Around 300 dairy farmers now supply sustainable milk for Albert Heijn. The retailer, which also has stores in Belgium, said both the number of dairy products and the number of dairy farmers has increased by around 10%.
Through the collaboration, Albert Heijn said it can communicate with customers which farmers and growers produce their food, who is involved and details about the journey from farm to fork. Products that form part of the program are marked with a ‘Better for Cow, Nature and Farmer’ logo.
“We know the farmers who participate in the 'Better for Cow, Nature and Farm' program one by one and we make joint agreements about our collaboration,” said Constantijn Ninck Blok, director of fresh produce at Albert Heijn said the company knows and works with the farmers participating in the program on an individual basis.
Blok added that dairy farmers in the program receive a premium of 5 cents per liter on top of the price of meadow milk, which provides Albert Heijn with a “more sustainable and transparent production chain for Dutch dairy products.”
The Albert Heijn dairy range has been expanded to 76 products, including new AH Greek-style yogurt, AH semi-skimmed and AH whole milk, and Zaanlander matured and aged cheese.