Good Things From up Close

More than 400 farmers participate in the ‘Nurtured with care in Bulgaria’ program of METRO Bulgaria. They supply METRO stores with cheese, honey and various types of vegetables and fruits from local cultivation. The regional offer is marked with its own logo. A highlight is the ‘Pink Tomato’ – a type of tomato that grows only in Bulgaria.

On the back of its successful operations over the past two decades, METRO Bulgaria now looks into the future to discover the major trends and prospects in food sustainability and innovations. Industry experts share their views and insights in these fields at a program in cooperation with Bulgaria’s leading newspaper Capital.

Raising awareness for the work of beekeepers and the preservation of the honey bee: Those are the intentions behind the initiative ‘PROJEKT 2028’ which METRO supports in Austria. The initiative is committed to increasing the number of bee colonies in Austria and Germany. PROJEKT 2028 honey is available – in addition to other regional honey varieties – in the assortment of all 12 Austrian METRO stores.

In the Bulgarian municipality of Smilian, farmers have been growing beans on the banks of the Arda River in the Rhodope Mountains for centuries. Since summer 2018, METRO has been supporting the tradition of local farmers – for example through the culinary Smilian Bean Festival, which gives the region an additional impulse once a year. Through the initiative, METRO Bulgaria contributes to the economic development of the municipality and ensures that customers throughout Bulgaria can enjoy the specialty.

Regional products make up the majority of METRO's range in Croatia. This also includes Boškarin meat, which comes from domestic cattle from Croatian Istria. The discovery of meat for haute cuisine saved the breed from extinction: previously, the population had shrunk to just a few 100 animals. Since 2016, METRO Croatia has been working with a farmer who is committed to the preservation of Boškarin cattle. There are now more than 3,500 animals. In Kazakhstan, METRO works together with the provider ‘KazBeef’ for sustainable cattle farming and the promotion of regional producers. Meanwhile, caterers across the country trust the freshness and quality of the finely marbled beef from the Kazakh pastures.

Moldova is famous for its hospitality and its diverse selection of regional wines. With many years of expertise, METRO helps local small producers to integrate their products even better into the local gastronomy range and to target customers. METRO offers winegrowers the opportunity to present their wines to a wide audience and thus get the attention they deserve. In the course of Covid-19, the importance of local products for the food supply became even more apparent. With a targeted communication campaign and other measures, regional producers and the sale of their products were specifically promoted. In addition, METRO Moldova also participated in a regional conference of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). Topics included were for instance recommendations for improving the integration of Moldovan food producers into global value chains as well as local support programs.

FERMOVE is the name of an initiative in the Ukraine with which METRO supports local small farmers and promotes a healthy food culture. Therefore, experts accompany the local producers along the entire value chain. It all starts with METRO employees ordering regional vegetable varieties. The farmers receive the appropriate seeds and fertilizers for cultivation from Syngenta, a leading agricultural company. METRO then offers the freshly harvested vegetables to its customers under the ‘FERMOVE’ label, who thus benefit from healthy local products.

As part of the ‘Local Seed’ project, METRO Turkey purchases agricultural products that are produced from local seeds and are characteristic for their region of origin. The products include, for example, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. METRO Turkey is committed to the region and the protection of natural, original seeds.