Engaging with consumers

Whether at store level or through various digital channels, our Companies actively engage with consumers to understand their needs and preferences, which helps us to adapt and improve our offer. This approach supports our mission of providing accessible, safe and high-quality products, while fostering local economic development. We have three main ways of engaging with consumers, in line with our business strategy and the commitments set in our Code of Conduct:

• Research and customer insights, which are critical to guide our commercial decisions.
• Providing consumers with relevant, trustworthy information about product price, quality, safety and innovation.
• Customer support services.

Gaining customer insights

Across all the countries in which we operate, our teams analyse market trends and other key areas to support commercial and operational planning. This helps guide decisions that affect pricing and consumer affordability. Actions are then taken based on these insights.

To better understand our consumers, we regularly conduct phone interviews, focus groups, observational studies, global trends’ studies, and in some cases using data-driven techniques that can include real-time dialogues to learn about consumers’ in-store experiences, and their perceptions of product quality, innovation and , and their respective importance. This feedback helps us to identify what consumers want and where we can improve.

We also engage with customers through social media, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and TikTok. We reply to customer questions and join conversations to receive both positive and negative feedback, ensuring we address any concerns in a prompt manner.

We also run brand and product activation campaigns, giving customers the chance to try our latest products and share their experiences.

Providing information to consumers

We provide information to help our customers make informed choices through the Companies’ websites and social media channels, informational campaigns and also on products and packaging. To help consumers choose what best suits their needs, we adjust the assortment and reinforce product communication adapted to the reality and specificities of each market.

Product information

In addition to technical and regulatory information on food packaging, such as composition and nutrition tables with values per 100 grams and per serving, or guides for non-food items such as household or personal hygiene appliances, we voluntarily disclose more information.

Voluntary labels and information provided by Biedronka:

• Non-GMO on Private Brand plant-based products¹, consisting mostly of corn and/or soy (above 50% of the product’s net weight);
• Fibre content in the nutrition table;
• Specific symbols on vegan and vegetarian products based on own and other criteria required under Polish law (17 new products; 154 in total by the year-end);
• Icons on lactose-free, Omega-3 source, and gluten-free products (in the latter case, we maintained our partnership with the Polish Coeliac Society, ensuring the absence of cross-contamination. In 2024 we obtained certification for 15 new products, amounting to a total of 131 by the end of the year);
• “No sugar added” label on 28 products;
• Symbols on alcoholic beverages (calorie count, pregnancy warnings and responsible driving).
• “Wybiegaj To!”, which quantifies the physical effort to burn the calories from one serving of the product;
• “1 of Your 5 a Day” (daily recommended amount of fruit and vegetables). Three new products bore this label;
• “Eat Fish Twice a Week” label was launched for the first time in a fish product to raise awareness for the importance of consuming fish. The increase in fish consumption was not significant in the past 25 years in Poland, being little over 14 kilograms per person, per year, which carries problems for consumers in their access to food that is a source of micronutrients, minerals and vitamins needed for a healthy body functioning;
• “Garść Orzechów” (A Handful of Nuts). According to experts, nuts are a valuable food product that provides many essential nutrients, and its regular consumption can be an important part of a diet that supports cardiovascular health. Five products were enrolled. It also developed new iconography to include Slovakian language and adapt it to this market;
• “Vegan Friendly”, on non-food products. which was added to 17 new products.

Voluntary labels and information provided by Portuguese Companies:

• “Non-GMO”, on products with corn or soy (the label was in 71% of the products with more than 50% of corn or soy in their net weight by the year end² – it was 30% the previous year).
• Specific symbols on alcoholic beverages (calorie count and pregnancy warnings on 100% of the references, responsible driving on 74% of the eligible references).
• Icons for sugar-free, lactose-free, fat-free, gluten-free and source of Omega-3 products.
• Identification of Pingo Doce cold meat products with less fat and salt, according to the requirements of the “Escolha Saudável” (Healthy Choice) programme, in collaboration with the Portuguese Heart Foundation.

In 2024, Biedronka applied the Nutri-Score label to 138 products more, increasing the total number to 543 (34% up on 2023) and raised the number of brands selected for categorisation to 41 (including six for the Slovakian market). Nutri-Score was present in 872 Pingo Doce products (48% more than in 2023) and in 197 Recheio products (38% more)³.

In Colombia, as required by law, the nutritional information per portion (100g or 100ml) is displayed on the back of the packaging, while labels indicating sodium, saturated fat and sugar content above the levels recommended by the health authorities are on the front of the packaging. All food products covered by this normative carry these symbols, both on Ara Private Brands (204 products) and on specialized perishables such as packaged baked good (28 products). Pingo Doce wines sold by Ara also carry the responsible driving and pregnancy warning symbols.

Information in other media

Pingo Doce prints cooking tips and suggestions on the food packaging, always promoting the use of fruit and vegetables as side dishes. The Company also uses its website, social media and Sabe Bem (Tastes Good) magazine to promote the Mediterranean diet. This magazine was the most read publication in Portugal in 2024, reaching 627 thousand readers in each one of its bi-monthly editions. The publication usually includes articles written by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health. Pingo Doce also has on its website a large collection of recipes encouraging the reuse of leftovers. Also, on its website is a list with lactose-free and gluten-free Private Brand products, which is updated monthly by the Nutrition team.

Since 2021 Pingo Doce and CUF (a business group specialised in health care) have promoted the programme “A Saúde Alimenta-se” (Feeding Health), which raises awareness of the role that a diversified and balanced diet can play in health, encouraging consumers to select the foods that best suit their needs and lifestyle⁴.

Biedronka has published four Czas Na... (Time For...) digital magazines in 2024, focusing on seasonality and more sustainable lifestyles. Dada magazine, Biedronka’s Private Brand specialising in products for babies, children and mothers, is produced in a collaboration between Instytut Matki i Dziecka (Institute of Mother and Child) and Biedronka’s Quality Department. Two digital books were developed in 2024 as a result of this partnership.

The Company also makes an extensive use of media formats such as leaflets, newspapers and publications on social media to spread knowledge about healthy eating habits.

Just before the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, Biedronka launched the educational and loyalty campaign Gang Mocniaków, aimed at raising the awareness of younger generations to the “superpowers” of food, focusing on fresh produce and in the banner’s exclusive brands. Also in the current 2024-2025 school year, a new campaign dedicated to product development – Gang Produkciaków (the Products Gang) was developed with 17 heroes. To extend the reach of its communication, Biedronka became also part of the Roblox gaming platform, with a virtual store and minigames on the Gang Produkciaków thematic, which allow players to assume the role of employees and customers of Biedronka stores. In the virtual store, players can shop, clean stores, help customers, scan product barcodes at the checkout, restock shelves, handle deliveries, and even bake bread. The game was promoted on Biedronka’s social media, in collaboration with influencers, and also on the Company’s website and on the Roblox platform.

Customer Support Service

Communication between our Companies and their customers is also assured through direct contact at store level, through our employees, namely store managers, with whom consumers can interact and address any issues or concerns they may have. Clients can also contact the Customer Support Service (CSS), specialised structure existing in each Company that aim at ensuring an efficient and effective response to their suggestions, compliments, ideas, requests for information and complaints. These services are also dedicated to resolving situations related to, among other things, the day-to-day operation of the stores, our e-commerce stores, the services and products offered, and promotional campaigns.

Companies’ CSS can be contacted by email, website, telephone, mobile applications, social media and other means. Depending on the Company, these means of contact may be advertised in the stores, on the packaging of Private Brand products, on receipts and, when applicable, on the Company’s website. All Companies have their data privacy policies published on their websites.

Customers can also contact the Group’s Customer Ombudsman office or the local Customer Ombudsman office in Poland. All these contacts are available at the Group’s Customer Ombudsman office.

Customer Ombudsman

Jerónimo Martins Customer Ombudsman’s office is the last resort for resolving complex and structural issues that are either beyond the scope of action of the CSS or have been considered by customers as not been fully addressed by those channels.

The Customer Ombudsman is a body independent from Companies and their Customer Support Services, whose mission is to represent customers within the Jerónimo Martins Group, to whom they can turn to protect and promote their rights and legitimate interests. Guided by the values of independence, impartiality, neutrality and confidentiality, the Customer Ombudsman is supported by a dedicated team. The Ombudsman can issue opinions and recommendations to ensure the quality of the service provided to customers and also propose initiatives to improve it.

Customers can contact the Customer Ombudsman office by email, telephone and its website, which is advertised at both corporate and Company level, in stores and on its website. The data protection policy of the Customer Ombudsman office is disclosed on its website.

Both the CSS and the Customer Ombudsman office monitor key performance indicators from the day-to-day dialogue with customers to identify areas of improvement, which may include reviewing internal procedures and assessing the quality of products and services, and also of the features of promotional campaigns.

Ethics Committee

The Group’s Ethics Committee enforces and monitors compliance with our Code of Conduct, considering that its scope spreads across several business dimensions and regulates employees’ engagement with many stakeholders, including consumers.

Regarding the material impacts for consumers, the Code of Conduct commits the Group to adopt trade policies aimed at ensuring the protection of consumers’ rights in force in the legal systems of the countries where we operate, namely on quality and safety standards for products, including ingredients and labelling, services and facilities.

Accessible to all stakeholders, the Ethics Committee provides a direct contact to receive reports of potential or actual irregularities in the application of the Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Policy.

Through a dedicated website, a whistleblowing mechanism is in place, to further promote an ethical culture embedded in the value creation process of our Companies. The website includes, among other information, a description of the reporting process steps and frequently asked questions. This mechanism adds to our risk management procedures for preventing impacts on our stakeholders and business, and is ruled by the Whistleblowing Policy and its related Data Protection Policy. According to the legal frameworks, this policy defines Jerónimo Martins as the Data Controller within the scope of managing the communications of irregularities (complaints) submitted to the dedicated channel of the Jerónimo Martins Ethics Committee, and a set of rules:

• Establishment of a Data Controller Officer and a direct email;
• Data collected, purposes and withholding periods;
• Rights of the whistleblowers and the means of exercising rights;
• Security measures;
• Communication of personal data;
• The use of Google Analytics in terms of data for reporting and analysis, anonymization of IP addresses to European Union Member States’ servers and its terms of service and privacy policy, and the option to turn off this service;
• The right to amend and update the policy.

The Whistleblowing Policy lays out the rules about the reporting process itself and clearly identifies how the Ethics Committee and the Ethics Offices ensure, among other aspects:

• The confidentiality of the identity of whistleblowers and of all information that directly or indirectly enables an identification of the whistleblower;
• The limitation to a dedicated team of internal access about whistleblowers and reported situations and the retainment of data for a predefined legal period and/or, if applicable, until the conclusion of legal obligations, establishing that personal data irrelevant to the case is to be deleted;
• The right to access, rectify and delete data reported by whistleblowers, through the whistleblowing platform at any time;
• The prohibition of retaliation (threats, attempts or any actual acts or omissions occurring as a result of an internal or external report or public disclosure that, directly or indirectly, cause or may cause the whistleblower any unjustified material or non-material damage) and procedures, if occurring, to solve this breach of the Code of Conduct (which may result in disciplinary measures, in addition to civil and/or criminal liability).

For more information about the Ethics Committee’s mission, responsibilities and composition, see “29. Description of the Powers of Each of The Committees Established and a Summary of Activities Undertaken in Exercising Said Powers”. The articles of regulation for the Ethics Committee, the irregularities policy and contacts are available in the Jerónimo Martins corporate website.

¹ These plant-based products contain mostly corn or soy (above 50% of the net weight); labelling applies to two dimensions, in compliance with Polish law: (i) “non-GMO” (for foods of plant origin and foods composed of more than one ingredient, excluding products of animal origin and feed, free from genetically modified organisms); and (ii) “Produced without the use of GMOs” (for products of animal origin and foods composed of more than one ingredient, free from genetically modified organisms).

² Considering 23, two more in comparison with 2023, Pingo Doce products (Pingo Doce, Go Bio and Pura Vida ranges); and 28, five more in comparison with 2023, Recheio products (Masterchef and Amanhecer ranges) on sale in 2024. “Non-GMO label”: 11 Pingo Doce products and 25 Recheio products. Out of a total of 51 eligible products, 36 carried the “Non-GMO” label.

³ More information here and here.

⁴ To learn more, visit the Pingo Doce and CUF websites.