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Thread: Alpro / Provamel

  1. #1
    tofu-babies's Avatar
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    Unhappy Alpro / Provamel

    I am just posting this thread as i'm really annoyed that Alpro are only going to stock the supermarkets with all their products containing the added calcium & vitamins, they will now only supply the health shops with a re-branded Provamel range that is all organic but with no calcium...

    Here is a response to my enquiry;

    Dear Miss Mattick,

    Thank you for your enquiry regarding our recent Provamel Launch.

    We introduced the Provamel range to health food stores as there was a demand for an organic range. This was also to help the health food stores who have had to compete with the larger supermarkets. They now have their own organic range which is exclusive to them and that meets their consumers preference; we will be working with them on promotions and other activities to assist them further. Supermarket retailers will not be able to stock the Provamel range (apart from the two Provamel Rice milks).

    The majority of the Alpro range of milks, desserts, yogurts and custards contain added calcium and vitamins; which are to the equivalent of dairy products, as the calcium used is not passed as organic by the soil association current EU legislation prevents labelling these products as organic.

    If you have any further questions please call our free help line on 0800 0188 180 or visit www.alprosoya.co.uk for more recipe ideas.

    Kindest regards

    Kimberley Scholes

    Alpro Customer Services

    I'm really appalled by this as I am a consumer and it is not my preferance to only be able to buy the fortified products from a supermarket, I cannot buy the organic products from the health shop simply because of the non calcium issue, meaning they will lose out. So how can they say that health stores are not having to compete against supermarkets?

    This to me is proof that supermarkets have far too much power and this is another step towards indepentant retailers going out of business.

    I feel very strongly about supporting local businesses who have always stocked vegan products only for the chains to make the rules and steal the business from them.
    Please send alpro an email if you are also dissapointed with this.

  2. #2
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. Are you saying that you can no longer buy an added calcium product from your local health food shop so you will have to buy it from the supermarket?

    If you don't mind me asking, why is it so essential that the product is calcium enriched?
    "I don't want to live on this planet any more" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth

  3. #3

    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    They've changed the chocolate milk recipe...
    The new mini Provamel Organic one has 2g more sugar and tastes sickly sweet to me. Gutted.
    ..but what would they do with all the cows?..

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Soya has calcium in it anyway. Plus you don't need that much calcium in your diet. And if you're that worried about calcium intake, up your intakes of some of these foods:

    http://www.vegansociety.com/food/nutrition/calcium.php

    And anyway, I've found both the organic and regular ones in the health food shops, just that the supermarket don't carry the organic.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    some peeps like me with osteopenia need the extra calcium ... I always try to get the calcium enriched ... I don't want to risk not getting enough from other foodstuffs.
    'Spring will soon pounce [like a floppy kitten]'. Whalespace.

  6. #6
    tofu-babies's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    The reason i'm so annoyed about it is because I have two young children and I have always given them the yoghurts and the milk for the extra calcium, they do have a very varied and healthy diet but I always have purchased fortified products where I can so that i'm not risking it. But i am not prepared to be forced to shop at the supermarkets for these products.

    Bryzee, the health shops still have some alpro with calcium but once its gone thats it.

    My local health shop owner was really worried about when she found out as a lot of her customers only buy the non-organic because of the fact it's fortified, and now she can't stock it. She said her takings had been down in the Deli too and surprise surprise, I then found out the local asda have started to stock Redwoods products which was her number one seller.

    It's just feel let down that's all. I'm very confident that my family will find a new soya milk that we like & that we already get all the nutrients we need from our diet it's just we liked Alpro and the added calcium can only be a bonus when you've got 3 & a 1 year old.

  7. #7
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    I can see it's a nuisance for some of you. I suppose it's good that they're trying to help out the health food stores, though whether this actually will help them out is another question.

  8. #8
    flying plum's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    wait, i'm confused - there seems to be a contradiction in your two posts:

    I am just posting this thread as i'm really annoyed that Alpro are only going to stock the supermarkets with all their products containing the added calcium & vitamins,
    Bryzee, the health shops still have some alpro with calcium but once its gone thats it.
    the second quote is the correct situation then? or the former? only asking, because i too tend to buy the fortified one...boo, if so, particularly as i don't think the organic one has b12 in it?

    amanda

  9. #9
    treaclemine
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Some independent health food shops still have fortified Alpro products.

    But they cannot order further supplies.

    I think this could cause health food shops serious financial problems, with their customers going to supermarkets instead to buy fortified Alpro products.

    The rules on what fortification can be put into Organic products are partly determined by law, but mostly by the certification bodies such as The Soil Association. So it's complicated, and letters to the Organic certifiers might help.

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote flying plum View Post
    w
    the second quote is the correct situation then? or the former? only asking, because i too tend to buy the fortified one...boo, if so, particularly as i don't think the organic one has b12 in it?

    amanda
    I think both stand up to scrutiny. What she is saying is that the health food shops still have the fortified alpro ones left, but will soon be made to phase them out in favour of the organic ones. And the supermarkets will continue to stock the fortified.

  11. #11
    tofu-babies's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Thank you treaclemine & bryzee, you both posted what I was trying to say in the first place, sorry for confusing people, I don't seem to have a great way with words!

    In the email, what I didn't like was they emphasied the fact that The Health shops will get exclusive rights to the organic range which will now be called Provamel, but what they should be saying is supermarkets now have exclusive rights to all our products that are fortified (which are the biggest sellers), cause that is the real issue here, and i'm gutted that a purely vegan company could do that.

    i'll give it 6 months and I can bet you i'll start to see out of date provamel in the bargain bin at the health shop. It's just wrong.

    I'm sorry again, I just hate it when things like this happen and there's nothing I can do.

  12. #12
    *cocktail slut Elahiya's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    in germany it is already like that: you can get alpro only at the supermarkets and provamel at health food stores. the difference here is that provamel offers in germany a larger range of tofu (pre-packed half-ready meals) or even the new soya spread in addition to drinks etc. alpro offers here only drinks, desserts and yofu of course
    http://vegangothfairy.wordpress.com

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote Elahiya View Post
    in germany it is already like that: you can get alpro only at the supermarkets and provamel at health food stores. the difference here is that provamel offers in germany a larger range of tofu (pre-packed half-ready meals) or even the new soya spread in addition to drinks etc. alpro offers here only drinks, desserts and yofu of course
    Alpro also offer a limited range of tofu (mince and pieces) in some supermarkets now over here, too.

  14. #14
    *cocktail slut Elahiya's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    they don´t do so here. in germany their range just consists of drinks, desserts, soya cuisine and soya margarine or something like that.
    http://vegangothfairy.wordpress.com

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    flying plum's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    bryzee - aaaah, i see. so the concern is that tofu-babies doesn't want to fund supermarkets, rather than not being able to obtain fortified products on the whole?

    amanda

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote Elahiya View Post
    they don´t do so here. in germany their range just consists of drinks, desserts, soya cuisine and soya margarine or something like that.
    that margarine was well nice - had some when in Belgium. I miss belgium

  17. #17
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote harpy View Post
    I can see it's a nuisance for some of you. I suppose it's good that they're trying to help out the health food stores, though whether this actually will help them out is another question.
    I agree.

  18. #18
    polkadot duck Lisey_duck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    I tried to do a bit of research into this at the animal rights gathering (in between trying to actually feed everyone!) by having the two types of choc drink side by side on the snack bar. I didn't have the time or energy to get too scientific, but people did seem to prefer the organic provamel ones. I still agree that not letting health stores sell them is a shite policy though.

  19. #19

    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote Lisey_duck View Post
    I didn't have the time or energy to get too scientific, but people did seem to prefer the organic provamel ones.
    Quote horselesspaul View Post
    The new mini Provamel Organic one has (roughly) 2g more sugar
    I wonder if there is a correlation?
    ..but what would they do with all the cows?..

  20. #20

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Have they stopped making it with non GM soya? I'm wondering. Before they specified it was made with non GM. Now I can't read it anywhere. Mind you I'm reading the information from the waitrose online store (not the packet) so could someone check what the packet says for me please?

    I want ones with added calcium and B12 although I would avoid eating anything with Genetically modified soya where I could. Does the other Parovel verson still specify non GM?

  21. #21

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    If I get some (Alpro) ones tomorrow, I'll let you know, Dreama - I haven't any in at the moment.

    I think the Provamel will be non-GM by default, being Organic and all.

  22. #22

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Dear All

    We're very interested in your opinions on the new Provamel brand, what we have done and what your opinions are. Through reading your various responses we felt there was some confusion as to what has changed and so we have posted this message in the hope of clearing this up for you all!

    Provamel is a subsidiary brand of Alpro – it is our 100% organic range which we have launched especially for health food stores. The reason why we launched this brand was two fold; one because the health food stores have struggled to compete with supermarkets on both price and convenience and secondly because our research has told us a large proportion of health food shoppers actively sort organic products that had natural flavourings. Provamel also has a strong sustainable development stance using organic farming techniques and forging long term relationships with our farmers in southern Europe to ensure only the highest quality, whole soya beans are used in our products. Our belief is that we now have a more relevant offering for heath food store shoppers and their owners.

    Under European organic law it is illegal to fortify any organic product by adding ingredients like calcium and vitamins which means we are unable to add any additional nutrients to our 100% organic products. Like Alpro, Provamel only use non GM soya beans which is a pre requisite of organic farming practices.

    For this reason we continue to supply a number of Alpro products to our health food wholesalers including Alpro sweetened soya milk with calcium and vitamins (blue pack), Alpro unsweetened soya milk with calcium and vitamins (orange pack) and Alpro Dark Chocolate Dessert with calcium. Local health food store retailers can still order these products to sell on shelf if they choose to.

    At present we do not have equivalent Provamel products for these but we are working on getting organic variants with calcium introduced. When we have these and they meet both legal regulations and our taste satisfaction we will remove the Alpro products completely and replace them with the new Provamel variant. Please note that Provamel Original (green pack) is the equivalent of Alpro sweetened (blue pack) Soya Milk as we have found an organic sea algae that we use as a stabiliser that has naturally occurring calcium within it to the same levels as dairy.

    Provamel recognise that there is work that needs to be done on the range and we are doing everything possible to make these changes. If you do have any other queries or are interested further in Provamel, the wider range on offer and our philosophy on sustainable development please visit the website at www.provamel.co.uk.

    Thanks, The Provamel Team.

  23. #23
    gorillagorilla Gorilla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    thanks very much for taking the time to register and post this for us.

    i'm very interested to read that the Provamel soya milk contains calcium from algae - that's great news. it's a shame that presumably it can't be mentioned on the pack, as i had assumed that the Provamel soya milk had no calcium in it, and was disappointed that it seemed to be the only one available to me locally.

  24. #24

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote tofu-babies View Post
    I am just posting this thread as i'm really annoyed that Alpro are only going to stock the supermarkets with all their products containing the added calcium & vitamins, they will now only supply the health shops with a re-branded Provamel range that is all organic but with no calcium...

    I feel very strongly about supporting local businesses who have always stocked vegan products only for the chains to make the rules and steal the business from them.
    Please send alpro an email if you are also dissapointed with this.
    Absolutely spot on Tofu. It's not ususual for big manufacturers of "health foods" to trial their products in small businesses & then do the dirty on them. You bet your bottom dollar that the supermarkets get it for half the price of the independents too. Keep supporting your local places who are committed to stocking veg*n stuff & switch to brands/companies that don't operate in such a way. Sojade do a soya milk with added calcium & its cheaper than Alpro/Provamel. You might also like to try getting brands from companies who pledge never to sell to supermarkets - Booja Booja is a delicious example. Every pack bears the words "Never Sold in Supermarkets"....

  25. #25

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    BTW: Could the Provamel rep on the board let us know if there were other reasons for reviving the provamel brand for independents... a slump in sales maybe?

  26. #26

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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    or perhaps a demand for organic versions of successful alpro brand products?

  27. #27
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    Default Re: Alpro / Provamel

    Quote jonnie falafel View Post
    BTW: Could the Provamel rep on the board let us know if there were other reasons for reviving the provamel brand for independents... a slump in sales maybe?
    he/she did, and i quote:

    'The reason why we launched this brand was two fold; one because the health food stores have struggled to compete with supermarkets on both price and convenience and secondly because our research has told us a large proportion of health food shoppers actively sort organic products that had natural flavourings.'

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