German grocer Penny launches “true cost” campaign to reflect environmental impacts of staple products

Cologne, Germany-based grocery chain Penny recently conducted its annual, week-long “true cost” campaign, raising the prices of eight products to bring awareness to the environmental and climate consequences of producing particular food staples.

The supermarket chain, owned by the retail co-ope Rewe, originally partnered with the University of Augsburg nearly three years ago to launch the campaign, which ran across Penny's 2,150 stores in Germany from 31 July to 5 August.

For this year's campaign, University of Augsburg researchers calculated the “true costs” for eight organically produced products, taking into account the nitrogen impact, greenhouse gases, energy, and land use required to produce and market each product.

The retailer then labeled each product with a “true cost stamp,” highlighting the increase to consumers and charging them the surplus price.

“I do believe … that by taking this step, we can become part of the solution. I hope that our customers will react positively to finding two prices on our products. If they do, we could envisage both increasing the number of products labeled in this way and expanding the trial to other stores,” Gorgens said.

The products highlighted in the campaign included apples, bananas, potatoes, tomatoes, mozzarella, gouda, milk, and mixed meat, according to Food Matters Live. Seafood was not included in the campaign.

The campaign took place as Europe as a whole is collectively experiencing record inflation, and many consumers are seeking lower prices. Grocers across the continent are actively trying to cut prices on many items to drive sales, actions that run directly counter to Penny’s campaign.

“We see that many of our customers are suffering from the persistently high food prices. Nevertheless, we have to face the uncomfortable message that the prices of our food, which are incurred along the supply chain, do not reflect the environmental costs,” Penny COO Stefan Gorgens said.

While some groups like Foodwatch have labeled the campaign as a “pure PR stunt,” Penny and the Rewe Group said the campaign accomplished its mission of confronting consumers with their personal role in the fight against climate change.

“The prices we pay for our food have, in the past, often been the subject of intense and, sometimes, controversial debate. In our view, however, the current approach is short-sighted, as the calculations from the University of Augsburg show,” Rewe Group and Retail Germany Board Member Stefan Magel said in a release. “We have to make the consequential costs of our consumption visible. Only then can consumers decide for themselves when shopping. There is no doubt that we, as a company operating in a highly competitive market, are part of the problem.”

The grocer has not said whether will implement the campaign again, but all surplus income the grocer made went toward sustainable farming initiatives, Penny said.

Photo courtesy of Jan van der Wolf/Shutterstock