Together for the Polish food industry and the environment. Lidl Polska the Main Partner of POLAGRA Trade Fair
Lidl Polska is our country’s largest exporter of agri-food goods and a chain working for sustainable development and cooperation with local suppliers. How does co-operation with the network work in practice? That is to be experienced by the participants and exhibitors of the POLAGRA Fair in Poznań, which will take place from 25th to 27th September 2024. Lidl Polska became the Main Partner of the event and one of the key exhibitors.
The POLAGRA Fair brings together companies, associations and chambers operating in the food industry and HoReCa sector (hotels, restaurants, catering). The exhibitors include food manufacturers and distributors, suppliers of technology, machinery and equipment for their production, as well as companies offering solutions for the food service and hospitality industry.
This year, organizers will emphasise the pro-export nature of the event and the themes of environmental responsibility. This will be reflected in training, presentations and debates with representatives of the government, chambers, associations, manufacturers and POLAGRA partners.
The exhibitors and visitors at the fair include manufacturers and suppliers of food products. Many of them see the fair as an opportunity to meet with representatives of large chains and obtain attractive contracts.
This year, one of the partners of the Polagra Fair will be Lidl Polska. The choice of this company is not coincidental - the chain has been building its offer for years in cooperation with Polish suppliers, to which it gives wide opportunities for development also in foreign markets. Currently, Lidl Polska has more than 900 stores and employs nearly 27,000 workers. The chain’s offer includes private label products, which are co-developed largely with Polish suppliers. These include both large and smaller companies, including Maspex, Animex Foods or Roślinna MAGDA. One of the private labels is Regionalne Szlaki, which are local products from different regions of Poland, such as smoked delicacies from Podhale.
Lidl Polska’s activities are regularly noticed and appreciated. The company has been awarded, among others things, the Silver CSR Leaf, and as an ESG Eagle, or Ethics Leader, and is also certified as a Top Employer. The chain also receives industry awards - for example, as part of the “Retail Trends” competition, Lidl Poland was named Market of the Year 2024 in the following categories: “Medium format”, “Best shopping experience”, “Best private label offering”, and “Best fresh produce offering”.
"We are very excited about the impressive debut of Lidl Polska at our event. Its local market and export activities are perfectly in line with the business strategy we adopted for POLAGRA a few years ago, but also with the pro-environmental plans of our entire company", says Filip Bittner, vice president of the Board of the MTP Group.
The latter assume that by 2030, the MTP Group will reduce CO2 emissions by 50% from those recorded in 2019, and become zero-emission by 2050.
Record export results of Lidl Polska
Lidl Polska works with more than 840 suppliers from all over Poland on a daily basis. As a result, about 450 products with the “Product Polski” label can be found on the chain’s shelves. Moreover, in 2023, more than 300 Polish suppliers exported their products under Lidl’s private labels to 28 foreign markets where Lidl is present, and the value of exported Polish products amounted to more than PLN 6.45 billion. In six years (2018-2023), exports of Polish products through the international Lidl chain reached a value of more than PLN 25 billion.
"Cooperation with Polish suppliers is one of our most important goals. We are eager to support their development, which is why we make it possible to export and promote the best products from the best suppliers in other countries in Europe. We treat all our suppliers and contractors as partners and with respect. We focus on long-term cooperation. What is important from the suppliers’ point of view is that no investment is required to start exporting in cooperation with Lidl Polska. We are pleased to partner with the POLAGRA Fair. I believe it will be an excellent place to exchange experiences, knowledge, and expand cooperation with Polish suppliers", comments Wojciech Grohn, Member of the Board of Lidl Polska.
Industries with a strong presence at POLAGRA will include the meat, bakery, and dairy industry. Each of them faces enormous challenges in minimising their environmental impact. This includes production, transportation, but also eco-design and recycling of packaging.
The organizers will provide a block of legal training courses that address these topics. Thanks to the presence of representatives of Lidl Polska on the stage and at a several-hundred-meter-long booth, fair participants - exhibitors and visitors - will learn about the practical side of cooperation with regional suppliers, issues of green investments, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable development.
Such extensive cooperation marks the opening of a new chapter for both companies - the MTP Group and Lidl Polska. Presence at POLAGRA is one of the first steps. Lidl Polska will also appear on 27-29 September as an exhibitor at the Smaki Regionów fair, where regional foods and products from all over Poland are presented to a wide audience.
