Supermarket chain Jumbo is continuing its local expansion. After introducing edamame beans from Flevoland arable farmer Harry Schreuder, they're now adding other locally grown beans to their shelves.
Last year, edamame beans from Swifterbant were the first products to be launched under the Dichtbij label. This year, Jumbo is stepping up its game by also selling other locally grown beans. The supermarket chain has therefore announced that Dutch-grown split peas are now available in its Dutch and Belgian stores. The range will be supplemented with brown, white, black, and red kidney beans.
The beans are grown by the Protein Farmers of the Netherlands. This producer organization aims to revitalize legume cultivation. According to this organization, the Netherlands has only about 6.000 hectares of legumes left, which is only a fifth of the area that was cultivated in Dutch fields seventy years ago.
According to Jumbo, the popularity of legumes has been rising for years. The supermarket chain bases this on figures published by Rabobank at the end of last year, which show that supermarket sales of legumes have increased by 10 to 15% over the past three years.