Colruyt aims to attract new customers by upgrading its bakery

Colruyt is testing a more extensive range of breads baked on site in four supermarkets. In Halle, the retailer has even installed a completely new concept bakery. The initial results are positive.

30 new products

This week, the Colruyt store in Halle was expanded with a bakery, which is prominently located in the center of the store. There, 30 new references (baguettes), small rolls, pastries, and savory snacks are baked on site. With the expansion of the bread range, Colruyt wants to test which products best meet the needs of its customers. There are currently four Colruyt stores where a test with a bakery range is underway: in addition to Halle, there are also stores in Diest, Ninove, and Nieuwpoort.

“In Halle, we are going one step further,” says Geert Elen, head of innovation at Colruyt Group. Customers can see the employees at work in a real bakery. Bread is freshly baked just before the store opens, so that it has a delicious crispy crust. More bread is baked throughout the day. Other bread products are also baked several times a day to ensure the best quality and to minimize food waste.

Young families

“Through the bread tests, we want to learn even more about the needs of our customers. The range may therefore change in the coming months. What will not change are our lowest prices, which, as with all our other products, also apply to the bread range.”

The initial results are encouraging. In Ninove and Nieuwpoort, where the bread range was expanded before the summer, around 20% of customers are buying a product from the new range. The top sellers are the classics: baguettes, chocolate rolls, and long loaves. “We have attracted new customers to the test stores in recent months, and young families are also happy to put the new range in their shopping carts,” says Elen.

Boosting market share

Colruyt is currently innovating in several departments by expanding or adjusting its range. Customers can now find magazines and flowers at the checkouts, and luxury brands such as The Ordinary and Clinique (both part of the Estée Lauder group) are appearing on the shelves in the cosmetics departments in Halle and Ninove. This is also still a test. With this additional offering, the market leader wants to boost sales, margins, and market share again.