all steps of our chain, from logistics processes to product development and everything in between. Health has also become increasingly important, especially the focus on preventing health problems. As a result, there is now much more attention to responsible eating and encouraging consumers to make better choices. And that’s just as well because a healthier and more sustainable diet starts largely in the supermarket.”
Drive of a family business
A bigger organisation means greater societal responsibility. Not surprising, then, that Jumbo joined Foodvalley last year as the very first supermarket chain. According to Marieke, that pioneering role fits in well with the character of the family business. “We don’t focus on sustainability and health because we ‘have to’ but rather for the generations that will be at the helm in the future. Jumbo is a very ambitious club: colleagues here grab hold of every opportunity for improvement with both hands. That drive shows that everyone is doing their best to make the most positive impact possible for people and the climate. We are not the only supermarket with this mindset, of course. But what makes Jumbo unique is that this desire to do things better and differently on a daily basis is truly in our DNA.”
One of the sustainable ambitions of Jumbo and most other Dutch supermarkets is to ensure that 60% of the entire range is plant-based by 2030 at the latest (with 40% animal-based). “It’s currently still the other way around,” says Marieke. “So, there is still a lot of work to do to achieve this change within six years. That is why, among other things, we are replacing unnecessary animal ingredients in our house-brand products with plant-based alternatives. Our own range consists of over ten thousand items, so we can make quite an impact with that. All of our bread, for instance, is now completely plant-based because it no longer contains cow’s milk.”
Importance of price and taste
Nice steps forward, but not enough for a completely new ratio of plant and animal. “For that, we really need the consumer,” explains Marieke. “We therefore actively try to inspire our customers to choose a plant-based product for a change. For example, we recently introduced vegetable spreads: 100% plant-based and with Nutri-Score of A, but above all very tasty. In the end, that’s the most important thing for consumers: alongside price, taste comes first; only after that come sustainability and healthiness. You have to take that into account if you want to change consumer behaviour. If you only mention the climate and health aspects, you quickly put people off.”
Although most people and companies do feel the urgency of sustainability, behavioural changes simply take time. Marieke: “Business practices change much faster than a person’s diet. A company’s reporting obligation takes effect from a certain date, but people don’t collectively start eating plant-based food overnight. We therefore welcome every little step in the right direction: it makes a huge difference to eat vegetarian once or twice a week instead of meat every day. That’s how we try to keep it positive!”
Meat with field beans
To become more sustainable without losing customers in the process, supermarkets need to be smart and creative. One way in which Jumbo does this is by developing products that combine the best of plant and animal. Marieke gives an example: “Take our new grill burgers and barbecue sausages, made from fresh meat and field beans from Dutch growers. Our customers have tested these products extensively and rated them as very good. With new combined meat products like these, we make it easier for customers to eat healthier and more sustainably – without compromising on taste.”
Jumbo is also testing all kinds of new ways to persuade customers to choose plant-based options. For example, Marieke worked on an experiment with Wageningen University & Research in which plant-based options were offered alongside the meat range – as in, not on a separate shelf. “That proved ineffective: many customers could no longer find the meat substitutes and others still overlooked the plant-based products. A pity, of course, but even results like these help us to understand customers better. As a result, we can encourage more and more customers to choose more sustainable and healthier products.”
Smarter together
The challenge of changing consumer behaviour is one of the main reasons why Jumbo joined Foodvalley. Marieke: “To move forward, we want to exchange knowledge and experiences with other parties involved in this. Inspiring and innovating, that’s what we aim for. It’s therefore good to know what all of the different parties – government, startups, established companies – are working on within the food transition. This is, of course, much better than staying on your own little island and trying things that others have long known don’t work. And thanks to Jumbo, Foodvalley is once again gaining more insight into the world of retail – we really are helping each other get smarter.”
Marieke is particularly proud of a project currently running with Foodvalley: edamame beans from the Netherlands. These soybeans usually come from China, which means that they are not exactly sustainable despite being a source of plant protein. Via Foodvalley, Jumbo is now working together with Harry’s Farm in Flevoland, among other growers.
Marieke: “These farmers grow edamame beans that Jumbo can then offer in the frozen food section. In this way, everyone involved contributes to sustainable production and the protein transition. And to ensure that the growers can make investments and supply our shops with beans in a structural manner over the coming years, we have signed a multi-year collaboration. In 2025, the first local edamame beans will be in our shops! It’s so nice to see how Foodvalley enables and strengthens this kind of collaboration, including over the long term.”
Room for experimentation
By entering into this kind of large-scale collaboration, Jumbo hopes to inspire other suppliers and customers. Marieke: “We want to be a partner in order to put innovative plans into practice and offer a platform to experiment. Together with Foodvalley, we are looking for ways to get the rest of our sector on board and thereby lend a hand to the food transition. I’m very much looking forward to setting up even more great projects! After all, a good example encourages others to follow suit, right?”