REWE stores take first place among supermarkets in the Albert Schweitzer Foundation's Vegan Ranking 2023.
"What convinced us at REWE was that the plant-based range has been noticeably expanded and now accounts for a relatively large proportion of the overall range. REWE is particularly well to very well positioned in terms of meat and dairy alternatives and has greatly expanded its range of ready meals, cheese alternatives and ice cream, for example. REWE has also scored highly in terms of strategy and marketing. In our view, there is still some catching up to do in sauces, snacks and some convenience categories," it says in the explanatory statement.
"As a food retailer, we are aware of the challenges and our role in the area of Sustainability and want to make a positive contribution through our product ranges. Promoting vegan nutrition is therefore an important part of animal, environmental and climate protection for us. REWE also offers both established and new brands a platform to market varied and new products. The plant-based range has become indispensable at REWE and is an important building block for the fulfilment of our climate strategy," says Nicola Tanaskovic, Head of Sustainability at REWE Group, who is delighted with the top position.
With over 1,400 vegan items listed, REWE is picking up on the dynamically growing trend of vegan nutrition and declaring it a strategically important claim. REWE already has the highest market share of vegan core products with over 20 per cent. In addition to milk substitutes, meat, sausage, cheese and fish substitutes and convenience alternatives, the range now also includes frozen and dry goods. In the future, REWE will continue to focus strongly on the expansion of vegan products in the private label segment, such as REWE bio + vegan, REWE Beste Wahl, REWE to go and Today Care Nature. There are currently around 100 vegan-labelled products under the various private labels.
Vegan products are now part of the standard range and also contribute to REWE Group's sustainability goals: "TheCO2 emissions from the production of plant-based products are significantly lower than those from the production of animal-based products, so they are automatically better for the climate," reports Cornelia Balzer, Lead Private Label Marketing, in this one interview. However, vegan products are not only popular with vegans. The largest group of buyers is the so-called flexitarians, i.e. people who also consume animal products but are increasingly consciously avoiding meat and turning to substitute products.
