Colruyt Group improves 1 in 4 Boni Selection Kids products
Colruyt Group improves the nutritional composition of its Boni Selection Kids products so that they are more in line with a balanced diet for kids. For example, Colruyt Group reduced the salt, sugar or fat content and increased the fibre content of about ten products in the kids range. Taste tests among children have shown that they still like the improved products in kids packaging. We also removed 14 products from the original Boni Selection Kids range because they do not fit in a balanced diet for kids. With this thorough nutritional approach - with changes made to more than half of the Kids range - Colruyt Group is making it easier for parents to make informed purchasing decisions. After all, parents are increasingly choosing to provide their children with a balanced diet.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Boni Selection's thoroughly updated kids range drops from 45 to 35 products. More than half of the kids range of 24 products did not or not sufficiently meet the requirements of a balanced diet for kids.
Thanks to the improvements made to a quarter of the Boni Selection Kids range, Colruyt Group has reduced the total amount of sugar by 25 tons and fat by 1.5 tons on an annual basis and has added 4 tons of extra fibre. For some products, the improvement are spectacular. For example, the amount of sugar in the Boni Selection’s fresh strawberry cheese has been reduced by more than a quarter (27%) and the sugar content in Boni Selection’s apple &cherry juice has been reduced by 12%. The fibre content of Nic Nacs biscuits increased by no less than 20% and the fat content fell by 12.5%.
14 products have been removed from the Boni Selection Kids range. Of these products, 6 products will be completely removed from the Boni Selection range and 8 products will no longer be offered in kids' packaging but will remain part of the Boni Selection private label. By ceasing to offer these 8 products in 'kids' packaging, Colruyt Group no longer promotes products that do not belong in a balanced diet for kids to this target group. That’s how Colruyt Group can reassure parents of the nutritional responsibility of the products in its private label Boni Selection, with special appeal to children because of the fun figures on the colourful packaging.
"The large selection of products does not make it easy for families to always make the right choice to ensure a balanced diet. That is why Colruyt Group invests considerably in improving the ingredients, taste and quality of all the products in its Boni Selection label. Especially for products that are specifically aimed at children because of their packaging and product type, it is essential that parents have full confidence when choosing products that their children are attracted to and like the taste of, but that are also nutritionally responsible within their category," says Stefan Goethaert, Director of Colruyt Group Fine Food, responsible for the production and quality units of the group.
Taste is as important
The nutritional improvements in the kids range, just like all other changes across the Boni Selection range, are tested on taste and use by consumers, in this case children. Only the products that pass the taste and user tests reach the shelves. This ensures that not only is the nutritional value more balanced, but that children also find the adapted products at least as tasty as before.
Colruyt Group has invested EUR 2.5 million in these taste and user tests of its 3,500 private label products. These tests involve more than 50,000 consumers who determine the quality, tastiness and user-friendliness of the group's private labels.
"The taste and user tests, together with the sustainability of our brands in the areas of health, the environment, animal welfare and social issues, are a top priority. Since 2014, we have been researching the nutritional compositions of our own brands and improving them where necessary. For example, last year, as part of an initiative to promote healthy eating, we removed 421 tonnes of sugar, 50 tonnes of fat, 64 tonnes of sawn fatty acids and 28 saturated fatty acids from our private label products and added 27 tonnes of fibre", says Stefan Goethaert, Director Colruyt Group Fine Food, responsible for the production and quality units of the group.