On the 4th of March, a pop-up event will kick off in Amsterdam to showcase sustainable brands from the UK. Under the header ‘Best of UK Sustainable Food&Drink’, 17 brands will be able to present their products at Six & Sons on Haarlemmerdijk during a period of 6 weeks. Increasingly, Dutch consumers are paying attention to the sustainability of the products they purchase. In 2020 research showed that almost 60% of Dutch consumers values a brand more when it makes a positive contribution to the climate or world.
All British brands in this pop-up aim to contribute to a better world, but they each have their own focus on what it is they want to achieve. Some brands focus on the use of sustainable and traceable ingredients (Divine Chocolate), whereas other brands also focus on health, such as alcohol-free drinks (Caleño) or sugar-free snacks (Karma Bites). At the pop-up you can also find brands that fight the use of single-use plastics: edible straws (Stroodles) and a range of reusable cups and drink bottles (Cupple, Ohelo, Nakd, Huski). The brands create awareness around the use of single-use plastics, which is in line with the growing concerns of how plastics end up in our environment and microplastics in our body.
A YouGov report from 2019 states that 82% of British consumers actively want to contribute to the reduction in plastic waste. Last week an Ipsos research reflected this same trend in the Netherlands: almost 75% of Dutch consumers want a ban on single-use plastics. The brand ‘Oh My Gum’ presents plastic-free chewing gum.
Every brand has its own story to tell regarding sustainability. Many of the food brands in the pop up at Six and Sons are vegan and many aim for minimal use of plastic. After the 6-week event ends, on the 15th of April, the companies that are a good fit for Six and Sons, are able to showcase their brands longer. Everyone can come in the store to see, try and taste the products.
Six and Sons re-opened in 2019 under new ownership and with a new focus. Since then, the store is a platform and lifestyle store for sustainable brands. Every product in the shop has a story to tell and the shop managers help to share those stories. The name Six and Sons comes from the idea that all people are six, or fewer, social connections away from each other, and Sons stands for Save Our Nature Stories. These are the two core elements on which the company wants to build its sustainable community.
“Six & Sons has created a blueprint for pop-up retail format aimed at sustainable brands that want to enter a new market. The platform serves as a stepping stone for brands that want to see how they can position themselves in these markets. The concept is a crucial step to create brand awareness among consumers, buyers and distributors. The pop-up format is easily accessible and offers an alternative to participating in a large food fair, where small new brands are more difficult to see because they are often surrounded by many competitors,” commented Ilona Taillade, co-founder of Six and Sons.
