Nutrition

Brief Overview:

The REWE Group aims to promote diverse and healthy nutrition. The company

is one of the leading food retailers in Europe with around 85 million customer contacts per week and has therefore great leverage to fulfil its social responsibility with regard to a balanced range of food;
will implement the complete Nutri-Score labelling by mid-2023 and thus an optimisation of nutrients such as sugar, salt or fat for all private label products sold at REWE and PENNY in Germany.

In addition to People, Animals and Environment, Nutrition is another area of action within the Green Products pillar.

GRI FP10

Management Approach

Effect

Living conditions and eating habits have changed continuously over the past decades. Food is virtually available everywhere and at any time, meals are adapted to the mobile and flexible living – also in families. Digitalisation enables more and more people to work at desks. As this requires less energy while most eating habits have not been adapted, this modern lifestyle has sometimes led to an unbalanced nutrition. Over the years, both overeating and malnutrition can cause chronic diseases. As one of the leading food retailers in Europe, the REWE Group has around 85 million customer contacts in its supermarkets and discount stores per week and therefore great leverage to fulfil its social responsibility with regard to a balanced range of food.

As one of the leading food retailers in Europe, the REWE Group has great leverage to fulfil its social responsibility with regard to a balanced range of food.

Principles

With regard to nutrition, transparent information on the nutritional values of products as well as the adaptation of the product range are vital. For its private label products, the REWE Group has the opportunity to contribute to a diverse and balanced diet by adapting recipes with regard to nutrients such as sugar, salt or fat.

Targets and KPI

In 2021, the REWE Group defined the full implementation of the Nutri-Score labelling for all private label products sold at REWE and PENNY in Germany as a target for mid-2023 to contribute to better consumer orientation. The interim target of an increase to 80 per cent was achieved in mid-2022. The optimisation of nutritional values in the recipes of private label products will be continued beyond 2023.

KPI	Status
Increase of products¹ labelled with the Nutri-Score at REWE and PENNY in Germany to 80 per cent by mid-2022
Increase of products¹ labelled with the Nutri-Score at REWE and PENNY in Germany to 100 per cent by mid-2023
Implementation in progress Target achieved Not available Target not achieved ¹ Private label products not requiring labelling are not relevant.

The REWE Group in Austria aims to revise the recipes for 200 products in its private label range by 2023 in order to reduce the sugar and salt content of even more products.

Responsibility and Resources

The implementation of strategies and measures regarding Nutrition is the responsibility of dedicated teams and departments in the food retail sales lines. For more information, please refer to Management Approach Green Products.

Implementation

As early as 2017, the focus was on reducing salt and sugar in the private label products at REWE and PENNY in Germany. To this end, a strategy paper was published which defined processes and targets for the salt and sugar reduction. Between 2018 and 2020, all relevant recipes of private label products were reviewed. Based on this review, more than 550 private label products have now been improved with regard to their sugar and/or salt content. REWE and PENNY in Germany have thus achieved their target of optimising half of the recipes of relevant products by the end of 2020. No alternative sweeteners or salt substitutes were used in the process: The sugar or salt content of the products was gradually reduced in order to get the consumers used to the new taste. In the future, the Nutri-Score will be used to further optimise recipes of private label products with regard to their nutrients, such as salt, sugar and fat. In addition, the REWE Group's activities also focus on raising awareness and informing consumers about healthy and balanced nutrition.

In the future, the Nutri-Score will be used to further optimise recipes of private label products with regard to their nutrients, such as salt, sugar and fat.

In 2018, the REWE Group in Austria published a position paper in which processes and objectives for reducing salt and sugar are laid down. A review of the sugar content of the relevant product groups dairy products, confectionery, sweet pastries, ice cream, canned fruit, convenience products and non-alcoholic beverages was already carried out in 2018. Subsequently, the salt content and other components were checked. New listings are also reviewed and potentials for reduction identified. In addition, the company is in dialogue with the food industry to push developments towards balanced nutrition.

Involvement of Stakeholders

The REWE Group's stakeholders rated the topic as relevant for the company in the Materiality Analysis. They are informed annually about the effectiveness of measures taken via the Sustainability Report and in various dialogue formats (see Stakeholder Dialogue). This exchange allows stakeholders to provide important input on the issue.

Customers, suppliers as well as other stakeholders can submit their grievances or comments. For this purpose, the REWE Group has established reporting and grievance mechanisms. For more information, please refer to the Compliance section.

Measures and Projects

The REWE Group is working in a wide range of projects to promote balanced nutrition. These are presented below for the reporting year, sorted thematically by:

Targeted Promotion of Conscious Nutrition Among Customers

Clear labelling with the Nutri-Score Highlight

The Nutri-Score evaluates the calories, the protein and fat content as well as the content of fruit and vegetables of a food product and determines a value on a scale from green A to red E based on these characteristics. It was legally approved for Germany at the end of 2020. Since then, REWE and PENNY in Germany have gradually introduced the Nutri-Score for private label products to support their customers in making conscious food choices. The labelling process was initiated for a total of 2,289 REWE and 1,543 PENNY products by the end of 2022 (2021: 1,641 REWE and 1,302 PENNY products). It will be extended to all private labels eligible for labelling by mid-2023 (see also section Objectives). More information is available on the Nutri-Score website.

Digital knowledge transfer for a balanced nutrition

For a lasting success, consumers‘ knowledge about healthy and balanced nutrition must be increased. To this end, the REWE Group provides practical information on the requirements for a balanced nutrition and private label products as well as their recipes on its website.

In addition, the REWE sales line offers a variety of recipes for a balanced nutrition in the REWE Deine Küche online recipe database. In addition to reduced-sugar, vegetarian and vegan cooking inspirations, consumers can find information on seasonal and conscious nutrition, food intolerances and the Nutri-Score. Many recipes also contain the ErnährWert, a scale from one to ten to show at a glance how well the recipe meets the current recommendations of the German Nutrition Society and how balanced it is. The ErnährWert is calculated based on the nutrients contained in a dish. In addition, the nutrition encyclopaedia provides answers to questions about ingredients and additives as well as information about fats and oils.

Commitment to Educate on Healthy Nutrition and Exercise

A healthy start to the day with the "Power Kiste" Highlight

Together with Tafel Deutschland e. V. and other partners, REWE provides participating schools with the "Power Kiste" (power box) containing a variety of foods selected by nutrition experts for preparing breakfast in the classroom. The aim is to give children a healthy start to the day (see Projects and Promotions).

"5 am Tag" – more fruit and vegetables in everyday life

As a founding member and former board member of the "5 am Tag" (5 a day) association, the REWE Group supports increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables to five portions a day and promoting a healthy nutrition for children. Together with other sponsors, including the German Nutrition Society (DGE), the company has been promoting the consumption of more fruit and vegetables since 2000.

Workshops with children on healthy nutrition

In some regions of Germany, the REWE sales line promotes nutrition workshops conducted by the non-profit organisation expika. The aim of the workshops is to motivate and support children in day-care centres in learning about healthy nutrition through games (for more information see Projects and Promotions).