From 31 March, customers will be able to purchase an essential kit at Colruyt that enables them to be self-sufficient for 24 hours. With this initiative, the retailer responds to both customer demand and guidance from public authorities to remain autonomous for several days in exceptional situations where necessary. The kit contains food, tissues, a spoon and a flameless heating system. It will be available in around 80 Colruyt stores across Belgium and will retail at €29.99.
Public authorities recommend that people keep essential supplies at home to remain self-sufficient for a certain period of time. In addition, consumers are increasingly looking to buy such products, as illustrated by the success of the emergency kits sold by the Red Cross Flanders at the end of last year.
Geert Elen at Colruyt Group: “There are situations where it proves useful to remain fully autonomous, such as the floods in Wallonia in the summer of 2021 or, more recently, the two-week gas outage in Mons. But also power cuts that last longer than expected or occur at inconvenient times. As a Belgian retailer, we want to respond to our customers’ needs, which is why we are launching this essential kit today.”
“An emergency situation always comes unexpectedly, and from our own experience and that of Red Cross colleagues worldwide, we know that it is essential for people to be prepared. That is why last year we launched our own high-quality emergency kit designed to relieve people of as much burden as possible; these kits will soon be available again,” says Vincent Verbeecke, spokesperson for the Red Cross Flanders. “However, we do not provide food, and in a crisis situation you may have to rely on yourself. We are therefore pleased that Colruyt is taking this step with a complementary kit and helping to spark the discussion.”
People who wish to purchase the Red Cross kit can already reserve it via www.rodekruis.be/noodpakket. On that same website, you can also download a checklist to assemble or supplement your own emergency kit. In addition, the Red Cross recommends keeping 9 liters of water per person at home.
3,100 calories to remain self-sufficient for 24 hours
The Colruyt essential kit has been carefully composed. Geert Elen explains: “We took great care in putting this kit together. We looked at the products recommended by the relevant authorities and worked with a specialised partner. This resulted in a kit providing 3,100 calories, containing everything needed to remain self-sufficient for 24 hours. We also want to make the kit as widely accessible as possible.”
The Colruyt essential kit includes breakfast (chocolate granola muesli), two meals (kebab stew and BBQ pasta – both vegetarian), three energy bars (cookies & cream, raspberry/strawberry and coconut), cashew nuts, isotonic drink powder in two flavours, three coffee sticks, six chewing gums, tissues, a spoon and a flameless heating system to warm the meals.
The kit is priced at €29.99 and will be available in around 80 Colruyt stores across Belgium. If demand proves strong, Colruyt will consider making it available in all stores.
