Albert Heijn
- Type
- Retailer
- Location
- Zaandam, Netherlands
- Industries
- Direct to consumer, Retail tech, Food discovery / recipe apps & experiences, Food ingredients & products, Alternative proteins, Supply chain monitoring & traceability, Sustainable packaging & plastic alternatives, Waste efficiency, Food reformulation, Plant-based
- Domains
- Animal based primary products, Plant based primary products, Processed food products, Fish, Soy
- Technologies
- Digital Marketplace, Platform & Service technologies
About Albert Heijn
Albert Heijn is a Dutch supermarket retailer and food-tech company serving consumers and business customers across the Netherlands and Flanders. Founded in 1887 as a single grocery store in Oostzaan, it has grown into a large omnichannel food business with more than 1,250 stores, 6 distribution centres, 9 home shop centres and a substantial online grocery operation.
The company positions itself as a trusted, inspiring partner that aims to make better food accessible to everyone. Its market approach combines broad everyday grocery retail with digital services, private-label development, and a strong focus on healthier, more sustainable choices.
Albert Heijn also serves business customers through AH Zakelijk, offering workplace groceries, volume deals, and delivery services tailored to offices, care organisations and other professional settings.
Core Values
- Accessibility: The company’s mission is to make better food reachable for everyone, combining price, convenience and broad availability across stores and digital channels.
- Health: Albert Heijn emphasizes healthier eating through reformulation, wholegrain options, protein-rich products, and dedicated ranges such as organic and plant-based foods.
- Sustainability: The retailer highlights lower-impact sourcing, reduced food waste, smarter packaging, and climate goals across its supply chain.
- Innovation: Albert Heijn presents itself as a food-tech company, using digital tools, data, and product innovation to improve shopping, logistics and assortment development.
- Quality: The company stresses taste, freshness and reliable product quality across both branded and own-brand ranges.
Unique Aspects
- Large omnichannel scale: Albert Heijn combines a dense store network with online grocery, home delivery and home shop centres, giving it a strong presence in both physical and digital retail.
- Strong own-brand platform: Its private-label portfolio is unusually extensive, with more than 10,000 own-brand products and a broad mix of value, organic, plant-based and premium lines.
- Franchise network: More than 130 franchise entrepreneurs run over 300 stores, adding local presence and operational reach across Dutch towns and cities.
- Sustainability transparency: The company has publicly disclosed ingredient-level climate footprints for over 1,000 private-label food and drink items and has also disclosed methane emissions in its sustainability reporting.
- Supplier collaboration: Albert Heijn works with farmers, growers and suppliers on initiatives such as Beter voor Natuur & Boer, WWF-related footprint reduction work, and more sustainable sourcing in fresh produce and soy.
- Business-market expansion: AH Zakelijk has been strengthened through new B2B relationships in sectors such as childcare and healthcare, including cooperation with Holland Food Service.