More plant-based choices
Choosing plant-based proteins over animal proteins more often not only has a positive impact on the environment, but also on health. That’s why we’re committed to the Flemish government’s Green Deal Protein Shift and are making a broad, innovative range of (more) plant-based alternatives available through Boni Plan’t and plant-enriched meat.
Why are we promoting (more) plant-based foods?
By focusing on the protein shift, we aim to contribute to a more sustainable food system and a more balanced diet.
Food production accounts for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Meat, fish, and dairy products account for a large share of these emissions. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, eating more plant-based foods also means using less water and land.
A varied diet that includes plant-based foods offers health benefits. The Flemish Institute for Healthy Living associates the higher intake of many plant-based foods with health benefits. For example, legumes, vegetable oils, and nuts lower LDL cholesterol and thus reduce the risk of heart disease. Animal products such as red meat and butter, when consumed in large quantities, tend to be detrimental to health.
In addition, we’re seeing that consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about nutrition and sustainability. By focusing on the protein shift today, we’re responding to these changing expectations and consumption patterns.
How do we encourage consumers to choose plant-based options more often?
We’re making a broader and more accessible range of (more) plant-based alternatives available in our stores and under our brands. In doing so, we ensure that customers don’t have to compromise on taste, quality, convenience, or affordability, and that these alternatives are more visible.
Boni Plan’t is a sub-brand of our own brand, Boni Selection. It makes more than 100 plant-based products more recognisable with distinctive packaging and more accessible thanks to an affordable, varied, and delicious selection.
In addition, Colruyt and Okay offer plant-enriched meat: innovative products in which we replace part of the meat with a plant-based alternative. Examples include ground meat with 40% fava bean flour, sausages with 25% mushrooms and seaweed, and burgers with 25% pumpkin. These products are a conscious choice for those who want to reduce their meat consumption.
We also use recipes and campaigns to inspire customers to choose plant-based options more often in a practical way. We also actively collaborate with the Flemish government and other food industry players on initiatives that promote the protein shift.
In 2021, Bio-Planet, Okay, Colruyt Lowest Prices, Solucious, and SmartWithFood signed the Flemish Green Deal Protein Shift.
In 2025, Colruyt Group reaffirmed that commitment by signing the updated Green Deal Protein Shift 2.0.
How do we track the evolution of sales of plant-based alternatives?
Each year, we measure the percentage change in the net weight of plant-based products sold:
- Products from the core plant-based group as defined by the EI-MEET methodology of the Flemish Green Deal Protein Shift. EI-MEET is a tool developed by the Flemish government and KU Leuven to map the ratio of plant-based to animal-based proteins in our diet.
- Plant-based alternatives that fall outside the scope of EI-MEET but still contribute to a lower CO2 impact.
- Products in which some of the animal-based ingredients are replaced by a plant-based alternative.
By measuring this annually, we can see how both our product offerings and customers’ purchasing behaviour evolve over time. Our objective is to sell an average of 3.8 % more plant-based products year on year. We’re aiming for about 1,000 metric tons more per year, with growth primarily in the categories of nuts, kernels, and seeds; plant-based beverages; and plant-based alternatives to dairy.
