Over a million orange nets, featuring the AIRC logo, will be available at 600 SPAR, EUROSPAR, and INTERSPAR stores. The nets will feature SPAR brand oranges sourced from a controlled supply chain, ensuring the highest quality. Buying the specially packaged 2.5 kg blood orange nets will contribute to cancer research as DESPAR Italia will donate 50 cents to the AIRC Foundation for each purchase.

DESPAR Italia’s General Manager, Filippo Fabbri, expressed enthusiasm about joining AIRC’s “Blood Oranges for Research” initiative, highlighting the campaign’s social significance and potential impact of customer participation. Mr Fabbri invited customers, associates, and communities to unite in supporting cancer research, emphasising the collective impact in advancing innovative solutions and treatments.

Source: DESPAR Italia

Read more news about SPAR Italy

About SPAR Italy

SPAR Italy, known locally as DESPAR Italia, was first granted the SPAR Brand’s license in 1959. The first store opened in 1960. With it, SPAR became the first partnership of retailers and wholesalers to operate in the country. In addition, SPAR Italy licenses regional partners, all of whom work together to grow the brand across the country.

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Big growth at SPAR Veggie

The SPAR Veggie brand now offers 120 vegan and vegetarian products. The attractiveness of this diet is reflected in sales, with SPAR Veggie sales more than doubling from 2018 to 2023. Compared to the previous year, there was a 24% increase in sales. This makes 2023 the year with the highest sales since the introduction of the range in 2012.

In addition to SPAR Veggie, other SPAR Austria brands, such as SPAR Natur*pur or SPAR Vital, also include a variety of plant-based products – a total of over 600 vegan and 220 vegetarian. In addition, SPAR has an extensive range for vegans and vegetarians from various branded goods manufacturers.

TANN also offers vegan meatloaf

With an investment of around €3 million in appropriate machines and systems, SPAR Austria’s own TANN meat plants in St. Pölten (Lower Austria) and Wernberg (Carinthia) have been producing new meat-free products since the beginning of 2023. This enables SPAR to quickly bring innovations in the vegan range to market and respond individually to customer requests. A special highlight is the vegan meatloaf, which was previously available in the hot counter and from mid-February and will now also be available for self-service baking at home throughout Austria at SPAR, EUROSPAR and INTERSPAR stores.

Source: SPAR Austria

Read more about SPAR Austria

About SPAR Austria

The origins of SPAR in Austria date back to 1954, but the current SPAR AG was created in 1970 when the original founding families joined other regional wholesalers to form SPAR Austria AG – a 100% privately owned Austrian company. With licences granted by SPAR International, ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) has developed the brand in Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Northern Italy.

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This December, SPAR Hungary partnered with the Hungarian Order of Malta to again run the ‘Joy to Give!’ (Adni Öröm!) Christmas campaign. During the campaign, volunteers were located at selected SPAR and INTERSPAR stores to accept food donations from customers. Shoppers could donate food items like sugar, pasta, canned goods, and sweets to support families in need this Christmas. Customers could also donate in other forms such as charity donation cards which were available both instore or online.

Making a difference

SPAR Hungary commissioned research which showed that 9 out of 10 people agree that donations, no matter what size, can be useful and beneficial for those in need. The campaign focus followed this message: that even the smallest of donations could make a difference this festive season. This was the inspiration for the campaign tagline: “Your donation is worth treasures”.

Nearly 200 tonnes of food was donated by SPAR customers supporting the campaign this Christmas. Additionally, more than 6.3 million Hungarian Forints (HUF) was donated through the donation cards purchased in the SPAR online shop and instore, with supporters donating another 5 million HUF Maltese Charity Service website. The donations will help 25,000 thousand families across the country who will receive food gift boxes before the holidays.

As a socially responsible organisation, SPAR Hungary actively participates in important causes, and supporting families and children in need is one of its key charitable goals. This is the 27^th time that the Joy to Give! campaign has run in SPAR and INTERSPAR stores, reflecting the spirit of ‘better together’ which is inherent to the brand.

Source: SPAR Hungary

Read more about SPAR Hungary

About SPAR Hungary

The first SPAR Supermarket opened in Hungary in 1992, following the acquisition by ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) of a majority stake in General Kereskedelmi Rt. SPAR Hungary is one of the country’s largest employers, with a network of company-owned and independently run stores operating nationwide.

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SPAR ENJOY

SPAR ENJOY is the new healthy food-to-go solution from SPAR International to bring customers a diverse range of fresh, simple, and tasty meals to support a healthy lifestyle while on the move. SPAR ENJOY uses fresh, all-natural ingredients instore to provide meals for customers throughout the day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This fully customisable SPAR-branded convenience food service offering that SPAR International has developed under the SPAR ENJOY brand is an exclusive concept which allows SPAR retailers to increase healthier eating solutions in their stores.

Customer choices

Digital screens behind the counter display the menu which is on offer at the SPAR ENJOY counter instore. Customers can order from a selection of boxes, bowls, and wraps which have set ingredients, and are prepared by qualified culinary staff instore. Customers can also customise their own meal using the freshest seasonal ingredients available instore. Additionally, there is a selection of convenient chilled and hot meals that have been pre-made instore and are ready for customers to grab and go straight off the shelves. The selection provides both meat, vegetarian and fully vegan options for customers as well.

On the opening of the first SPAR ENJOY foodservice counter, SPAR Lamot Store Owner Kristof Merckx said: “We are also launching a SPAR ENJOY offer, a brand-new concept that we strongly believe in. This allows customers to enjoy a balanced lunch with us.”

“If you’re short on time, you can choose from ready-made preparations: from soups and smoothies to shakshuka and oatmeal, there’s something for everyone.”

Plug and play solution

SPAR International has several food service solutions which can be easily adapted when implementing in the variety of stores which SPAR country organisations operate, in line with our multi-format retail strategy. The simple plug-and-play food service solutions have been tailored to meet customer needs and complement concepts already available in national markets.

The SPAR ENJOY solution offers retailers a number of benefits:

• It is fully customisable for local market needs in terms of product range and language.
• Suggestions include top sellers in convenience foods and on-trend.
• Implementation is supported from start to finish utilising international best practice.
• There is a focus on delivering increased customer footfall and sales for retailers, as well as value for money for customers.
• A network of suppliers are available to support installation, communication and brand building.

Source: SPAR International, SPAR Retail Partners Belgium

Read more about the launch of the SPAR Bake-Off concept.

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Prevention information and screening centre

The car parks of five city outlets in the DESPAR Centro-Sud network are transformed into a prevention information centre. In mobile units, qualified personnel use high-tech equipment to carry out free breast, urological, and endocrinological screenings for women and men. The campaign aims to convey the importance of prevention and make available free screenings to prevent breast cancer.

The initiative will take place during October, a month traditionally dedicated to prevention, and extend into November. The campaign involves no less than five locations in four regions of Central and Southern Italy. It will start in Puglia, on 4 October in the city of Corato and on 5 October in Giovinazzo. This will be followed by Basilicata with the store in Melfi on 25 October. Abruzzo and Calabria will then see the Caravan stop respectively in Pescara on 7 November. The last stop is in Rende, taking place on 13 November.

“Helping to raise awareness about prevention,” explains Pippo Cannillo, President and CEO of Maiora, “for us means educating about the most precious asset we have: life. We have chosen to renew our collaboration with Komen Italia and the ‘Caravan of Prevention’ for the second year precisely because we espouse the values of this initiative. As an important addition, we have increased the number of locations and extended the diagnostic tests to men as well as women’.

Source: Despar Centro-Sud

Read more news about SPAR Italy.

About SPAR Italy

SPAR Italy, known locally as DESPAR Italia, was first granted the SPAR brand licence in 1959. The first store opened in 1960, making SPAR the first partnership of retailers and wholesalers to operate in the country. In addition, SPAR Italy licenses regional partners, all of whom work together to grow the brand across the country. As a limited liability consortium, DESPAR Italia aims to provide itself with a corporate structure with a more efficient and flexible organisational structure.

The post SPAR Italy partner Maiora supports cancer awareness initiative appeared first on SPAR International.

“SIPCAN’s nutritional programme is a great way to teach children about conscious nutrition in a playful way. It helps them understand the effects of food and enjoy tasty treats without excessive sugar. It is essential that children relearn this natural taste and thus the real enjoyment of food”, explained SPAR Austria board member Markus Kaser.

Nutritional education programme with positive results

About 240,000 children and adolescents in Austria suffer from overweight or obesity according to a recent WHO/Europe study. This issue often results from large portions, high-calorie and sugary foods, and a lack of exercise. In order to counteract this trend, prevention from childhood onwards is particularly important. On the other hand, however, nutritional education in Austrian schools is becoming less and less important.

This makes initiatives at Austrian schools such as this one all the more important. This programme teaches children basic information about food, micronutrients, and a healthy diet, based on the children’s own snacks. Parents are also involved in the programme, helping their children implement what they have learned. The programme concludes with both theoretical and practical exams. According to Univ.-Prof. Prim. Dir. Dr. Friedrich Hoppichler, Chairman of SIPCAN, and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Director at a Salzburg hospital, the programme is effective.

He explained: “An intervention study we conducted, published in the renowned journal ‘European Journal of Public Health’ in 2021, clearly demonstrates the positive effects. Children who completed the programme not only have better nutritional knowledge but also reduced their sugar consumption by 10%.”

You can find more information about the programme here.

Source: SPAR Austria

Read more about SPAR Austria.

About SPAR Austria

The origins of SPAR in Austria date back to 1954, but the current SPAR AG was created in 1970 when the original founding families joined other regional wholesalers to form SPAR Austria AG – a 100% privately owned Austrian company. With licences granted by SPAR International, ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) has developed the brand in Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Northern Italy.

The post SPAR Austria supports education for schoolchildren on healthy eating appeared first on SPAR International.

First campaign

The campaign started on 21^st September and will run in SPAR stores across the UK until 1^st November 2023. The partnership will see £250,000 donated, and for every £1 given FareShare can redistribute enough food for the equivalent of four meals to people in need across the UK.

Britvic and Coca-Cola are also partnering on this campaign with SPAR. The campaign will be supported with POS in-store to hero SPAR own label products store cupboard staples. There will also be content available across digital channels.

Supporting communities

Polly Bianchi, director of fundraising at FareShare said: “The Giving One Million Meals donation from SPAR, with contributions from Coca-Cola and Robinsons, will make a significant contribution to our work getting good-to-eat food, which might otherwise go to waste, to people who need it.

“As the winter months approach, our network of 8,500 charities across the UK will be working hard to provide hearty, nourishing meals for people in their communities.

“Each group provides vital wraparound services to support people impacted by the cost of living crisis and the contribution made by SPAR will go a long way to strengthening those communities.”

Suzanne Dover, SPAR UK Brand & Marketing Director added: “We believe in supporting the communities we serve, and this partnership means that people won’t have to go without the staples we all use each day.”

Source: SPAR UK

Read more about SPAR UK

About SPAR UK

The United Kingdom became a SPAR member in 1956 when SPAR International granted the SPAR licence to a group of independent wholesalers. There are five regional organisations in the UK, continually building the brand’s presence. A central office in London provides national marketing and buying services for the group. SPAR UK comprises independently owned, licensed, retailers and company-owned stores.

The post SPAR UK partners with FareShare to launch inaugural Giving One Million Meals campaign appeared first on SPAR International.

At the first team training session of the new season, SPAR Gran Canaria announced it continues supporting the I+I Team for the 2023/2024 season.  This special training team was created by the Vega de San Mateo football club 30 years ago. It is an inclusive social and sporting initiative to improve coordination, balance, and psychomotor skills that has benefitted a total of 283 participants so far.

Weekly training

The I+I Team, comprising 18 women and men, holds their weekly training sessions at the San Mateo municipal football pitch.  The players come from the occupational centres of Vega de San Mateo and Valsequillo. Through this activity, they get to enjoy playing football in a healthy environment.  The team participates in matches against various teams from the island.

SPAR Gran Canaria strongly believes in the importance of combining a healthy diet with physical exercise. The SPAR retailer supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 by promoting sports and healthy lifestyles through sponsorship.

Source: SPAR Gran Canaria

Read more about SPAR Spain.

About SPAR Spain

SPAR Spain was founded in 1959 when a group of wholesalers who wished to join an international organisation came together. As a result, the brand became the first voluntary trading chain to be established in Spain, having been granted a license by SPAR International. Together, 13 regional SPAR wholesalers actively continue the expansion of the brand across the country.

The post SPAR Gran Canaria renews sponsorship of inclusive football team appeared first on SPAR International.

This year’s Back to School campaign is entitled ‘Better Choices Little Chefs’, and SPAR is inviting budding chefs nationwide to put their own twist on the Better Choices recipes for a chance to win one of five SPAR ‘Better Choices Little Chefs’ cooking kits that include a chef’s apron and chef’s hat along with sandwich shapes and cookie cutters, vegetable cutters and decorations.

To be in with a chance to win one of these kits, parents can snap a photo of their little chef’s creations and upload it to SPAR Ireland’s Facebook or Instagram pages.

As a dad and elite footballer, Seamus Coleman is a big advocate of making better food choices and developing healthy eating habits for Back-to-School season and beyond. As SPAR Ambassador, he’s encouraging parents to make healthy food fun by getting children involved in cooking and baking their own exciting school lunches.

Speaking at the campaign launch, he commented: “I’m delighted to continue my long-term involvement with SPAR Ireland to highlight the SPAR Better Choices message and promote the importance of healthy eating. With three daughters at home, I appreciate the difficulties parents can have choosing between the convenient or nutritious option when preparing a meal, particularly when trying to get back into a back-to-school routine. The SPAR Better Choices recipes manage to tick both those boxes while making food preparation fun, meaning that making breakfast or lunch can be a wholesome family activity.”

SPAR Ireland Sales Director Colin Donnelly added: “At SPAR we understand that the back-to-school period can be stressful for parents. Through our Better Choices Programme we aim to offer quick, nutritious and affordable solutions that are easy to find in store and take the hassle out of mealtimes, both at home and in school. We’re excited to launch the SPAR Better Choices Little Chefs’ campaign, and can’t wait to see what budding kitchen geniuses nationwide come up with!”

The SPAR Better Choices Little Chefs’ recipes can be found on www.spar.ie

Source: SPAR Ireland

Read more about SPAR in Ireland

About SPAR Ireland

SPAR is one of Ireland’s largest convenience retail groups, and has been serving communities in Ireland for over sixty years. From the time it opened its first store in Dublin in 1963, SPAR has been a leader in Irish convenience retailing, bringing consumers the most innovative products and in-store offerings. SPAR is part of leading retail and wholesale company BWG Foods UC and, with a presence in every county across Ireland, SPAR’s over 400 stores provide employment for 14,000 people locally.

The post SPAR Ireland Ambassador Seamus Coleman launches Better Choices Campaign appeared first on SPAR International.

Supporting domestic products

SPAR Hungary is committed to supporting local small businesses to sell products across their store network. One great initiative is the Hungaricool competition, organised for the fourth time in 2022, for which applicants can enter high-quality, newly-developed products manufactured in Hungary. The Regions of Treasures programme, launched in 2021, also improves market access for small-scale Hungarian producers. An additional benefit are the six SPAR distribution centres located across the country, reducing shipping distances for suppliers.

Reducing plastic and food waste

In the second half of 2022, SPAR Hungary phased out single-use plastic bags from its fruit and vegetable departments. Since August 2022, only biodegradable bags are available to customers, reducing the amount of plastic by 450 tonnes per year.

SPAR is also committed to reducing food waste. In partnership with the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service, the retailer donates food items that have reached their expiration date. Between September and December 2022, 11 stores contributed over 32,000 kg of food to this charitable cause.

From November 2022, 21 test stores started working with the Hungarian Munch food-saving app, offering discounted prices on products nearing their expiration dates, thus helping prevent unnecessary food waste. The trial has proved successful, saving nearly 10,000 kg of food during its first two months (November and December).

2022 key achievements

• Energy use dropped by over 3%, aided by photovoltaic panel installation.
• Waste reduced by 2,200 tonnes (6.4%) compared to 2021.
• Expanded used cooking oil collection points.
• 450 tonnes less plastic annually in F&V departments and bakeries.
• Reduction of plastic use by 84 tonnes annually due to new logistics packaging.
• Addition of health-focused and ‘free from’ products.
• 90% of employees engaged in 2022 job satisfaction survey.
• Employee training hours increased by 20%.
• Donated €630,000 to charitable causes.
• “Joy to Give!” Christmas campaign aided 19,500 families.
• Pet food collection gathered 12,000 kg of dry pet food and 11,000 cans/pouches.

Read more on SPAR Hungary’s sustainability initiatives.

Read more about SPAR Hungary.

About SPAR Hungary

The first SPAR Supermarket opened in Hungary in 1992, following the acquisition by ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) of a majority stake in General Kereskedelmi Rt. SPAR Hungary is one of the country’s largest employers, with a network of company-owned and independently run stores operating nationwide.

The post SPAR Hungary’s inaugural Sustainability Report issued appeared first on SPAR International.