2024-07-13 04:08:14
4-level control ensures the quality of over 400 products on display in all the retailer’s stores
Kaufland’s storefronts have received TÜV AUSTRIA quality certification, making the chain the first retailer in the world to be certified for its fresh serviced storefronts.
The official presentation of the award took place on Thursday during the public discussion “Let’s talk about food quality”, which the company is holding for the second year in a row.
The quality certificate is issued by the independent organization TÜV AUSTRIA in certification that the facility’s operation processes meet the highest international standards – food safety, process quality, risk control and guarantees a 4-level quality control that includes temperature chain monitoring, surprise inspections of service windows, inspections by “mystery customers” who select products for “testing” and examination of samples taken in independent laboratories
The chain has 66 showcases of the future in 100% of its hypermarkets in the country. Kaufland’s fresh showcase is the largest in Bulgaria, and even in the smallest branch of the chain, there are over 400 products in it.
Despite their large number, their expiration date is checked every morning to ensure the freshness of the products.
An interesting fact is that the longest showcase in our country is also on the chain and is almost 29 meters long. Therefore, Kaufland is in first place in all categories of storefront with service, followed by neighborhood and specialty stores.
“We continue to upgrade our actions and processes to ensure daily quality for our customers.” It is not by chance that we call our fresh displays “displays of the future” because they set a new standard in retail. We are proud to be the only chain that certifies and guarantees freshness and quality through independent reputable audits. We have repeatedly said that the investment in quality control and certification of the assortment is an investment in the trust of our customers”emphasized during the event Radoslav Kurtev, head of the department “Fresh foods and own brands in Kaufland Bulgaria.
The most sought-after products in the chain are fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as bread. From the fresh showcase, the three most purchased product categories are fresh fish and meat and dairy products. In fact, 1/3 of Kaufland’s customers always shop from the fresh window, the numbers prove it – on a weekly basis, more than 4 million receipts contain products from the fresh window.
The chain reports growing sales growth from the fresh window, with the best-selling products being pork, poultry, cured cheese, salads and olives. Among the meat products, the best sellers are the chicken leg, boneless pork neck, boneless pork shoulder, boneless pork leg, and chicken breast fillet.
In addition to Bulgarian delicacies, Kaufland’s fresh showcases also have authentic delicacies from Italy and Spain, as well as a bunch of other innovations, such as new vacuum packaging and products with the “Clean Label” seal, which are free of preservatives, colorings, flavorings or gluten.
“The recently completed certification of the processes of the shop window with service in all branches of Kaufland Bulgaria is a natural continuation of the project that we started in 2022 and then, for the first time in the world, we audited a shop window with service in their store in the capital’s Banishora district.” The logo of TÜV AUSTRIA guarantees that the products and processes carried out there are according to the highest quality and safety criteria, and we do not perform them once, but throughout the year – including surprise ones visits and laboratory analyses. Obtaining the certificate ensures that in the coming years we will control the quality of the showcase processes”emphasized Dimitar Kraev, representative of TÜV AUSTRIA for Bulgaria.
Associate Professor Alexander Hristov from UNSS emphasized that it is precisely the shop windows with service that are Kaufland’s competitive advantage, because Bulgarian customers are looking for personal attention.
“We observe two trends in consumer behavior – the storefront market, which offers service and services to facilitate the customer, and the online market, which saves time, are increasingly preferred. Everything depends on the customer’s attitudes, and trust is a process that builds and solidifies over time”also commented Hristov.
Over the past two years, Kaufland Bulgaria has successfully secured several key quality certificates, including a guarantee of quality and compliance with the mince and minced meat processes of the retailer’s own brands – “Bray!” and “Chef Butcher” from TÜV AUSTRIA.
11 of the bakery’s products on offer carry the TÜV NORD seal of quality, as well as the fresh packaged meats and meat products from the retailer’s own brands – “Bray!” and “Chef Butcher” have also successfully passed a detailed audit and received a TÜV NORD quality certificate.
There are more than 150 points according to the internal rules of the inspection protocol, according to which the Kaufland storefront has been checked and which have been confirmed by TÜV AUSTRIA. Among them are criteria for hygiene, food safety, temperature of storage and display of goods, clothing and behavior of employees, arrangement and suitability of products. The certification of the processes of the storefront with service is issued according to the standards ISO 9001:2015 for the certification of the quality of the processes, ISO 22000:2018 – a standard for food safety, as well as the HACCP system.