At the Jerónimo Martins Group, we select local suppliers whenever we can to boost the social and economic sustainability of the communities where we do business and minimise the carbon footprint of our products.
That’s why we only import products in the following situations:
Our commitment is to ensure that 80% of Jerónimo Martins Group’s food purchases are made to local suppliers.
We use specific signs to publicise the origin of some of our local products.
Such is the case of stickers with the colours of the national flag on Perishables, such as Fruit and Vegetables and – in the Private Brands – the seals “100% Nacional” (100% Portuguese), in Portugal, “Polski Produkt” (Polish Product) or the sticker “#jedzcopolskie” (Eat what is Polish), in Poland, and “Hecho en Colombia” (Made in Colombia), in Colombia.
We aim to introduce in our offer innovative local products. These initiatives give consumers access to a varied assortment, while at the same time boosting partnerships with our suppliers and stimulating the development of their skills.
We provide technical support to Portuguese producers of lamb, veal, pork, chicken and turkey, promoting the use of cereal-based feed and advising them on more efficient management and distribution methods.
We maintain direct relations with a cooperative of fishermen in the area of Sesimbra, thereby upholding quality and price competitiveness and traditional fishing methods, making the sustained regeneration of the species possible.
Through Pingo Doce, we continued the extraordinary measure to support Portuguese producers, under a protocol established with CAP (Confederation of Portuguese Farmers), by shortening the payment time to an average of 10 days. Since its establishment in 2012, nearly 500 fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, cold meat and wine producers have benefited from this initiative.
In 2018, Pingo Doce reinforced its partnership with the local supplier of “Maçã das Beiras” (Apples from the Beiras region), having launched “Maçã Starking das Beiras” (Starking Apples from the Beiras region) as an addition to the “Maçã Golden das Beiras” (Golden Apples from the Beiras region), launched the previous year. In total, 1,000 tonnes of apples of Portuguese origin were sold.
Recheio maintained its partnership with local suppliers, having launched five new exclusive wine references from the Alentejo and Setúbal Peninsula regions, with the sale of around 63,500 litres.
In 2017, 10 new references of organic products at Biedronka were launched, making a total of 42, in Private Brand Perishable products.
These references are part of the permanent and seasonal offer of Fruit and Vegetables and Bakery products. The volume sold increased 4.5 times compared to 2017, corresponding to a total of 10,900 tonnes and contributing, alongside with their suppliers, towards an increase in the offer of these types of products in Poland.
In addition, we continued to introduce autochthonous varieties in the Fruit and Vegetables category. This is the case of plum śliwka Węgierka, peaches lnka and Harnaś and regional apples of Protected Geographical Indication Lubelskie and łąckie, available in more than 1,100 stores. These projects are the result of the strategy of partnership with our suppliers that take the form of regular visits to production sites and the sharing of technical knowledge.
In the Butcher’s section, we maintained the partnership developed with a Polish producer of beef (veal), whose life cycle is controlled with Biedronka, in a “field to fork” approach. The sale of this product, which began in April 2016, takes place every two weeks and was extended from 100 stores, that year, to 250 in 2018. This resulted in a total sales volume of around 49 tonnes, an increase of more than 80% compared to 2017.
In Colombia, we have been working, through Ara, towards establishing stable relationships and partnerships with Colombian suppliers. In 2018, we worked with 140 local partners who supplied more than 770 Private Brand products.
Since the start of our operations in 2013, Ara has been holding the Ara Private Brand Congress. In 2018, the 6th edition was held under the theme “Evolve to fly higher”, with the participation of 220 current and potential suppliers, a 20% increase over the 2017 edition;
In the Fish and Seafood category, an area with less expression in the Colombian market, Ara implemented an exclusive project with three suppliers in order to increase its attractiveness. For that end, it has chosen to introduce an exclusive permanent offer of high-quality products, with an appealing and harmonized image. In 2018, six references were introduced with the aim of doubling this number in 2019.
The data referring to the proportion of spending on local suppliers was verified by an external and independent entity in the context of the Group’s 2018 Annual Report.