THE NETHERLANDS - One of Ahold Delhaize’s banners, Albert Heijn, has announced its acquisition of online nutrition start-up FoodFirst Network (FFN) to bring healthy eating tips and tricks to its customers and 100,000 associates. This is a strategic move, as more and more consumers seek out nutritious products, driving growth of the category sky high.

“We want to be the supermarket that helps customers with a healthier lifestyle,” said CEO of Albert Heijn, Marit van Egmond.

FFN offers paid subscribers tips and advice from experts regarding nutrition, health, exercise, and relaxation through newsletters, a digital magazine, and videos. The organization will remain independent within Albert Heijn. No financial details were disclosed.

Albert Heijn has been increasing its efforts to encourage everyone in the Netherlands to live a healthy lifestyle and has begun providing healthier foods to customers. The brand has removed hundreds of thousands of sugar cubes from products and plans to use one billion fewer sugar cubes by the end of 2020, according to the press release. Last year, the brand debuted My Nutritional Value, which is an online tool allowing customers to view the amount of calories, salt, sugar, fiber, and protein present in the products they buy and suggests healthier alternatives.

“All the ingredients for a better life for everyone—FFN fits perfectly with this ambition,” said van Egmond. “Together we can further fulfill our role in the Netherlands with regard to health. The platform and the knowledge that we acquire is relevant for our customers and for us as a company. I am looking forward to working with the FFN team.”

As a key element of its Leading Together strategy, Ahold and its local brands are ramping up efforts to help consumers make healthier choices. Subject to a number of conditions, the acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2019.

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Ahold Delhaize Albert Heijn FoodFirst Network