Plant-based future: 11 major supermarket chains in the Netherlands commit to selling more plant-based protein than animal meat by 2030
Dutch supermarkets are leading the way with plant-based products already making up 40 percent of all proteins sold.
Over 10 major supermarket chains in the Netherlands have made the ambitious commitment to sell more plant-based protein than meat by 2030.
Sales of plant-based foods in the European country are already high, with plant-based proteins already making up 40 percent of all proteins currently sold by Dutch supermarkets.
But now the country’s leading supermarket chains have pledged to go even further with their plant-based goals, and have joined a campaign that calls on supermarkets to make plant-based proteins the majority of protein sold.
The plant-based commitment is part of a campaign run by Dutch animal rights group Wakker Dier. The pledge requires supermarkets to increase the share of proteins sold to be at least 50 percent plant-based in 2025, and at least 60 percent by 2030. This latter goal will mean that supermarkets in the country will be selling more plant-based proteins than animal-based meat.
Wakker Dier’s campaign has been hugely successful so far, with eleven of the country's leading supermarkets making the commitment. These include Albert Heijn, Aldi, Crisp, Dirk, Ekoplaza, Jumbo, Lidl, Odin, Picnic, Plus and Spar, and together they hold a market share of more than 90 percent.
"This is great news for the animals, the environment and our health," says Collin Molenaar of Wakker Dier. Molenaar points out that only one major supermarket, Vomar, and a handful of smaller supermarket chains have not yet committed to the protein targets.
Consumption of plant-based foods in the country has been growing as more people choose to eat less meat for ethical, health, and environmental reasons.
Research from the Netherlands’ Health Council recently advised that a diet with 60 percent vegetable protein would improve health for most Dutch people. It also points out that such a diet can lower the environmental impact of one’s food by 25 percent. As a result, the Health Council suggested that supermarkets are one of the factors which can help encourage consumers to choose more plant-based foods.
Alongside the protein targets, supermarkets have also been implementing new ways to encourage customers to make plant-based decisions at the checkout.
These include price reductions which make plant-based proteins cheaper than their meat counterparts, but have also extended to how proteins are advertised too. The supermarket Jumbo for example announced earlier this year that it will stop promotions for meat products, in an effort to meet the goals of the Dutch Health Council. It has also been running advertisements campaigns to increase the knowledge of plant-based recipes.
The supermarkets in the Netherlands and their protein targets are part of a wave of policies and campaigns across Europe that are taking action to increase consumption of plant-based foods.
Denmark recently became the first country in the world to launch a national roadmap to make the country’s food system more plant-based.
The Danish government’s 40-page Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods was introduced late last year, and explores how to help increase the uptake of plant-based foods by transforming the many stages of food production. The plan is expected to influence other EU countries to establish their own plant-forward strategies, particularly in the latter half of 2025 when Denmark will preside over the European Council.
And just this week, the UK became the first country in Europe to approve the sale of a cultivated meat product.
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