Norwegian online supermarket Oda, which will enter the German market at the beginning of 2023, will be cooperating with BIO COMPANY. With the start of operational tests in Berlin on January 23, pre-registered test users will be able to buy products of BIO COMPANY's proprietary brand in the organic price range, as well as a variety of other inexpensive groceries and articles for daily use online.
For Oda, the cooperation with BIO COMPANY is the next milestone in the expansion of its network of top-class retail partners in Germany: it increases the share of organically produced products in the total range to over 11 percent and follows a retail partnership concluded last summer with the Bünting group of companies as the main supplier in this country.
Oda box with products from BIO COMPANY's proprietary brand. © Oda
"The aim of the partnership is to launch with the most diverse overall assortment of value-for-money food products possible: In addition to our comprehensive regular assortment, we also want to provide customers with a wide selection of affordable, certified sustainable products. This will perfectly round off Oda's range in Germany," says Eberhard Wirtz, Commercial Director of Oda Germany. "We are pleased to have won over BIO COMPANY, the leading organic supermarket in the capital region, as a supplier. This way we also bring the great variety of the affordable BIO COMPANY proprietary brand directly to the doorstep of Berliners."
Oda's online supermarket is initially only available for pre-registered Berlin test users. After the test phase, all of Berlin will be able to shop in the Oda webshop and via the app starting in February. Oda's assortment, including BIO COMPANY products, comprises around 8,000 items during the test phase. By the official launch it will grow to more than 9,000, and in the following months to up to 12,000 items.
The BIO COMPANY portfolio at Oda includes a total of around 400 products. Listed are exclusively products of BIO COMPANY's own brand, including dry goods, dairy products, canned and ready meals, coffee and tea, as well as vegan specialties.
"With Oda, we share a strong commitment to sustainability, so this cooperation also fits well with our corporate philosophy. With the segmental opening to online trade, we can henceforth serve customer requests for our own brand also outside our catchment area," Christopher Vorwerg, Head of Own Brands at BIO COMPANY, emphasizes.
Sustainability as a joint driver
The cooperation builds on a strong sustainability focus within both companies. Oda's goal is to eliminate inefficiencies in the food supply chain. As an online-only supermarket, all of the Norwegian online supermarket's processes are designed to conserve resources. With short supply chains and optimized demand and delivery route planning, Oda generates up to three times less food waste than brick-and-mortar retailers. At the same time, Oda is driving sustainable purchasing decisions in its Norwegian home market through initiatives such as the "Climate Receipt" - an app feature that allows customers to view the carbon footprint of their purchases. Similar initiatives are planned for the German market over time.
BIO COMPANY has also pursued an ambitious sustainability strategy since its founding. It focuses on regionality. In order to guarantee the best possible freshness of the products and to save as much CO2 as possible on the delivery routes, the company prefers to source its goods locally. In the Berlin metropolitan region, it is supplied by over 100 suppliers from Berlin-Brandenburg. The organic chain store also makes conscious food shopping particularly accessible: located in the organic price range, its products are not only affordable, but also produced in the most environmentally friendly and resource-saving way possible in terms of packaging and recipes.
For more information: https://oda.com/de