From now on, customers will only find sustainably certified orange juice in the own-brand range at around 5,800 REWE and PENNY stores across Germany. Back in 2018, REWE Group was the first food retailer in Germany to set the goal of converting all chilled and non-chilled direct and concentrate juices in the orange juice segment to Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance or organic by 2025. As a pioneer within the German industry, the Group has now achieved this goal much earlier.
In order to strengthen the economic situation of smallholder orange producers in particular, REWE Group has been working for years to improve living and working conditions in the countries where oranges are grown. As a member of the European Fruit Juice Platform, REWE Group has been committed to social and ecological improvements in the supply chains of the fruit juice industry since 2016. REWE Group has also been a member of the Steering Committee since 2017 and is committed to the AIJN Code of Business Conduct.
In cooperation with Fairtrade, REWE Group has been contributing to better living and working conditions in Brazil since 2018 with a targeted and measurable project: training programs help farmers, harvest workers, senior managers and technical advisors on selected orange plantations of small farmers in the so-called Brazilian citrus belt to operate more efficiently, socially and ecologically. The focus is on sustainable cultivation practices, improving safety and health conditions and strengthening the respective organizational structures for more self-determination and a stronger negotiating position. In 2019 alone, a total of 113 participants were trained in workshops on the various topics.
Since spring 2019, REWE and PENNY have been offering the first Fairtrade orange juices with a segregated supply chain from the Brazilian project under their own brands “Paradiso” (PENNY) and “REWE Beste Wahl”. The origin of these juices can be traced back to the cooperatives. Customers can find detailed information directly on the products.
