Dutch supermarket giants push for English-only labels to cut costs

Supermarket chains in the Netherlands are calling for an end to the requirement of Dutch product labels. The retailers argue that uniform labeling across the EU would help mitigate rising procurement costs, particularly among well-known A-brands that have strong market recognition and consumer trust.

Current regulations dictate that manufacturers must include Dutch-language information on product packaging sold in the Netherlands. Ton van Veen, CEO of Jumbo, Joris Beckers, co-founder of Picnic and Aart van Haren, CEO of Plus, support lifting this requirement, suggesting it could help resolve ongoing price disputes with manufacturers.

“I can imagine that, as a legislator, you might say there should be an English-language label, and the supplier could include a QR code that links consumers to a website with all the languages,” says Van Haren during a roundtable discussion. The discussion centered on the ongoing challenges in negotiating with suppliers.

Push for fairness

Supermarket executives argue that multilingual labeling contributes to pricing discrepancies across EU countries, with A-brands potentially charging Dutch retailers higher prices than their counterparts elsewhere.  

“Look objectively at what retailers earn. At the end of the day, it’s much less than what A-brands earn. The big players make 20–25%, and we only make 3–4%,” says Jumbo’s Van Veen.

Additionally, the supermarket leaders are urging the EU to prohibit manufacturers from restricting product supply to retailers outside the Netherlands.

Malik Azmani, member of the European Parliament from the VVD party, was interested in presenting these proposals in the European Parliament. However, he warned that it could take one to two years for any new legislation to be approved.