Colruyt Group supports guest families to refugees in Belgium with Xtra-discount of 3%

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Colruyt Group wants, just like many others, to make a contribution and offer help to the people in need during the great humanitarian crisis that is going on in Europe today. That is why the food formulas Colruyt Lowest Prices, Collect&Go, OKay, OKay Compact, Bio-Planet and Spar Colruyt Group are launching an Xtra-discount of 3% for host families in Belgium that offer a temporary home to refugees. By registering on the Xtra webpage, these host families will be able to enjoy this discount when showing their Xtra-card or app, and this until the end of June 2022. In this way, Colruyt Group helps Belgians that help others, in addition to existing initiatives.

Solidarity in challenging times

Today, Europe finds itself in a major humanitarian crisis of such magnitude that Colruyt Group, as a leading Belgian player, cannot simply stand by and watch. A large number of vulnerable families are fleeing today, and there is a strong involvement of the Belgian population. Not only does Colruyt Group greatly appreciate the various solidarity actions that have been set up, the group itself also takes up its social role. Last week Colruyt Group already delivered food and medicines and joined an ABInBev aid convoy that brought these goods to the refugees in the border areas of Ukraine and Poland.

Because Colruyt Group wants to do more, it is offering an Xtra-discount of 3% from today onwards on the purchases of customers who help vulnerable families fleeing war. This 3% discount is valid in the food shops Colruyt Lowest Prices, Collect&Go, OKay, OKay Compact, Bio-Planet and Spar Colruyt Group. Koen De Maesschalck, Head of Public Affairs at Colruyt Group and responsible for this specific project says: "Belgians are not having an easy time these days with rising prices for energy bills, among other things, and we have just come out of a worldwide pandemic. And still we notice a great solidarity among our compatriots, who have indicated en masse that they want to offer a temporary home to the refugees from the war zone. Those families who already frequently came to shop in our food formulas are even bigger now that they are receiving refugees. We therefore want to give those host families extra support. We help, as it were, the people who help other people. "

3% Xtra-discount for Belgian host families at Colruyt Group's food formulas

With this action, Colruyt Group wants to make a structural contribution from its own strength to people who want to care - and cook - for other people who have had to leave their country. In order to benefit from the discount at the cash desk of the participating food formulas, host families who are currently offering a temporary home to vulnerable families have to register via the specially created web page Mijnxtra.be/gastgezin (NL) or Monxtra.be/familledaccueil (FR) and leave their personal and Xtra data there, with all due respect for their privacy. They do so with a declaration of honour.

Then, as soon as possible, an option will be activated in their Xtra profile that will give a 3% discount on their purchases at Colruyt Lowest Prices, Collect&Go, OKay, OKay Compact, Bio-Planet and Spar Colruyt Group. The discount, which runs until 30 June 2022, cannot be combined with other discounts on the total amount of the box office ticket and does not apply to fuel, energy, smokes, vouchers, gift cards and boxes, amusement park tickets and municipal waste bags. Only private persons can register as a host family.

Host families who have questions can get extra information in their shop. In the meantime, Colruyt Group is looking into whether additional benefits can be offered to registered host families from the other Colruyt Group formulas, such as Dreamland and Dreambaby.

Structural help with "At the table in 1-2-3 euros".

This 3% discount campaign is a temporary support measure: after three months, it will be reviewed whether it should be extended. Besides this contextual initiative, the Colruyt Lowest Prices formula has also been offering structural help to vulnerable families in our country for six years now, with the concept of 'At the table in 1-2-3 euros'. Vulnerable families are informed of this project by a local social organisation (OCMW, CAW, Kind & Gezin, Huis van het Kind, Ziekenfonds, various non-profit organisations, etc.) and can register voluntarily.

When a family registers, they receive a fortnightly Colruyt recipe booklet in their letterbox, which provides inspiration for balanced and budget-friendly eating: each recipe costs no more than 1, 2, or 3 euros per portion. Participants are registered via the Xtra card. This way, the cash register system knows that it has to respect the maximum price and can do so completely anonymously towards the shop staff or other customers. De Maesschalck: "With this initiative, we sincerely want these people to come to our shop and participate in economic life without any stigma”.