May 17, 2010 – Albert Heijn has kicked off a three-week national advertising campaign to showcase its new private label brand AH puur&eerlijk (pure & honest). In its stores, on its shelves, in its weekly AH Bonus discounts and through television adverts, the Dutch supermarket chain will bring home the message of AH puur&eerlijk – an umbrella brand that helps consumers to make responsible choices for the future. It includes organic products, fair trade products, sustainably caught fish, free range meat and environmentally friendly non-food items. Albert Heijn launched the brand in May 2009 and now stocks 340 AH puur&eerlijk products that are attracting many new shoppers.

Growth
Albert Heijn opted for a single brand to represent those products made with particular care and devotion to people, animal welfare, nature and/or the environment to make it easier for consumers to choose responsibly. Albert Heijn is looking to have 450 AH puur&eerlijk products in its stores by the end of the year, climbing to over 500 in 2011.

Proof that AH puur&eerlijk has made it easier to shop responsibly is in the pudding: 75% of customers who buy free range meat had previously purchased Albert Heijn's regular meat offering and switched to this rapidly-growing, more animal-friendly alternative.

New products
An array of new AH puur&eerlijk products is due to hit the shelves in the next few weeks, ranging from organic York ham to fair trade rooibos (red bush) tea, forest fruit tea and green tea, organic sauvignon blanc wine, organic herb boxes and eco-friendly cotton clothing such as tunics, leggings, T-shirts and cardigans.

Discounts
Albert Heijn will continue to invest in the new private label and is looking to introduce its 340 AH puur&eerlijk products to as many of its customers as possible by marketing the brand under the campaign slogan "Choosing for tomorrow, today" in television commercials and in its stores. Over the next three weeks, Albert Heijn will offer a 25% discount on the entire AH puur&eerlijk range, with some products even going for 50% off the usual price -- a drive that the supermarket chain hopes will get even more customers to make sustainable choices in the future.

Independently certified
AH puur&eerlijk covers five categories of products: organic, fair trade, sustainably caught fish, free range meat and eco-friendly non-food. All five categories are individually color-coded, their packaging appropriately labeled, and their sustainability independently certified. All AH puur&eerlijk products are certified and/or have quality control labels such as the Dutch Eko label for organic products or the Beter Leven (Better Life) label bestowed by the Dierenbescherming (the Dutch RSPCA) for organic and free range meat products.