How did we celebrate the end of 2023?
In our production, logistics, sales, and support services, everyone was busy providing our customers with wonderful holiday celebrations. On the busiest days, our drivers together made more than 1,000 trips from Halle to our stores, which is much more than on an average day! And Collect&Go peaked on December 23. Remarkable? Customers searched for and found plenty of alternatives to traditional bubbly, foie gras, and ice cream cake. Some impressive figures…
Less bubbly, more alcohol-free
In December, one in five Colruyt customers bought non-alcoholic beverages. Especially non-alcoholic wines and aperitifs attract additional customers during the end of the year (see image). Remarkable in the range of alcoholic beverages: sales of champagne and prosecco declined, as did those of French wine classics. Sweet white wine, on the other hand, did remarkably well (+35%). And the popularity of Italian and South African wine also increased.
Holiday top sellers: from foie fin to turkey to shrimp
Foie gras sales fell by 20%. This is mainly due to the fact that Colruyt's Boni brand, with an eye to animal welfare, only offers "foie fin" (without force-feeding) anymore. It even sold out completely at Christmas. Sales of faux gras (vegetarian) also increased (+10%), of which a small part also switchers from foie gras (see image). As a main course, customers chose poultry more often, especially whole turkey, and the gourmet and fondue platter was also popular (+24% at Okay). In addition, fish, shellfish, and seafood continue to do well. Just like in 2022, vegetarian alternatives also shone on the holiday table, with tofu leading the way (+15% at Colruyt).
2 pralines per Belgian
At dessert, the ice cream cake is losing popularity in favor of scoop ice cream (multiple flavors). Furthermore, in December, just under half a million kilos of pralines and "seasonal chocolate" landed in the Colruyt cart. On average, therefore, every Belgian ate more than two pralines from one of our Colruyt stores. In addition, Colruyt sold exclusive Lindt chocolate balls for the first time in its pick&mix cabinet. A collaboration that attracted many customers.