Two tales, neither good, but a great lesson for us to unpack.
Just a few weeks ago Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn launched an experiment around the "True Price" of coffee. The experiment is small - just three stores are offering consumers the choice to pay the current price, or the higher "True Price" when they purchase a coffee to go.
Here's their statement translated from Dutch:
Just a few weeks ago Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn launched an experiment around the "True Price" of coffee. The experiment is small - just three stores are offering consumers the choice to pay the current price, or the higher "True Price" when they purchase a coffee to go.
Here's their statement translated from Dutch:
From 18 April, customers can buy coffee at three Albert Heijn To Go stores for the true price. This is the normal retail price plus social costs. Customers will gain insight and can make a more sustainable choice based on this. With this experiment, Albert Heijn wants to raise awareness for social and environmental costs. Customers see two prices the normal price and the true price. The aim of the experiment is to provide insight into where hidden costs are, on the other hand encourage sustainable choices and learn what customers think. Albert Heijn will invest the proceeds of the extra amount in improvement projects in the coffee chain in collaboration with Rainforest Alliance.
and it comes with nice marketing materials like this (source, Albert Heijn):
If you're as skeptical as me, you're probably thinking that this is some sort of greenwashing tactic for marketing purposes. So I dug deeper into the Albert Heijn website, and found a ten page pdf document about this experiment. At first glance, I was reasonably impressed about how much information they had compiled for this experiment. After all, no experiment is going to be a success without data. It explains their workings and reasonings on where their current pricing differs with what they are calling this new "True Cost" price. If you read deep enough, you'll probably come out with more questions than answers - and be left wondering, is this a step in the right direction, or just all out greenwashing?
It's worth pointing out, that in 2022 Albert Heijn booked a revenue of 87 Billion (+15% on 2021) with a profit of €2.5 Billion. Their top man received €6.5 million in compensation, which was €800k higher than the previous year. Source. Why is it worth pointing out? Well, not only could a lot of that profit do far more good than this "True Pricing" experiment ever will, there's another Albert Heijn story unfolding as I type.
Unionised employees of Albert Heijn's distribution centres are on strike, seeking a pay rise and better working conditions. This has been going on for just over a week now, leading to many empty shelves in the supermarkets, and currently there's no sign of a satisfactory deal. For the approximately 30 percent of supermarkets owned by franchise holders, this must be extremely painful.
Why am I telling you this? As I understand it, Unions take to striking as a last resort, suggesting that Albert Heijn has had plenty of time to be pro-active about ensuring their employees are satisfied with their working conditions, and even now they are feeling intense pain, they are still playing hardball to protect their shareholders. Billions in profit, enormous compensation for the C-suite and Shareholders, all made off the back of the people that do the physical labour, but they still have time for a dubious "True Pricing" experiment.
By the way - I'm creating the book and podcast series for people who want their small or medium business to make more profit and better impact. So if you want more of this, please sign up for more at https://sixtyminutestoimpact.xyz
I'm a big proponent that companies take small steps in the right direction, but it has to start at the core, not the fringes. Albert Heijn, like so many others, has a long long way to go before they'll earn any trust about being good for the world.
⚡ Tip: If you want to make your business better, start with ensuring your team are at least satisfied. Happy workers will go to the moon and back for your mission.
Totally Relevant Update: A reader (thanks Roelof!) pointed out to me that Albert Heijn has recently suggested that they wish to become a BCorp. Their mission translating to "Together, making better food available, for everyone". Source. Whilst I can't take away some of the work they are doing in improving their supply chain, any supermarket with this mission that still sells junk food and drink would strike me as deeply hypocritical. Let's see how this unfolds.
It's worth pointing out, that in 2022 Albert Heijn booked a revenue of 87 Billion (+15% on 2021) with a profit of €2.5 Billion. Their top man received €6.5 million in compensation, which was €800k higher than the previous year. Source. Why is it worth pointing out? Well, not only could a lot of that profit do far more good than this "True Pricing" experiment ever will, there's another Albert Heijn story unfolding as I type.
Unionised employees of Albert Heijn's distribution centres are on strike, seeking a pay rise and better working conditions. This has been going on for just over a week now, leading to many empty shelves in the supermarkets, and currently there's no sign of a satisfactory deal. For the approximately 30 percent of supermarkets owned by franchise holders, this must be extremely painful.
Why am I telling you this? As I understand it, Unions take to striking as a last resort, suggesting that Albert Heijn has had plenty of time to be pro-active about ensuring their employees are satisfied with their working conditions, and even now they are feeling intense pain, they are still playing hardball to protect their shareholders. Billions in profit, enormous compensation for the C-suite and Shareholders, all made off the back of the people that do the physical labour, but they still have time for a dubious "True Pricing" experiment.
By the way - I'm creating the book and podcast series for people who want their small or medium business to make more profit and better impact. So if you want more of this, please sign up for more at https://sixtyminutestoimpact.xyz
I'm a big proponent that companies take small steps in the right direction, but it has to start at the core, not the fringes. Albert Heijn, like so many others, has a long long way to go before they'll earn any trust about being good for the world.
⚡ Tip: If you want to make your business better, start with ensuring your team are at least satisfied. Happy workers will go to the moon and back for your mission.
Totally Relevant Update: A reader (thanks Roelof!) pointed out to me that Albert Heijn has recently suggested that they wish to become a BCorp. Their mission translating to "Together, making better food available, for everyone". Source. Whilst I can't take away some of the work they are doing in improving their supply chain, any supermarket with this mission that still sells junk food and drink would strike me as deeply hypocritical. Let's see how this unfolds.
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