“No Embarrassment? The fact that Norgesgruppen does not feel ashamed in this life is nothing new. But they go to great lengths to show how shy they are. Now they have actually changed the design of EMV minced meat too! That one can contain meat from anywhere.”
On Friday evening, Anders Nordstad published a fiery post on social media, in which he came out harshly against Norgesgruppen. EMV stands for “Private Brands” and is the term used for special series products.
Norgesgruppen is Norway’s largest grocery group, owning chains such as Kiwi, Meny, Joker and Spar.
Nordstad, a former general secretary of the Norwegian Farmers and Small Farmers Association, It had previously “stood at the barricades” for the labeling of imported meat. Something Nettavisen mentioned in several cases.
Die the same
Norgesgruppen told Nettavisen that he had been informed of the change to Norgesgruppen.
– You responded right away. I also reacted to the old packaging, as you can’t tell if there was German or Norwegian meat in the package. With the new design, the packaging looks exactly the same! Foulket can be Norwegian meat, but it can easily be German meat. Not everyone reads everything in a fine line, the urban economist tells Netavizen.
He adds:
– With Gilde, it’s always Norwegian meat. It is important for those who are interested in the source of food.
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Anders Nordstad is a blogger for Nettavisen.
He has clear opinions that the grocery chain has an ulterior motive for it.
Norgesgruppen’s new design shows that they want to blur the difference. The EMV share is more than 80 percent now, and the chains seem to have a strategy to “take over” the meat tables, Nordstad says.
reject criticism
Politician Geir Bulstad (Sp) also noted Norgesgruppen’s new ground beef packaging.
– They don’t have much good imagination. The similarity is quite clear, and there is no doubt that they are trying to imitate Guild, says the representative of Parliament.
Bård Gultvedt, director of business policy and government relations at Norgesgruppen, rejects the allegations.
– We didn’t consciously imitate his generation. Red is a popular color to use. He says it’s not particularly unique.
Gultvedt believes that the logo is clearly defined, and that the clear green squares in NorgeGruppen’s packaging distinguish the two products.
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“I’m sure Jair Bolstad and Anders Norstad would see a difference if they were put next to each other,” he notes.
requires changes
Pollestad has been an outspoken promoter of austerity measures at grocery chains When it comes to the labeling of imported meat. He also believes there is a need to toughen up copying of already existing brands.
There is a need to protect independent suppliers, if we don’t want a market in which grocery chains have a kind of monopoly on everything from production to sales, says Ballstad.
The government is now working on an investigation into EMV merchandise in stores, according to the politician.
Actions will be taken continuously when the investigation is ready. Public debate is very important. The chains want us to believe they are in a fierce price competition. I mean they are not. He says there is very little competition between grocery chains.
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Fewer options
Nettavisen asks Nordstad, who currently spends a lot of time lecturing on Norwegian food production, if this is a big problem for consumers.
We’ve all learned to read fine lines. Isn’t it “trivial” to respond forcefully to a label change?
Every supplier has a duty to give customers choices. In this case, Norgesgruppen chose to design so that it would be easy to make mistakes. This deprives customers of the option to choose Norwegian meat. I’m sure this is a well thought out strategy from Norgesgruppen. The strategy seems to be that “meat is meat”. The former Secretary General of the Small Farmers and Small Farmers Association answers if we want to have sustainable food production.
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According to Nordstad, there is a lot of interest in this issue, and more people are connecting and participating in social media.
There is a growing awareness among Norwegian consumers. If Norwegian consumers are not given the opportunity to choose Norwegian food effectively, it will threaten our ability to be self-sufficient. He notes that Norway has the lowest self-sufficiency score in the world.
– clear signs
Norgesgruppen’s Gultvedt states that Folkets mincemeat contains mostly Norwegian meat, unless there is a shortage of Norwegian meat on the market. Then it is imported.
– It’s not something we want, but if it happens, it will be marked on the packaging, he says.
– Nordstad points out that this is written in small print on the packages, so what do you say about that?
– We have changed the font size and moved the label to the front of the package, specifically to make it visible to the consumer. With a larger font size, we also go further in clear labeling than what the authorities require.
– Is this an attempt to control the meat market of Gilde?
– This is by no means an attempt to control the market from Gildy, the director answers frankly.
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