Carrefour kicked off the Act for Food program in 2018 with the philosophy “everyone deserves the best”, launching various food revolutions. Considering the slow progress of the food revolution due to the complexity of the food system and conflict of interests between stakeholders, and in an effort to exert a greater impact, Carrefour opened the world's first Carrefour Impact Store in NPO HUB Taipei in 2019. 

The store is also a community, and although it has relatively few product lines, its charisma constantly attracts the attention of the industry, government, and academia. It is also the first innovation experiment venue launched by a major channel brand in Taiwan to fulfill the social mission of "exerting impact". 

According to Carrefour CSR & Communication Director Marilyn Su, "By opening such an unconventional store, we hope to create an epitome of future stores so that consumers can generate a positive impact through shopping. At the same time, the Impact Store can bring together stakeholders with an interest in sustainable development, in turn fostering more understanding and dialogues, allowing our partners to support UN's SDGs and engage in collaborations. Unlike conventional stores that attract existing customers, the store strives to reach out to more customers across different strata with various sustainable products and services that can, in turn, make an impact on society."

The first thing greeting the shoppers in the Impact Store is the "I'm Free" laying hen poster, and the model chickens displayed below the poster often attract the attention of shoppers. Package-free and cage-free eggs have become the signature product of the store. The friendly store clerk approaches shoppers to chat with them and ask them, "Do you know where your eggs come from?" 

By interacting and conversing with shoppers, they will understand that conventional eggs are laid by 3-4 hens crammed into an A4-sized cage for the rest of their lives; this is not only inhumane but also causes environmental and food safety-related concerns. Carrefour's cage-free eggs aim to free the hens and encourage consumers to make a difference in the world in everyday life by choosing cage-free eggs. 

Instead of hot selling brands, the unconventional Impact Store promotes lesser-known products and slow-selling products. 

With less than 300 products available, the store carries many people's endeavors and missions concerning the land. These rare products include Hsu's Milk (single-origin milk safeguarded by a vet); Hidekawa Soy Milk (only uses grains produced in Taiwan and hires dropouts to let them learn skills needed to make a living); care4cook (specializes in healthy meals for cancer patients); Origin Black Gaba Rice (returns to his hometown to promote rice cultivation in Taiwan); Aged Plum Pulp 2021 (dedicated to helping the livelihood of plum farmers after a disaster); Greenvines (a B corps that has managed to save 90% water); Yu-Ding Shing Wood-Fired Black Bean Soy Sauce (committed to revitalizing traditional fermentation culture in Taiwan); food education experience that offers consumers live rice husking); leopard cat-friendly crops; Old Captain (the first sustainable fishery canned fish in Taiwan). 

Furthermore, to reduce plastic waste, the store does not sell bottled water but rather encourages consumers to drink water in the store for free. At the same time, the Impact Store supports startups such as Water Refill Map and PackAge+ by recycling online packaging or inviting consumers to bring their clean, unused paper bags to the store so that they can be reused.

"Consumers do not need a lot of choices, they simply need better choices, and we hope to embody sustainability in everyday life," says Director Marilyn Su, who shared a story involving Yu-Ding Shing Wood-Fired Black Bean Soy Sauce. 

In the past, consumers' decision in selecting a particular bottle of soy sauce from the dazzling selection of soy sauces on the shelf is often determined by the brand, volume, price, and packaging. However, they tend to neglect more important information such as ingredients as well as the product's influence on society, culture, and the environment. 

Sustainability and business cannot be looked after at the same time because of a lack of information transparency. "Your shopping decisions determine our future, and we hope the consumers know that their impact can change the business model."

In consideration of a lack of coordination between various propositions and initiatives, Carrefour hopes that the Impact Store will consolidate all the elements. Moreover, the aim is to let more people looking to make a difference meet one another and generate collaborative opportunities. "If Europe's sustainability is superior to that of Asia, can Taiwan assume the leadership role in Asia?"

About the author：

Marilyn Su is the Director of Carrefour CSR & Communication and CEO of Carrefour Foundation.

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