News and Trends

 Source: Retaildetail.eu Albert Heijn will roll out dynamic pricing in its bakery section across the Netherlands. Using internally developed AI, the retailer predicts how much bread each store should need and automatically adjusts prices throughout the day. AI drives baking and pricing decisions Both freshly baked rolls and whole loaves will see their prices gradually drop throughout the day, with final discounts of up to 70%. Customers can view these discounts in the AH app under “Last Chance Bargains” and in-store on digital shelf labels. This dynamic pricing system builds on “Bake,” an internal application for the bakery departments. The AI behind Bake accurately predicts demand throughout the day and adjusts supply as needed. This helps the chain avoid overproduction. Albert Heijn rolled out “Bake” in all stores in the summer of 2025, and by the second half of the year, bread waste in its own stores had already decreased by 815,000 kilograms. “A great example of how we use AI”...

  The deal, for an undisclosed sum, includes Dawn’s manufacturing plant in The Netherlands. Europastry bread Spanish bakery supplier  Europastry  has acquired US-based baker  Dawn Foods  ’ frozen bakery manufacturing business in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, includes Dawn Foods’ manufacturing plant in the Dutch town of Steenbergen and an R&D facility in the UK town of Evesham. Dawn Foods said it wants to concentrate on bakery ingredients in the areas covered by the disposal. The company’s CEO, Carrie Jones-Barber, said: “Dawn and Europastry have been partners for many years, providing great American bakery products to customers across Europe and AMEAP [Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific]. “As we continue to focus on our long-term strategic goals, Dawn’s focus in the Europe and AMEAP region is on driving growth in bakery ingredients.” Dawn Foods confirmed it will also continue to manufacture and...

spar-international.com SPAR Netherlands has acquired a majority stake in The Tosti Club, a premium grilled sandwich chain with eleven branches nationwide. The Tosti Club already features as an instore food-to-go offering at SPAR stores in Arnhem and Zwolle. With this acquisition, SPAR is growing its market share in the foodservice industry considerably. According to SPAR Netherlands CEO John van der Ent, “the acquisition of The Tosti Club is a logical step to speed up our foodservice business and to further enhance the convenience offering at SPAR stores. The Tosti Club’s sandwiches are of high quality, and they are also a typical Dutch product. They may well become one of our signature products.” SPAR’s convenience proposition responds to changing consumer behaviour. While people used to have three meals a day, smaller meals are now being consumed six times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner with three moments for a snack in between. SPAR already offers customers a variety of conveni...

Results here , showing a particularly strong growth in the US, but also market share gains in both Netherlands and Belgium, where online capacity was also increased.  Net sales were €17.8 billion, up 6.8%; up 10.1% at constant exchange rates U.S. and Europe comp sales growth excluding gas in Q3 was up 12.4% and 7.5%, respectively  Net consumer online sales grew 62.6% in Q3 at constant exchange rates COVID-19 related costs were approximately €470 million YTD and €140 million in Q3, including safety measures and enhanced associate pay  Underlying operating margin was 4.6% in Q3, up 0.2% points from the prior year at constant exchange rates  Diluted underlying EPS of €0.50, up 12.3%; up 15.9% at constant exchange rates  2020 underlying EPS outlook raised to the high 20% range; free cash flow to be at least €1.7 billion, net of Q4 payment for U.S. pension withdrawal, and capital expenditures of around €2.5 billion  Announcing a new €1 billion share buyback prog...