Yesterday, on Blue Monday, a Dutch soup brand launched a campaign in ten of Amsterdam's Albert Heijn grocery stores to facilitate connections across different age groups. Next to the stores' usual bright blue baskets, Oma's Soep placed stacks of green ones.
The green baskets feature the text "I'm open to a good chat," signaling a shopper's willingness to engage with strangers. Accompanying flyers offer conversation starters and space for exchanging phone numbers for future chats. Following a pilot in Amsterdam, the chat baskets might also be rolled out to other towns and cities.
The initiative isn't Oma's Soep's first effort at bridging the gap between young and old. As a social enterprise committed to reducing loneliness among older adults, the brand organizes weekly soup deliveries by volunteers in 12 Dutch cities and hosts speed-dating nights, collective soup-cooking events and other social activities, often led by student volunteers.
