According to a spokeswoman for Lidl Netherlands, products that are flown in are, for example, legumes and asparagus tips. The products will still be available in supermarkets, but will then be transported by boat, for example.
However, customers will hardly notice the change, it sounds like. At Lidl, many products from the fruit and vegetable department come from Dutch soil, depending on the season, the group explains.
Lidl’s Belgian stores no longer sell fruit and vegetables that are imported by plane. This is what Belgian communications manager Isabelle Colbrandt told retail magazine Gondola. “Fruit and vegetables sold by us are no longer delivered by plane, our exotic fruits such as pineapple, bananas, etc. are also transported by boat.” The measure has been in effect for “several years” and is part of a broader sustainability strategy, it still sounds.
The chain has about 440 branches in the Netherlands. Belgium has around 300.