CUSTOMERS CAN NOW BUY FRESHLY PICKED LETTUCES AND AROMATIC HERBS AT CONTINENTE STORES
Continente launched a hydroponics pilot project in three Continente stores - Cascais, Matosinhos and Gaiashopping - that allows customers to harvest lettuce and aromatic herbs while they are still in their roots. The products thus maintain their original characteristics and freshness for longer, in addition to being more sustainable.
The ‘A Minha Horta’ (My Garden) project is a mobile hydroponics concept that aims to bring even more freshness and sense of Portugal (with products of national origin) to the Continente stores’ Fruits and Vegetables section, providing customers with the experience of harvesting their own vegetables. Hydroponic cultivation does not use soil, but a nutrient-enriched water solution. It is a more sustainable option compared to traditional agriculture because it consumes less water, does not use herbicides or pesticides and adapts to extreme conditions.
The varieties of lettuce available are Crispy Green, Purple and Plain and, among the aromatic herbs, there are Chives, Basil, Coriander, Parsley, Mint and Thyme, available for 0.99 euros each. The customer collects the lettuces, cuts the aromatic herbs and places them directly in the respective bag or cuvette, already with the barcode incorporated, without the need to weigh the item.
For this project, Continente relies on two partners from the Continente Producers Club – a club with 267 members and 25 years of existence - which aims to support, encourage and certify the best of national production.
“Since the project was launched, customer engagement has been higher than expectations, representing, on average, 22% of lettuce sales in the three stores,” explains Nuno Vital, Commercial Director at Continente. “It is a way of having a vegetable garden in the store, of continuing to make available to our customers the freshest products, with national origin, and keeping the vegetables in their natural conditions for longer”, concludes the official.
‘A Minha Horta’ is a project that favours the freshness that the brand seeks for Continente stores’ Fruits and Vegetables sections, where it already maintains, with some suppliers, direct delivery of products to stores to guarantee their freshness.
Continente is the leading food retail brand in Portugal, recognized in the areas of dynamism and innovation and with a solid record in launching and marketing differentiating products.
The ‘A Minha Horta’ (My Garden) project is a mobile hydroponics concept that aims to bring even more freshness and sense of Portugal (with products of national origin) to the Continente stores’ Fruits and Vegetables section, providing customers with the experience of harvesting their own vegetables. Hydroponic cultivation does not use soil, but a nutrient-enriched water solution. It is a more sustainable option compared to traditional agriculture because it consumes less water, does not use herbicides or pesticides and adapts to extreme conditions.
The varieties of lettuce available are Crispy Green, Purple and Plain and, among the aromatic herbs, there are Chives, Basil, Coriander, Parsley, Mint and Thyme, available for 0.99 euros each. The customer collects the lettuces, cuts the aromatic herbs and places them directly in the respective bag or cuvette, already with the barcode incorporated, without the need to weigh the item.
For this project, Continente relies on two partners from the Continente Producers Club – a club with 267 members and 25 years of existence - which aims to support, encourage and certify the best of national production.
“Since the project was launched, customer engagement has been higher than expectations, representing, on average, 22% of lettuce sales in the three stores,” explains Nuno Vital, Commercial Director at Continente. “It is a way of having a vegetable garden in the store, of continuing to make available to our customers the freshest products, with national origin, and keeping the vegetables in their natural conditions for longer”, concludes the official.
‘A Minha Horta’ is a project that favours the freshness that the brand seeks for Continente stores’ Fruits and Vegetables sections, where it already maintains, with some suppliers, direct delivery of products to stores to guarantee their freshness.
Continente is the leading food retail brand in Portugal, recognized in the areas of dynamism and innovation and with a solid record in launching and marketing differentiating products.