Ahold Delhaize teaches cooking and job hunting through a new platform

Ahold Delhaize is launching a new app that has nothing to do with retail: with On Track, the retailer aims to launch a digital learning platform where everything, from job openings to cooking classes, can be found.

Ted Talks from a supermarket

Together with partners like Randstad, Unilever and Just Eat Takeaway, Ahold Delhaize is launching the educational app in the Netherlands. The “mini-master classes”, as Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe, calls them, are taught by professionals in their field – including Dutch celebrities from the world of art, film and music.

The idea is that users will develop new insights and skills which they can apply to their careers and personal lives. “On Track makes learning as easy as checking Instagram or the latest news”, a press release says. The app will be launched in the Netherlands in September, but the company plans to launch elsewhere in Europe later on. Ahold Delhaize promises that the app will remain free, non-commercial and free of advertising. 

Born out of the Covid crisis

European CEO Wouter Kolk told Dutch newspaper AD that the app is about giving back to society, especially to the people who lost their jobs or had difficulties finding a new one because of the Covid-19 crisis. The idea is to teach people in a modern way and “support them in their step towards other jobs or retraining”.

However, the platform has now taken several sideways steps: a survey of 1,000 people resulted in the identification of twelve topics, which in addition to ‘digital skills’ and business also include cooking and gardening. Also, vacancies will be posted to the platform. Whether the app will become a tool in the ‘war for talent’ among large companies or primarily a ‘branded content’ platform for marketing purposes remains unclear.