Colruyt Lowest Prices store in Halle tests in-store bakery workshop 

This week, the Colruyt Lowest Prices store in Halle has been expanded with an eye-catching central bakery workshop. Freshly baked bread, baguettes, small rolls, pastries and savoury snacks now baked fresh in store and come straight from the oven. With this expansion of its bread range — still at the lowest prices — Colruyt wants to test which products best match customers’ needs. At present, four Colruyt stores are trialling an extended bakery range of products. 

Visitors to Colruyt Halle in recent weeks will have noticed major renovation works. These are now complete, revealing a spacious, new bakery workshop at the heart of the store, where a broader bread range is baked fresh on site. 

Geert Elen, Head of Innovation at Colruyt Group, explains: “In Halle we’re going a step further than in our pilot stores in Ninove and Nieuwpoort, where we’re also testing an extended bread range. Here in Halle — our home base — customers will now find a full bakery workshop where they can watch our team at work. Through these bread trials, we want to learn even more about our customers’ preferences. Thirty new products — bread, baguettes, small rolls, pastries and savoury snacks — create an extensive range that we’ll keep evaluating and adapting as needed. The offer may evolve over the coming months. What won’t change are our lowest prices, which apply here just as they do to all our other products.” 

It’s not just customers who can enjoy something new; employees are developing new skills too. Geert Elen continues: “In our pilot stores, the bakery team consists of colleagues eager for a new challenge. They receive specific training to further develop their interests and expertise. Bread is baked fresh just before the store opens for a wonderfully crisp crust. Throughout the day, fresh batches of bread, baguettes, pastries and other baked goods are produced to ensure top quality and freshness while limiting food waste.”  

That Colruyt customers are enthusiastic about the extended bakery range is clear from the results. In Ninove and Nieuwpoort, for example, where the bread range was expanded before summer, around 20% of customers now buy something from the new range. The top sellers are classics such as baguettes, chocolate pastries and long wholemeal loaves. Customers can also place orders. 

Geert Elen concludes: “The first reactions from our customers are very positive: they’re pleasantly surprised to find freshly baked products in their trusted Colruyt store. Over the past months, our pilot stores have attracted new shoppers, including many young families who are keen on the new range. We’re excited to now offer this to customers in Halle and learn about their bakery preferences.”