CATALONIA – Supermarket chain Lidl keeps its promise to have sustainable ambitions: in collaboration with the Campllong dairy cooperative, so-called kilometre 0 milk is sold in Catalan supermarkets with a guaranteed minimum price for the farmer.
Kilometer-0 foodstuffs have traveled a maximum of 100 kilometres to the consumer’s kitchen and are therefore sustainable. This also applies to the ‘Llet Campllong’ (Milk Campllong). Furthermore, this will be for sale from 3 March in all 120 Catalan Lidl stores for 85 cents per litre.
With this Lidl not only helps to reduce CO2 emissions but also helps local dairy farmers to keep their heads above water. In Catalonia, dairy farmers currently barely or do not earn back their production costs. Lidl’s collaboration with the Campllong dairy cooperative means a guaranteed income for the 40 participating farming families. This concerns 10% of all livestock farms in Catalonia.
This concerns UHT (Ultra High Temperature) milk, which has a longer shelf life than fresh milk, which is produced, packaged, and sold locally. Lidl sells full, semi-skimmed, and skimmed milk varieties in Catalonia.
Animal welfare
Campllong’s milk also has the ‘Animal Welfare’ quality mark, which is awarded by Welfare Quality according to European guidelines. The quality mark guarantees good nutrition and good accommodation for the animal that can behave as much as possible according to its own nature. With the sale of local milk, Lidl contributes to the well-being of people, animals and the environment.
The supermarket chain also wants to enter into similar partnerships in other regions of Spain. Earlier this year, Lidl in Andalucia already started selling local milk from ‘Vaqueros del Sur’ in the stores in this region. Here too, the farmers are guaranteed to receive a fair price for their products.
Sustainable ambitions
Lidl has been committed to getting sustainable dairy on its shelves since 2013. In that year, the chain joined the Sustainable Dairy Products (PLS) agreement of the Ministry of Agriculture. Lidl was the first supermarket chain with the PLS quality mark for the dairy house brand Milbona. In 2015, Lidl signed the Agreement for Stability and Sustainability of the Dairy Chain, also from the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2016, the supermarket chain withdrew from the international dairy market. Since then, all milk sold in Spain has come from Spanish livestock farms.
Lidl currently buys products from Catalan producers for more than €665 million annually. In 2020, that amount increased by no less than 10 percent compared to the previous year. Lidl also entered into a partnership with more and more Catalan producers, there are now more than 160.
Es d’aqui, es bo
Last year, Lidl gradually introduced more and more local products in Catalan stores under the slogan ‘És d’aquí, és bo’ (this is from here, this is good). With this strategy, Lidl wants to continue to contribute to the economic and social development of the Catalan food industry. In this way, not only the large producers but also the small agricultural suppliers determine what goes on the shelves at Lidl.
You may also enjoy: Lola the pregnant cow
