Discount Retail Chain Lidl Netherlands (owned by the German Schwarz Group) will place some of the meat substitutes on the shelves right next to the meat. For example, the supermarket chain wants to test whether customers are more likely to opt for the replacements. This is a three-month trial in seventy supermarkets in North Holland in the Amsterdam-Almere region.
The best-selling vegetarian products are on the meat shelf: vegan minced meat, vegetarian chicken pieces, vegan shawarma schnitzel and the veggie burger. Lidl is collaborating on the research with researchers from Wageningen University and the World Resource Institute (WRI).
If it is up to the supermarket, we will eat less meat in the future. Goals have been set around the so-called protein transition. By 2030, half of the proteins sold at Lidl must be of plant origin, such as soy. Now it's 38 percent.
"The participating supermarkets are located in both villages and cities. The region where we are currently testing is a reflection of normal society in terms of demographics," explains a Lidl spokesperson for the choice for Noord-Holland. The test starts this week, the first results should be known in October. In February, a Jumbo supermarket in Twello already put the meat substitutes next to the meat. This resulted in lively discussions on social media from supporters and opponents. Consumer psychologist Tim Zuidgeest thinks that the actions of Lidl and Jumbo will make the Dutch eat less meat.
Give it a try "If meat substitutes are in a separate place, only the people who are looking for those products visit that shelf. But if you put it with the meat, people who are not looking for it will also take it as a spontaneous purchase. Give it a try, they think. It's good that supermarkets are promoting the more sustainable options in this way."
Lidl states that it will price the meat substitutes extra competitively. Normally, these products are already cheaper than real meat. Nevertheless, Zuidgeest does not think that consumers will change tack purely because of the price. "Only ten percent of customers look directly at the price. And only when it is very high, they leave it."
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