Albert Heijn, Lidl, and Colruyt: How North-West European Retailers Are Building the Hybrid Foods Category

Three retailers are doing more than anyone else in Europe to mainstream hybrid foods: Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, Lidl across Germany and the Benelux, and Colruyt in Belgium. Their playbooks are different — discount-led, parity-led, and butcher-counter-led — but the commercial signal is consistent. Hybrid is no longer a pilot. It is a category build. Here is what each retailer has done, what is working, and what the next phase looks like.

What Are the Three Retailers Doing in Hybrid Foods Today?

Albert Heijn launched 15 hybrid SKUs across meat and milk in mid-2025, priced at parity with conventional. Lidl has committed to replacing 20% of meat and dairy sales with plant-based proteins by 2030 and runs hybrid burgers and mince in Next Level. Colruyt sells 60-40 fava-beef mince at the butcher counter across its Belgian estate.

All three sit inside the European protein-split commitment movement. Ahold Delhaize, Albert Heijn's parent, targets 60% of all protein sales plant-based by 2030. Lidl Netherlands tops the Superlist Environment Europe 2026 rankings on protein transition progress, followed by Lidl Poland, Albert Heijn, and Jumbo. Colruyt is third in the Belgian vegan-availability rankings and the only major Benelux retailer integrating hybrid at the fresh-meat counter rather than the chilled fixture. The FoodConNext Foundation conference programme brings senior buyers from all three to Amsterdam in September.

Why Are These Three Retailers Leading Europe?

Three reasons explain the leadership of Albert Heijn, Lidl, and Colruyt: regulatory and reputational pressure from national protein-split commitments, headquarters in Netherlands and Belgium where the protein transition is most advanced, and category management cultures that already integrate sustainability KPIs into buyer scorecards. Other large retailers have intent. These three have execution.

The geography matters. The Netherlands and Belgium produce the most prominent NGO pressure on protein transition in Europe — Questionmark, Madre Brava, ProVeg, and WWF all run national supermarket rankings. The Dutch retail covenant on healthy and sustainable food gives Albert Heijn and Jumbo political cover for fast moves. Lidl, headquartered in Germany but with strong Dutch and Belgian operations, has used those markets as proof-of-concept for wider European roll-out. Henk van Os of Albert Heijn and Chantal Goenee of Lidl will detail the internal scorecards driving these decisions at Hybrid Foods Europe.

How Do the Three Strategies Compare?

Albert Heijn, Lidl, and Colruyt are running three different commercial strategies on the same category. Each makes sense for the retailer's format and competitive position. The table below maps the strategies against the levers that decide success.

Each retailer's choice fits its format. Discount cannot afford parity-priced premium positioning; full-service cannot rely purely on the value tier. Butcher-counter integration only works in a market with strong fresh-meat heritage. For partnership and category-building support, the FoodConNext network connects ingredient and manufacturer partners with each retail format.

Who Supplies These Retailers?

Hybrid private label for these three retailers is supplied by a tight network of specialist manufacturers: Vion Food Group, Plukon, and Boermarke in the Netherlands; ingredient houses including ADM, Beneo, Cosun Beet Company, Crespel & Deiters, and Roquette across the value chain; and a growing set of regional processors integrating hybrid into existing meat and dairy lines.

Boermarke — formerly a Dutch dairy producer — sold its conventional dairy operations in 2024 to focus on plant-based and hybrid private label for major retailers, including as Albert Heijn's main plant-based dairy supplier. The model is replicating. Conventional meat and dairy processors with spare line capacity are pivoting to hybrid private label as the most profitable use of installed equipment. The community of FoodConNext Foundation has shown that hybrid scales fastest when retailer, ingredient supplier, and contract manufacturer co-develop from day one rather than tendering after the fact.

What Is the Next 18 Months Likely to Bring?

Expect three moves in the next 18 months: format expansion from meat and milk into cheese, yoghurt, and ready meals; geographic roll-out from Benelux into Lidl's German and Polish networks and Colruyt's expansion across Walloon France; and tier expansion as each retailer adds a premium-positioned hybrid range alongside the value tier. The category is consolidating from pilot to portfolio.

The competitive pressure is also intensifying. Ahold Delhaize's Q4 2025 results showed 52.1% of own-brand food sales classified as "healthy" — a reformulation KPI that hybrid private label directly serves. Lidl's exceeded UK plant-based target sets the bar for other discounters. Colruyt's butcher-counter model is being studied by full-service retailers across France and Germany. Jan Arnaut of Colruyt will discuss the next phase in Amsterdam.

Key Take-Home Messages

Commercial

• The three retailers prove three different commercial strategies all work in hybrid.

• Headquarters geography (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) is currently the strongest predictor of retailer leadership.

• Protein-split commitments translate directly into hybrid private label scale; KPI-led category management beats ad-hoc pilots.

• Same-price-as-conventional is the deal-breaker line. None of the three leaders charge a premium for hybrid.

  
  

Technical

• Faba bean, butter bean, sugar beet fibre, pea, soy, and mycoprotein are the proven ingredient stack across all three retailers.

• Reformulation work runs from 25% to 50% animal protein replacement depending on format.

• Hybrid milk is the most technically demanding launch, hybrid mince the easiest.

• Cold-chain and shelf-life parity with conventional is the operational baseline — no exceptions.

  
  

Verdict & Next Step

Albert Heijn, Lidl, and Colruyt are not running pilots. They are running category builds. The retailers, brand owners, and ingredient partners who study how these three operate — and join the supply network in the next 18 months — capture the next protein-transition wave. Those who wait will list later, with weaker assortment and higher cost.

The window is narrow. Hybrid Foods Europe 2026 (Amsterdam, 14–16 September) brings senior representatives from Albert Heijn, Lidl, and Colruyt into the same room — Strategy Day on 15 September, Innovation Day with hands-on hybrid tasting on 16 September. Register now or contact us about partnership. The European hybrid category is being built by these retailers. Be in the room with them.

About FoodConNext Foundation

At FoodConNext Foundation, we believe that the future of food lies at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration. Our foundation is dedicated to accelerating the transition toward more resilient and responsible food systems by connecting key stakeholders across the agri-food ecosystem.

Our Mission

FoodConNext Foundation exists to bridge gaps in the global food system — bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, and investors to co-create solutions that address some of the world's most pressing challenges, including food security, sustainability, and nutrition.

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