The Belgian family‑owned Colruyt Group has introduced a new “essential kit” designed to help households remain self‑sufficient for up to 24 hours during major emergencies.
Retailing for €29.99 and available in stores across Belgium, the kit provides 3,100 calories’ worth of food and drinks, targeting customers who want to be better prepared for unexpected crises. The concept was inspired by the Flemish Red Cross’ emergency kits, which focused on tools rather than food. Colruyt aims to fill that gap for a growing number of consumers seeking practical preparedness options.
Explaining the decision, Colruyt Group’s Geert Elen pointed to recent events that highlighted the need for short‑term autonomy. “There are situations where it proves useful to remain fully self‑reliant, such as the floods in Wallonia in the summer of 2021 or, more recently, the two‑week gas outage in Mons”, he said.
The kit includes two muesli bars for breakfast, two vegetarian ready‑meals, kebab stew and BBQ pasta, energy bars, cashew nuts, isotonic drink powders, coffee sticks, chewing gum, tissues, a spoon, and a compact heating system. The selection is designed to provide both calories and essential items to help households get through the first critical hours of a crisis.
While a spokesperson for the Group told RTL that the kit will be available in 80 of the 273 stores in Belgium. They underline that this launch is a test “aiming at evaluating customer’s response”. Adding that the kit is not available in Luxembourg, at least for now, which could change if this test-run proves successful.
