All major Dutch supermarkets have expressed the ambition to offer more plant-based products. Unfortunately, they still heavily promote meat and dairy products. However, Jumbo is the first to completely abandon promotions on fresh meat.

Societal pressure

CEO Ton van Veen in  de Volkskrant: “With the cessation of meat promotions, we are taking a significant step towards our contribution to the protein transition from animal to more plant-based food. We realize that acceleration is needed in this regard.” Jumbo acknowledges that societal pressure has played a role in the decision.

Jumbo’s footprint

Jumbo emits 10.5 megatons of CO2 throughout its entire chain. An estimated 40% of this emission comes from the sale of meat and dairy products. Hence, there is substantial climate improvement to be made. Since 2021, Foodrise EU has been campaigning supermarkets. We want them to take action on climate change and reduce their meat and dairy sales. We ran a campaign targeting Jumbo, urging the supermarket to: 1) be transparent about their climate impact and the sale of meat and dairy, 2) embrace the protein transition towards more plant-based options, and 3) reduce the promotion of meat. Jumbo was among the lowest-scoring supermarkets in our 2022 scorecard (see ´de Minder Vlees Race´).

Supermarkten en greenwashing

In 2023, Jumbo and other major supermarkets made commitments to transparency regarding their greenhouse gas emissions, their protein ratios, and their ambition for a protein transition to a 50/50 animal/plant-based ratio by 2025 or 2030. However, none of the supermarkets ceased offering promotions on meat and dairy products. This means that in practice, customers are still tempted to purchase more meat than is beneficial for their health and the environment.

Our report  ´ , launched mid-2023, highlighted the greenwashing tactics, questionable data reporting, and profit-driven approaches regarding the climate crisis within supermarkets. Our findings reveal a lack of clarity and commitment from retailers regarding how they intend to achieve their climate ambitions. Supermarkets employ greenwashing tactics to appear more sustainable while continuing to promote meat and dairy products

Who’s next?

Market leader Albert Heijn is renowned for its abundance of promotions. Therefore, we strongly urge Albert Heijn to follow Jumbo’s example and cease promoting bulk discounts on meat and dairy products