REWE Group, with its trading companies BILLA, BILLA PLUS, PENNY and ADEG, is Austria's first food retailer to rely 100 percent on FAIRTRADE cocoa and cane sugar for all its own brands. This is the result of years of focusing on a resource-conserving product range and offering fairly produced products. Thanks to FAIRTRADE and other certifications, consumers can rest assured that all own-brand products, such as clever, BILLA, BILLA Bio and Ja! Natürlich, for example, consumers can be sure that strict requirements regarding social justice and sustainable supply chains are met. "We have been working closely with FAIRTRADE for more than two decades to improve the living and working conditions of producers. The full switch to FAIRTRADE for our own-brand chocolate products is an important step on our path to greater sustainability and responsibility in retail. We are proud to be a pioneer in this development and look forward to continuing to implement innovative measures for a sustainable and, above all, fair future," says Robert Nagele, Chief Real Estate and Sustainability Officer, about the importance of this long-term partnership.
One of the largest FAIRTRADE product ranges in Austria at BILLA, BILLA PLUS, PENNY and ADEG
Since 2020, REWE Group in Austria has been continuously converting all its chocolate tablets and chocolate bars, pralines, instant cocoa and nut nougat spreads of its own brands to the FAIRTRADE cocoa program. Across all product categories, 128 own-brand products - from Ja! Natürlich, clever and BILLA through to PENNY's own brands - already have a FAIRTRADE seal, with products ranging from pineapple chunks to sugar. PENNY customers can already find more than 40 FAIRTRADE items in the store - from chocolate items, confectionery and raisins to FAIRTRADE organic bananas from Echt! Organic.
Following the full conversion of chocolate products, baked goods and confectionery are to follow in the next step. Hartwig Kirner, Managing Director of FAIRTRADE Austria: "The numerous FAIRTRADE chocolate products in BILLA's own-brand range are an important step towards improving the living conditions of cocoa farming families. Transparent supply chains and fair trading practices ensure that the farmers' cooperatives receive a better price for their work." BILLA, BILLA PLUS, PENNY and ADEG offer a total of 900 products that have been awarded the FAIRTRADE seal or the FAIRTRADE raw material seal.
