As of 1 January 2023, the sale of non-alcoholic organic wine bearing the EU organic label had been prohibited across the EU. Such products could only be marketed as conventional non-alcoholic wines. This was due to a regulatory change that brought the production of non-alcoholic wines under wine law, rather than food law.

The technique used to remove alcohol from the wine, vacuum distillation, was not previously permitted for organic wines. As a result, organic wine producers who used this method to dealcoholize the wine lost their organic certification. At a time when non-alcoholic wines are growing in popularity, this posed a significant competitive disadvantage for growers.

The EU has now addressed this issue by adding an amendment to the EU’s Organic Regulation. Vacuum distillation is now officially recognised as an approved method for dealcoholisation. This process removes alcohol under vacuum at low temperatures so that the aroma and character of the wine are largely preserved. 

This decision is expected to give fresh momentum to organic viticulture. With the new regulation in force, organic wine producers can now participate in the growing non-alcoholic wine market without sacrificing their organic status. For consumers, it also provides assurance that alcohol-free wines bearing the organic label truly meet organic standards.

The French plant-based sector reacted with relief to the decision of the Council of State to annul two decrees prohibiting the naming of products containing plant proteins with butcher, delicatessen and fishmonger terms like “steak”, “burger”, “lardon”, or “sausage”.

The Council of State deemed the French decrees of 2022 and 2024 to be illegal and contrary to European regulations. The fact that those decrees targeted only French producers was also considered particularly unfair and unacceptable. The case is closed now with a full victory for the plant-based advocates. The French government will pay €3,000 each to the parties that brought the case to court.

Territorial supply constraints have been afflicting retailers and wholesalers for years, says Eurocommerce, the principal European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector. It refers to a practice to fragment the Single Market to enforce different prices across countries and ensure that products cannot be sold in a market for which they are not intended. Usually, this translates into limitations on languages used on labels, or different packaging sizes or colours for the same product. These practices are costing European consumers at least 14 billion euros every year, across four product categories, according to a European Commission study. This is hard to defend given the current cost of living crisis.

Therefore, Eurocommerce is calling on the European Commission to “close the gap”. It says that competition rules may catch dominant large manufacturers. But they do not catch those not-dominant players that are still able to deliberately fragment the Single Market, for example, by using national sales offices to stop cross-border sales.

It urges the European Commission to swiftly start an impact assessment and propose legislation, for instance using the non-discrimination principle in the Geo-blocking Regulation to apply to business-to-business transactions. In a fully functioning Single Market, suppliers should be obliged to offer their products to all customers regardless of their country of origin. Retailers and wholesalers should be able to choose where in the EU they want to buy their products, just like individual consumers, and other economic sectors, can do already today. 

The international retail alliance Epic, led by Germany’s Edeka, is parting ways with one of its members. The Italian retail chain Esselunga is no longer affiliated with the group.

The partnership lasted a little over two years, but it has now come to an end. Esselunga’s membership in Epic Partners — an alliance established in 2021 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland — has been terminated. With Esselunga's exit, the alliance loses over €9 billion in net annual turnover.

In the context of the overall consortium, Esselunga represented one of its smaller players. Alongside Edeka, Epic includes Dutch grocery services Picnic and Jumbo, Swiss retailer Migros, the Portuguese group Jerónimo Martins and Aura Retail — comprising Intermarché, Casino, and Auchan.

Acting on behalf of its members, Epic negotiates continent-wide marketing incentives such as preferred product placements and coordinated discount campaigns, aiming to secure cross-border benefits from suppliers. Gianluigi Ferrari, Epic’s chief negotiator, leads these talks under a unified strategy adopted by all alliance partners — a process that, at times, involves pressuring suppliers with order suspensions to gain leverage.

The most recent shift in membership took place at the beginning of the year, when Edeka significantly strengthened Epic’s position by onboarding Aura Retail — a heavyweight with €65 billion in turnover — through Epic and its associated international purchasing organisation, Everest. This move followed the departures of French retailer Super U and Swedish group ICA in early 2024.

In Europe, the transition from animal-based proteins to plant-based proteins is part of the European Green Deal’s Farm to Fork strategy which aims to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly. The current ratio of animal to plant-based options in Europe is 60/40 while globally, it is 40/60. Since a few years, retailers are committing to help bring about the protein shift, giving the fact that supermarkets can play an important role in shaping both consumer behaviour and supply chains.

Last year, NGO Madre Brava assessed the 15 largest European supermarket chains on their protein transition ambitions. The results show that all retailers have set targets to reduce emissions from the food they sell. In addition, Ahold Delhaize and Lidl were the first retailers to align their protein offerings with human and planetary health goals. Lidl in Germany became the first supermarket to offer a basket of plant-based goods which was cheaper than its animal-based alternatives. Ahold set targets in all its European retail brands to sell more plant-based and fewer animal-based proteins, with the Albert Heijn banner committing to achieve a 50% / 50% plant-animal protein split by 2025, and a 60% / 40% split by 2030.

However, Albert Heijn now reports that despite all efforts, sales of plant-based proteins are disappointing. The company will most likely not achieve the target of having 50% of the proteins sold be plant-based by the end of this current year. In 2024, 44.2 percent of proteins sold were plant-based, while the aim was for it to be 47%. The retailer says that animal proteins like chicken, and protein dairy products remain popular. Also, it has proven difficult to change consumers’ eating patterns. The behavioural change towards more plant-based choices is a long process, the company states. 

Søstrene Grene had its strongest financial result in the company’s history in the latest financial year, according to its CEO, Mikkel Grene. The Danish company increased sales by 22% and profit went up 15%.

Its stores offer a wide assortment of home interiors, kitchen items, hobby articles, beauty, travel items, party supplies, gift wrapping, stationery, toys as well as seasonal items. Every week, new products land in stores. Prices are low, most products are sold under 10 euros.

The concept is different from other non-food discounters in that the atmosphere in the stores is special, focused on aesthetics and ambience, appealing to the customers’ senses. Goods are on wooden shelves and wicker baskets, with warm light and delicate colours. The layout draws the consumer into the depths of the store, while the sense of time is quickly lost. Almost all the items in the store are own brands.

Despite its widespread appeal, Nutri-Score has faced pushback in several countries, including Italy, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Authorities in these nations argue that the system unfairly penalizes traditional products, such as those commonly found in the Mediterranean diet. Critics contend that Nutri-Score oversimplifies food evaluations by focusing on select nutritional factors, which can distort consumer understanding of a product’s overall health value.

In addition to governmental objections, major brands like Danone, Heineken, Unilever, and Arla Foods have expressed reluctance to adopt Nutri-Score on their product packaging. These companies argue that the algorithm used to calculate the scores doesn’t align with their national dietary guidelines, or that recent changes to the system have downgraded their products to lower categories, resulting in what they believe to be unfairly low scores.

The forthcoming EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is set to reshape the packaging landscape across Europe. The new legislation aims to drastically reduce packaging and packaging waste and will be implemented gradually starting mid-2026. It establishes ambitious goals for manufacturers and retailers, impacting both branded products and private label.

A turning point for packaging! A new era for packaging! Revolutionary! Game-Changing! Experts keep on finding new words to express what an immense change this law will bring. The final version of the law is expected to be published before the end of this year, officially setting the timeline for implementation. So, how will the PPWR impact the private label sector? The answer is clear: it will significantly alter how packaging is designed, consumed, and disposed of throughout the entire EU value chain. Businesses need to be ready.

In a surprising turn of events, Cooperative U, operator of the Super U supermarket chain, is set to part ways with the international purchasing alliance Everest, as well as the Epic alliance. The retailer joined the alliance only two years ago, partnering with the other members Edeka, Picnic and Jumbo. The split is reportedly due to internal disagreements among the partners, potentially around strategic approaches or negotiations. Everest negotiates purchasing prices for its partners with more than 50 multinationals. Epic Partners includes Edeka, Jumbo and Picnic, as well as Migros Group, Jerónimo Martins and Esselunga. Epic negotiates with major suppliers for top-quality conditions for international marketing campaigns.

Just days after Cooperative U’s departure was announced, Everest and Epic welcomed a significant new member: Aura Retail, a French food purchasing powerhouse. Aura Retail stated that it wants to negotiate the best pricing conditions with the biggest multinational manufacturers, thus allowing more advantageous prices for its customers. With Aura Retail now onboard, Everest is expected to rival the size and influence of Eurelec, a key alliance between E. Leclerc, Rewe, and Ahold Delhaize.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated across various functions within retail businesses. Carrefour recently demonstrated how it leverages AI to enhance its commercial offerings and optimize stock management, both in stores and warehouses. AI tools assist store managers in making data-driven decisions about product placement, quantities, and shelf arrangement. These algorithms consider factors such as location, weather, and population demographics, providing precise insights for decision-makers. Additionally, AI is now being used for pricing and promotions, tailored down to the store and product level. Data from loyalty cards or apps plays a crucial role, offering models real-time, customer-specific purchasing behaviour.