Dirk has sold 150,000 RED food-rescue bags in six months, giving the Dutch supermarket chain an early measure of demand for its in-store surplus-food offer.
The retailer reported the milestone on 11 September. Its standard bag costs €5 and contains products with a minimum retail value of €15. A separate bread bag costs €2 for €6 of bread products.
Customers buy the bags during their normal shopping trip, without an app or advance reservation. Standard bags sit in a designated chilled area; bread bags are available in the bakery department. Both depend on surplus stock being available.
Dirk introduced the scheme in March. Contents change with the goods approaching their expiry dates, spanning categories such as dairy, prepared produce, meals and bakery products, according to its latest announcement.
For grocery operators, the commercial question is how much value this approach recovers from stock that would otherwise remain unsold. Putting surplus into a single-price bag may simplify the shopper’s decision, although staff still need to select suitable products, assemble bags and maintain storage conditions.
The 150,000 figure measures bags sold. Dirk has not disclosed their combined weight, the split between bag types, handling costs or the scheme’s contribution to profit. It therefore provides evidence of uptake without establishing the scale of net food-waste reduction.
That distinction matters when comparing performance across Dutch supermarket chains. A high bag-sales total could reflect successful recovery, a larger surplus problem, or both. Buyers need to read it alongside purchasing volumes, markdown sales and waste remaining after intervention.
The offer also requires customers to accept uncertainty over what they take home. Its appeal rests on a clear price and value promise, while the retailer needs enough consistency in bag quality to encourage repeat purchases.
Earlier launch coverage in MarketingTribune described a €3 bread bag worth at least €9. Dirk’s September statement gives the current €2 and €6 figures, but does not explain when or why those terms changed.
For suppliers and category managers serving the Netherlands grocery market, surplus-bag sales can be a useful diagnostic. Repeated inclusion of the same lines would warrant a closer look at forecasting, pack sizes, delivery frequency and remaining shelf life on arrival.
The next useful measure will be whether Dirk can sustain customer uptake while reducing the underlying surplus. Reporting recovered product weight and residual waste alongside bag sales would make that progress easier for the wider grocery trade to assess.
