Test: Lidl puts meat substitutes next to real meat on the shelf (and it’s much cheaper)
Despite all the initiatives of Meat-Free Week; in the Netherlands, we eat few vegetables and a lot of meat. The government has been talking for years about a meat tax to reduce meat consumption (and hello: where is the VAT reduction on vegetables and fruit?!), and now Lidl is also taking action to convince us to eat less meat.
The German supermarket chain is starting a test in 70 of its 440 Dutch stores. On the shelves, it is placing its most popular vegetarian versions of those same products next to the meat. A striking detail: these vegetarian alternatives are much cheaper.
Lidl meat substitutes
By placing the products next to each other on the shelves, Lidl hopes consumers will be more likely to choose the vegetarian alternative. Chantal Goenee, responsible for sustainability and health at Lidl: “In this pilot, we will also present our best-selling meat substitutes in the meat aisle: the vegetarian burger directly next to the beef burger, for example. In this way, we want to introduce more and more of our customers to our vegetarian products, such as our meat substitutes.”
In an earlier, similar study in Belgium, where vegetarian chicken curry was placed next to the ‘regular’ chicken curry on the shelf, sales of the vegetarian version increased by no less than 72%.
In the coming months, vegan minced meat, vegetarian chicken pieces, vegan shawarma schnitzel and the vegetarian burger will be placed in the meat aisle. As mentioned, the prices of these meat substitutes are substantially lower than those of meat products.
Protein transition
The trial with meat substitutes has not come completely out of the blue. The so-called protein transition is an important part of achieving the climate goals agreed in Paris. The supermarket wants 50% of the proteins sold to be plant-based, with no more than 50% coming from animal sources. At the moment, 38% is plant-based and 62% animal-based.
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Source: Lidl
