Communication of origen of green products in retail: example Plus Retail (NL)

This picture of Dutch supermarket chain Plus Retail shows the communication of their fresh and green produce. This communication promotes (in this case iceberg lettuce) the fresh image of the company and improves the traceability of the products, bringing it closer to their consumers.

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maurice@josdevries.eu

Fresh market concept Marqt in the city centre of Amsterdam

After the opening of the first Marqt store in the city centre of Amsterdam, this new retail chain recenlty opened the doors of the second ecological supermarket, this time in Haarlem. Marqt is a new retail concept where real food is the central focus.

They have 5 basic principles in their formula: the real food is original, made with respect for the environment, real fresh, made with passion and tastes good.

The partners are selected under these criteria, all professionals with heart for their products and businesses. The products mainly come from the region and because of the selection of their providers the products directly come the Marqt supermarkets without loosing anything of their freshness.

In the design of the fresh market you can see a lot of wood, metal, stone and the colours black and white, every material is choosen because of the sustainability. The fresh produce are presented in wooden boxes. Central in the store you can see a kitchen island and the fresh square with meat, fish and cheese. Next to the fresh produce this fresh market offers a wide range of prepared meal solutions.

When you are visiting the city of Amsterdam or Haarlem this new concept is for sure worth a visit.

Green Retailing in the Netherlands is booming

In The Netherlands you see the trend that despite, or maybe thanks to, the crisis, that green retailing is hot. For some important Dutch retailers it was a stimulation to further focus on green retailing, sustainable and repsonsable retailing.

When the economical crisis began, many people were afraid of the effects on green retailing, that companies would choose for cost savings instead of social responsability. Partly this happened, retailers competing on price without thinking to much of the environment, but we also some innovative new initiatives to develop environment-friendly retail projects.

Research shows that 59% of the Dutch people is prepared to pay an extra for more sustainable products and/or services.

Below we give some examples of the Dutch retail sector of how some of the mayor players adapted to environmental-friendly and honest retailing.

Maxeda, the organization of 11 retailers launched a program called “keen on green”.
La Place for example serves only Max Havelaar coffee and biological tea

De Bijenkorf launched a clothing brand “Pure”, all products made of biological cotton

V&D increased the assortment of with a lot of new green products

DIY-markets Formado and Praxis increasingly add new construction materials which are used to make houses more environmental friendly, they even decreased the format of the leaflets which are now printed on environmental friendly paper.

Project “The Green Plug” of BCC electronics chain, increasing the consciousness of the consumers for environmental solutions like saving light bulbs. Clients can borrow energy meters for free.

Clothing brands G-Sus and Mexx are now members of the Fair Wear Foundation

Development of Dutch bio-shopping-mall

In the Dutch city Almere they are working and developing a new bio-shopping-mall. The design is foreseen of a green environmental-friendly roof-top. The green roof, let the shopping-mall integrate with the environment, it is also works as a water reservoir, isolation of heatness and coolness and as roof for the parking. It also it seems a parc. The idea is to integrate a greenhouse under the roof. In the shopping mall they can sell the produce of this greenhouse in a biological restaurant and supermarket.

The total area measures 2.500 sqm, everything built in an environmental friendly way, including a supermarket, biological restaurant, several stores and 28 appartments (selected for the image and sustainability).