Education & Lifestyle

We are committed to provide food options for all consumers, including those with specific dietary needs and preferences. Every year, we expand our range of gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan/vegetarian and organic-certified products – across both our private brands and perishables products.
By the end of 2024, in Portugal and Poland, our assortment included:
• over 1,400 gluten-free products
• 75 lactose-free items
• 187 vegan/vegetarian options
• 142 organic products

These figures include the new references launched throughout 2024, as we continue to grow our range to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

À roda da alimentação is an integrated communication platform to promote healthier eating habits and lifestyles. It includes a television programme, a blog, and content on other digital platforms in a dynamic format. The chain has recently rebuilt its “À Roda da Comida” website which now includes more tips, recipes, multimedia content and areas dedicated to physical exercise, baby food and senior food sections. The brand has partnered with a wide range of guests and specialists, such as doctors, nutritionists, or personal trainers. One of the great novelties is the free online nutritionist service. The initiative reinforces the importance of sustainable food choices and the role of the brand in raising awareness.

Delhaize is reinforcing its ambition to be the most affordable supermarket in Belgium for anyone who wants to eat more healthily with a revolutionary new loyalty program that supports both a balanced diet and customers’ purchasing power. The new “Superplus Card” will give customers automatic savings of 5% to 15% on more than 5,000 products with a Nutri-Score of A or B. Delhaize is giving a clear sign to help customers develop healthier eating habits through a more balanced diet. It is one of a wide range of initiatives Ahold Delhaize brands are offering to bring to life healthy and sustainable strategy by encouraging and rewarding customers for making healthy choices.

Kaufland and Lidl initiate and support projects around the world which make children aware of making responsible food choices. Lidl is working with nutritionists to encourage children to prepare healthy dishes. Roughly 200 elementary school classes across Germany were sensitized in this way in the 2019/20 school year alone, with a total of 15,000 students over the past three years. The concept was also implemented in a similar form in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Spain. Kaufland provides schools and day care centers throughout Europe with fresh fruit and vegetables. In Germany, more than 4,000 children in the greater Heilbronn area benefiting from a healthier, more varied diet since 2010. In Croatia 19,000 schoolchildren received a total of 94 tons of fruit and vegetables in the 2019/20 school year.

Sonae is committed to broadening the range of healthy products and services it has have on offer. The retailer has developed several partnerships with different entities, each with a specific focus and special labelling to promote healthy eating and improve its own-brand food range. These partnerships include: (i) Portuguese Cardiology Foundation – on products with cardiovascular benefits; (ii) Portuguese Diabetic Association – on ideal portions and products with a positive impact on glycemia; (iii) Portuguese Celiac Association – identifying gluten-free products with the association’s logo; (iv) creation of a Scientific Council of the Producers’ Club in order to promote innovative trends to farmers and (v) creation of the Producers’ Academia Club, which aims to help producers become more specialised and knowledgeable.

Next to the reformulation of its own brand products via dedicated roadmaps, REWE Group places a focus on raising consumer awareness. During the REWE campaign #DuBistZucker („You are Sugar“) consumers were directly involved in the reformulation process. Consumers could test the „REWE Deine Wahl“ chocolate pudding in 4 different varieties (original recipe, 20% sugar reduction, 30% sugar reduction and 40% sugar reduction) and vote online, which version REWE should market. Over 4 weeks, 100.000 people voted. The result: the recipe with 30% reduction was the winner. Since May 2018 this new recipe has replaced the original classic chocolate “REWE Beste Wahl” pudding.

For over a decade, Jerónimo Martins has been promoting food choices aligned with the Mediterranean diet, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2019, the Group launched At the Table with Pingo Doce in Portugal, a book featuring recipes that follow the Mediterranean diet principles. In 2020, this diet was the focus of a scientific conference supported by the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto and the Directorate-General for Health. The event highlighted the multiple benefits of the Mediterranean diet, not only for human health, but also for local producers and for an efficient food use. That same year, Pingo Doce introduced the brand Juliana, featured in a television series of eight episodes dedicated to traditional Portuguese soups.
Pingo Doce also promotes more healthy food habits through practical tips on packaging, encouraging the use of fruit and vegetables as side dishes. Additionally, the company leverages its website, social media and Sabe Bem (Tastes Good) magazine to promote the Mediterranean Diet. In 2024, Sabe Bem became the most-read publication in Portugal, reaching an average of 627,000 readers per bi-monthly edition. The publication regularly features articles written by staff of the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health.

How much would food cost if retail prices took account of the environmental impact at every stage of the supply chain? PENNY and the University of Augsburg have teamed up to address this question by calculating the “true prices” for 16 of the chain’s own-brand products, taking into account not only the “normal” costs but also factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, the consequences of overfertilisation and the amount of energy used in production. The Group have displayed a sign showing the “true price” alongside the retail price on a selection of products allowing customers to make well-informed purchases.