Berlin/Cologne, 17. January 2025. When it comes to marketing regional products, REWE and PENNY are among the pioneers in the German food retail sector. In total, REWE Group’s sales lines work directly with over 33,000 local producers. An in-house practical program for employees is now intended to further strengthen this cooperation.
Out of the stores and offices and into the fields or stables: this is now an integral part of the training and further education opportunities for REWE Group employees. At the Green Week u003ciu003e(January 17-26, 2025) in Berlin, REWE Group is presenting the “Agricultural Academy”. The program brings trainees, employees from stores and administration, top management and independent retailers to farms in various modules in order to deal intensively with the practical everyday life and challenges of producers.
Äpfel, Trinkmilch, Schinken: Agricultural products play a decisive role in the food retail sector. Retail employees usually receive intensive training on quality control and product storage as part of their initial and further training. With the “Agricultural Academy”, REWE Group now also gives employees the opportunity to lend a hand themselves – whether milking, feeding or harvesting. The insights into agricultural practice and the direct dialog are intended to further sharpen the mutual understanding between producers and retailers. At the same time, employees get to know the products in the barn and in the field in their original state and thus also gain important insights for advising customers in the stores.
As an initiative of the Agricultural Competence Center founded in 2023, the Agricultural Academy contributes to REWE Group’s goal of creating more recognition for domestic agriculture and its products, thus moving from a pure value chain to a “value chain”.
