Lidl Austria has increased its market share in Austria by 0.6% to 5.9% since December 2022 and generated added value of over EUR 1.1 billion for domestic food companies in the 2023 financial year.
The increase in the area of plant-based products is particularly emphasised, with a 24% increase in the number of plant-based substitute products sold and a 13% increase in sales in the vegan range. The vegan range currently comprises over 450 items. Lidl has also announced that it will continue to expand its range until 2025, focusing on regional ingredients and a low level of processing in order to offer healthy and environmentally friendly alternatives.
“We are satisfied with the development in our anniversary year. Since December 2022, we have increased our market share the most among all food retailers, making us the growth winner. Customer frequency and receipt totals have also increased significantly and we are gaining new customers every day,” comments Alessandro Wolf, CEO of Lidl Austria.
The organic range has already grown to over 350 products and there has been a significant increase of 16.5% in FAIRTRADE-certified products.
Focus on regional supply chains
Lidl is also continuing to focus on expanding its domestic product range. Almost 50% of all food sold in Lidl shops now comes from Austrian suppliers and producers. This is said to support domestic agriculture and led to a record value added of 1.1 billion euros last year, including 500 million euros from exports to other Lidl countries.
Lidl Austria intends to implement concrete measures in the area of sustainability and climate protection, including signing the klimaaktiv pact with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2030. To achieve this, Lidl is investing in photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, natural refrigerants and the promotion of e-mobility. At this point, almost a third of Lidl shops are equipped with e-charging stations, and the total area of photovoltaic systems exceeds 100,000 m², producing almost 10 million kilowatt hours of green electricity annually.
Lidl Austria is also in the process of decarbonising its store logistics by deploying six e-trucks in the greater Vienna area since February, which are charged using electricity from the shops’ photovoltaic systems. This initiative is part of the long-term transition to a fossil-free fleet, with the aim of using only green electricity for store deliveries throughout Austria by 2030.
According to the company, this transformation is possible thanks to the annual investment of 100 million euros in construction and modernisation measures. This will be used, for example, for shop fitting, the expansion of the logistics centres and to prepare for a one-way deposit from 2025.
Lower prices for vegan products
At the beginning of 2023, Lidl Austria developed a strategy for “conscious nutrition” and set holistic, binding targets. With this strategy, Lidl wants to ensure that customers receive the best offer for a conscious and sustainable lifestyle at the usual favourable ‘Lidl price’. To achieve this goal, Lidl Austria has worked with WWF Austria to determine the proportion of animal protein sources in its range compared to plant-based protein suppliers and is the first Austrian grocer to do so.
Lidl also recently announced that it would reduce the prices of over 30 items from its own vegan brand Vemondo by up to 52% in Austria in order to harmonise the prices of plant-based products with comparable animal products. This measure aims to appeal not only to vegans but also to flexitarians by eliminating the price difference between vegan and animal products.
“We have removed the price barrier for vegan products. The animal-based comparison items are not expensive branded products, but rather our affordable own brands. For customers, this means a saving of up to 52% on vegan products at the end of the day. This means we are foregoing margins and investing a lot of money in the development towards a more conscious diet in terms of climate protection,” said Alessandro Wolf at the time of the announcement.
