Puc Attacks Position of Senseo

The Ahold Coffee Company, a company part of the same group as leading grocery retailers Albert Heijn and C1000, has launched a new coffee maker called Puc. The coffee maker and coffee pods will distributed by Albert Heijn and C1000. These are two very strong players in Dutch coffee retail and the launch of the Puc is therefore considered to be the first serious attack on the position of Senseo in the Dutch market.


Puc claims to brew the coffee under higher pressure, which also should mean better quality coffee. The machine can be used for all types of pods that are on the market, but also has a new system of cups which can make cappuccino or other speciality coffee. There will also be Puc coffee pods on the market that will compete with Senseo.

Ahold Finds Buyer for US Supermarket Chain Tops

Ahold, in The Netherlands best known for its Albert Heijn supermarkets, has found a buyer for its Tops supermarkets. An investment fund of investment banker Morgan Stanley has made an 310 million dollar offer for the grocery retailer.

Ahold has been looking to offload its US activities for some time and this deal means the last of its US activities are sold. The company already sold its grocery wholesale activities (US Foodservice) for 7.1 Billion dollars.

The Tops grocery chain has 71 stores in the state of New York and the north of Pennsylvania.

Appelsientje launches Super Fruit range

Leading fruit juice brand Appelsientje (Friesland Food Group) launched a new range of ambient fruit juices based on the Super Fruit concept. The range consists of two different Super Fruit flavour. One has Golden Kiwi as the major ingredient. The other is based on Pomegranate.

These two fruits are known for being high in anti-oxidants and this makes them very healthy. The new ranged will be mainly distributed through Dutch supermarkets.

Massive growth organic products in first half 2007

Organic products have seen a massive increase in turnover in the first half of 2007. According to the Eco-Monitor of Biologica, the Dutch consumer spent EUR258 million on organic products in the first six months of 2006. That is 15.5% more than in the first six months of 2006. Eggs, bread and dairy products are the most popular organic products.

Hema wants to expand its Belgian presence

Lion Capital, the new owner of Dutch retailer Hema (variety stores), has announced it wants to expand its presence in the Belgian market. Hema already has 58 stores in Belgium, but Lion Capital wants to increase this number by another 40 outlets. The intention is to open 20 "normal" Hema outlets and another 20 smaller Hema outlets.

The retailer has just opened 3 such smaller outlets in Belgium and they have to be a proven success before the company moves forward with its expansion plans. This week Hema celebrates its ten year anniversary in the Belgian market. There are over 200 Hema outlets in the Netherlands.

Dutch Aldi Stores Raise Prices

The Dutch Aldi stores are about to raise prices. Next Saturday the discount grocery retailer will take out full page ads in the major Dutch newspapers to explain the necessity of these changes in price to the Dutch consumers. Huge signs and other in-store communication will also be used to explain the position of Aldi.

The reasons Aldi gives for this move are the increased global prices for energy and raw materials. This means cost price has seen a significant increase for most Aldi articles. This remarkable move means that Aldi is the first grocery retailer in Dutch history to announce a price increase. Overall Aldi customers will have to pay two to three percent more for their groceries.