Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo announces that it has dropped the prices of its private-label plant-based meat range to match the price of similar animal products. According to the retailer, the high cost of meat alternatives is a common obstacle for consumers choosing sustainable products.
This initiative is part of Jumbo’s bigger goal of making 60% of its protein products plant-based by 2030 to foster a transition to sustainable diets. However, Jumbo’s new pricing strategy follows a recent wave of similar initiatives in the European retail sector.
Lidl Germany was the first supermarket chain to equalize the prices of Vemondo’s meat alternatives and animal products this October. Since then, Kaufland, Aldi Süd, Penny, and BILLA have launched similar price initiatives to encourage the adoption of plant-based consumption.
Anrico Maat, Retail Director of Jumbo, comments: “We want to help our customers choose plant-based or vegetarian products more often. By adjusting prices now, we hope to make the choice even easier for customers.”
Price and taste
Committed to plant-based eating, Jumbo launched its house vegan brand, Lekker Veggie, in 2020 and has expanded its offer with a Jumbo plant-based meat range that comprises dozens of products, including bratwursts, vegan chicken chunks, vegan Gyros, vegan mince patties, and various burgers. With the new scheme, for example, the price of bratwursts dropped from €3.59 to €1.79 and vegan Gyros from € 3.29 price to € 2.19.
A recent ProVeg International study found that prices for plant-based alternatives are converging with those for their animal counterparts in Germany, where the price-parity initiative has been launched at various retailers. “A sustainable diet must not be a luxury good,” said Dirk Liebenberg, Head of Food Industry & Retail at ProVeg International and study author.
The ProVeg study also highlighted that animal foods are often offered in bulk packaging at low prices per kilo, while this format is rarely seen in plant-based alternatives.
Aware of this difference, earlier this year, Jumbo introduced bulk packs of vega chicken pieces (300 g) and vegan fresh minced meat (500 g), especially for families. In addition, the chain has been expanding its plant-based offering with legume-based pasta sauces, a range of soy cottage cheese and yogurt, and a pea drink.
ProVeg International has also noted several times that animal products receive extensive subsidies and that their low prices do not include the ecological, ethical, and social costs of their production.
“Besides affordability, taste is often a decisive factor here. That is why we are continuously working on improving and expanding the plant-based range. Just recently, research by ProVeg showed that a number of our plant-based private label products are rated positively for their nutritional values,” adds Maat.
