90% OF ADULTS NOT GETTING ENOUGH FIBRE AS LIDL LEADS SECTOR ON SETTING STRATEGIC TARGETS

• Lidl GB becomes first UK supermarket to introduce fibre-boosting sales targets across entire offering, increasing total fibre and wholegrain sold by 2026 and 2030 respectively
• The discounter’s rewards app, Lidl Plus, will play a key role in meeting its targets, with recent promotions nearly doubling sales of fibre-rich products
• Lidl has become the first retailer to apply WWF’s “Planet-Based Diets” methodology across all 31 countries to drive impactful change at scale
• From wholegrains and beans to vegetables, Lidl aims to increase the proportion of plant-based foods sold by 20% by 2030, as it seeks to align with the Planetary Health Diet

Lidl GB is the first retailer to announce a fibre strategy that spans its entire product offering, setting out two key targets. By 2026, it plans to increase the tonnage of total fibre sold by 20%, and by 2030, boost the volume of wholegrains it sells to 25% of total grains.

With nearly a quarter (23%)1 of shoppers actively seeking high-fibre products for their weekly groceries, the discounter’s new initiative is set to make it easier and more affordable for customers to improve their diets. Currently, only 9% of UK adults meet the recommended daily intake of 30g of fibre2, with lower-income households consuming even less, highlighting the need for this initiative.

As part of its new targets, Lidl is working with suppliers to enhance existing recipes by incorporating more plant-based, fibre-rich ingredients like lentils, beans, and grains, whilst reducing fats and sugars. It will also seek to introduce new and exciting high-fibre products, boosting nutritional value and making everyday items healthier.

Demonstrating its commitment to improving fibre consumption nationwide, Lidl became the first retailer to sign up to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Action on Fibre initiative to help make higher-fibre diets more appealing for households. It has also turned to its rewards app, Lidl Plus, to offer monthly promotions on these products, making a fibre-rich diet more accessible and affordable. Recent promotions have nearly doubled sales of fibre-rich products such as wheat biscuits, oats, and granola, demonstrating the success and popularity of these initiatives.

Overarching commitment to increase plant-based sales, in partnership with WWF

Building on its new fibre focus, Lidl has also become the first retailer to implement WWF’s “Planet-Based Diets” methodology3 internationally across all 31 countries in which it operates, driving impactful change at scale. The WWF methodology will be used to measure and report on its product assortments and sales as it seeks to identify clear routes towards offering customers healthier and more environmentally conscious products, including vegetables, wholegrains, and plant-based protein foods such as beans and pulses.

With its ambition to align with the Planetary Health Diet by 2050, Lidl’s new overarching commitment is first-to-market and sets out to increase the proportion of plant-based foods sold, including plant-based protein sources, wholegrains, fruits, and vegetables, by 20% by 2030.

Supporting targets to enable healthy and sustainable food shopping choices

To achieve this, Lidl has been working to ambitious targets, in addition to its fibre and wholegrain goals:

• By implementing measures such as reformulating products to improve their nutritional profile, removing designs that are attractive to children from less healthy items (including cartoon characters), and providing healthy recipe ideas on its website, Lidl hit its target of ensuring at least 80% of its sales come from healthy or healthier products by 2025, based on tonnage, ahead of schedule in 2023.
• To support a 35% increase in fresh fruit and vegetable sales by 2026, Lidl works closely with suppliers to enhance quality and freshness, prioritising British produce and local sourcing where possible, whilst offering weekly discounts on six fruit and veg lines. Additionally, it has introduced dedicated fruit and veg specialists across all its stores to ensure customers are getting the very best quality.
• As announced in October last year, through the expansion of its plant-based range, increased visibility in stores, and additional marketing, the discounter is looking to ensure plant-based protein sales (tonnage) account for 25% of its total protein sales by 2030.

Richard Bourns, Chief Commercial Officer at Lidl GB, said: “As the first UK retailer to align its strategy with the science of the Planetary Health Diet, Lidl is committed to supporting healthy and sustainable diets and setting ambitious targets to ensure our food is good for both people and the planet. We stand firmly behind the need for sustainable consumption as part of the net-zero transition and are committed to offering our customers an ever-expanding range of healthy, sustainable products at affordable prices. With WWF as an experienced partner by our side, we aim to make a greater impact on transforming the global food system—and hope that other supermarkets will follow suit.”

Sophie Bauer, Head of Food System Transformation at WWF UK, added: “We welcome Lidl’s alignment with the Planetary Health Diet and the use of the WWF Planet-Based Diets Retailer Methodology. Adopting healthier, more sustainable diets is a crucial step in transforming the food system, which is the number one driver of wildlife and nature loss. By setting public targets focused on increasing plant-based choices, Lidl is helping to support both human and planetary health. We hope this inspires other retailers to follow suit to make healthy, sustainable foods the easy and affordable choice.”

This update follows Lidl’s announcement of a new five-year international and strategic partnership with WWF in June 2024 across 31 countries. In 2023, Lidl GB became the first discount supermarket, and the sixth UK retailer, to sign WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature – an agreement to work with WWF to halve the environmental impact of UK shopping baskets by 2030.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

References

1. Kantar Worldpanel, Nutrient Concern Questionnaire, 4 w/e March 2023
2. National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) rolling programme Years 9 to 11
3. WWF International, Achieving A Planet Based Diet Retailer Methodology

About Lidl GB

Since establishing itself in Great Britain in 1994, Lidl GB has experienced continuous growth and today has over 34,000 employees, over 970 stores and 14 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales.

As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl is one of Europe’s leading organisations in the food retail industry. The supermarket, which has around 375,000 employees globally, currently operates over 12,350 stores and more than 225 logistics centres and warehouses in 31 countries.

The supermarket takes pride in providing its customers with the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout Great Britain, from Kirkwall to the Isle of Wight. Social responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the company's daily operations, with the company placing a strong emphasis on its responsibility for people, society, and the environment. Lidl GB is passionate about working with British producers and sources two thirds of its products from British suppliers.

The Schwarz Group, which operates worldwide as a retail group, generated a revenue of €167.2 billion in the financial year 2023.

About the WWF Lidl International Partnership

In 2024, WWF and Lidl International launched a five-year Sustainable Business Partnership active in 31 countries. The partnership focuses on collaborating along Lidl’s value chain to address the global ecological challenges of our time, including climate change and loss of biodiversity, ensuring that more households have access to sustainable choices. Find out more here.