AB InBev, La Lorraine Bakery, Delhaize, Partnership Drives New Electricity

Success does leave clues.  Consumers are dynamic, impatient, innovative and companies must be as well according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. So, when Delhaize, La Lorraine Bakery Group, and AB InBev hooked up to assist ‘vulnerable’ people in Belgium in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic our grocerant guru knew it was a success step he should share with all of our regular readers in search of that ‘new electricity’ to drive sales and brand loyalty.

This unique three retailer partnership has resulted in the introduction of the 'à la Leffe' bread, made with beer. So, if that isn’t good enough, the three brands donate an 800-gram family loaf to Belgian food banks for every five 'à la Leffe' loaves sold in Delhaize stores. How are you driving brand awareness and new electricity into you brand?

Simply put the managing director of the Belgian Federation of Food Banks, Jozef Mottar, stated “Since bread is an important commodity for everyone, the initiative aimed at supporting us in the noble cause can only be applauded. ..This beautiful gesture of solidarity is heartwarming and motivates us even more to continue our commitment to the fight against hunger in our country, which unfortunately is still increasing in this coronavirus crisis."

The bread is available in two variants - Leffe Blond bread and Leffe Bruin multigrain bread. It is made of pure Belgian ingredients, in a traditional way, with beer replacing water in the recipe.

Expanding the ‘halo’ of better-4-you’ Guido Vanherpe, CEO of La Lorraine Bakery Group, said, “For La Lorraine Bakery Group, reducing food waste is an absolute priority in our sustainability strategy. Thus Vanherpe continued "When AB InBev informed us that they were looking for a destination for the Leffe that was unused due to the closure of the catering industry, we immediately implemented the idea to use the beer to make bread!”

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Charlotte De Vroey, head of sustainability at Delhaize, noted, "For many years, Delhaize has been organising a major annual food collection for the 9 Food Banks and their 618 affiliate local associations that distribute free food to the more than 170,000 people in need. We wanted to strengthen this support at this particular time through this project."

Driving new electricity into a legacy brand with a partnership is a good move and will accelerate the marketing messaging for all companies involved according to Johnson. How is your company positioning to grow your brand, the top, and bottom line?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, online ordering, delivery, plant based foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands,  grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? This new partnership does all of that.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter