Assortment policy

Alcoholic beverages

It is possible to offer alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks on the platform. This follows the Dutch Commodities Act. Alcohol-free drinks have a maximum alcohol percentage of 0.1%, low-alcohol drinks have a maximum alcohol percentage of 1.2%. These drinks should be offered in the appropriate product category. It is not allowed to offer drinks with an alcohol percentage above 1.2% on the bol platform.

Mandatory information on food, drinks and supplements

If you sell food, drinks and/or supplements in the Netherlands or Belgium, the seller must put necessary information on them so that the customer knows what they are buying and using. For pre-packaged food offered for sale ‘at a distance’ (in this case via globe), the mandatory food information should be available before the moment of purchase. As a seller of pre-packaged food, you must include the following information on the product page:

• A list of ingredients (including any additives);
• Information on allergens;
• The country of origin;
• Name of responsible economic operator in the EU;
• Address responsible economic operator in the EU;
• Telephone number responsible economic operator in the EU;
• E-mail address responsible economic operator in the EU;
• The net quantity;
• Packaging level;
• Brand;
• The nutritional value (in 100g/ml);
  • Energy (kJ/kcal);
  • Fats (g);
  • Saturated fatty acids (g);
  • Monounsaturated fats (g);
  • Polyunsaturated fats (g);
  • Carbohydrates (g);
  • Polyols (g);
  • Starch (g);
  • Sugars (g);
  • Fibers (g);
  • Proteins (g);
  • Salt (g).

Bol retrieves mandatory product information (when available) from the GS1 data, or once from previously entered product information, if there is. When this information is not available, this information should be entered by you. You are requested to check the product information for your items and complete the product information before 1 April 2024.

Product groups within food, drinks and supplements
This applies to all foods and drinks, at least to the following product groups:

Deposit

• In the Netherlands there is a deposit on both small plastic ‘pet’ bottles (< 1 liter) and large plastic ‘pet’ bottles (>1 liter) soft drinks and water and from 01-04-23 there is also a deposit on (metal) beverage containers (cans). This amount, 0.15 cents for small plastic ‘pet’ bottles and 0.25 cents for large plastic ‘pet’ bottles, is charged at the time of purchase of the bottle and is returned upon return at a collection point. Bottles sold on the Dutch market must bear a deposit logo.
• From April 1, 2023, all metal beverage containers with a capacity of 3 liters or less must also bear a deposit logo and a new EAN code. These items must also be registered with Deposit Money Netherlands. The deposit obligation concerns cans for all types of beverages (such as soft drinks, water, milk and juice).
• The deposit obligation does not apply to cans with liquids that are not primarily intended to be drunk (such as lemonade syrup, thick juice, soups or condensed milk). Likewise, the deposit obligation does not apply to (canned) cans for non-liquids such as crisps, vegetables, etc.
• It is not possible to redeem deposit products at bol. More information about deposits is available here.
• There is currently no deposit on Belgian plastic bottles and metal drinking containers.
  For this reason, it is not possible to offer these items without a deposit via bol on the Dutch market.
  However, it is possible to offer these items without a deposit via bol on the Belgian market.
  More information can be found on the website of Recycling Network Benelux.

Since August 1, 2023, the sale of cans without a deposit is no longer allowed in the Netherlands. Not even through bol. This is why all cans in the assortment are checked to see if they contain a deposit. To comply with the laws and regulations, cans of drinks without a deposit are taken offline in the Netherlands.

Excise duty

• Excise information for the Netherlands
• Excise information for Belgium

Production safety
To confirm that your items comply with guidelines and do not commit food fraud, among other things, we can request production documentation. This must demonstrate compliance with HACCP, such as the product manufacturer’s food safety plan and hygiene regulations. Once there is a serious suspicion that assortment is dangerous for the customer, your assortment can be (temporarily) offline while we assess the (potentially) dangerous items.

Child idols on food items

Child idols aimed at children up to and including 12 years of age may not be used in advertising, packaging and point-of-sale material on the bol platform.

Child idols are persons, as well as drawn and/or animated characters known through their participation in media specifically aimed at children and/or developed specifically for children, such as television programs, films, online videos, blogs, comics/books and/or games. Examples include (non-exhaustive):

• Paw Patrol
• Minions
• LOL Surprise!
• Peppa Pig
• Spongebob Squarepants
• Frozen
• Hello Kitty
• My Little Pony
• Looney Tunes
• Toy Story

Cartoon and/or animation characters developed by or on behalf of the advertiser himself do not fall under the definition of child idol, an example being the Haribo bear.

For more information see the website of the Advertising Code Authority.

CBD

To safely offer items containing CBD (Cannabidiol) to our customers (and their pets), these items must comply with additional guidelines. CBD articles must comply with the conditions below, in addition to the applicable laws and regulations. CBD for human consumption is also required to comply with the Food and Drink Policy.

CBD for human consumption

• CBD items are only allowed in product group for supplements, as this is a food supplement.
• Food and beverages with added CBD are not allowed on platform. See  here more  information on the Food and Drink  Policy.
• Selling CBD supplements in Belgium? See  here more information on dietary supplements in selling Belgium.

Additional conditions:

• CBD articles should comply with the mandatory GDSN registration with GS1 required for food supplements. For more information on this GS1 registration in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• No active THC allowed, and it is mandatory to state the THC content. Listing an incorrect content is considered food fraud.
• You are not allowed to make medical claims, nor are you allowed to make health claims if they are not approved for the item in question. Please check whether your claim is allowed in the claims database.
• The item may not contain doses of active ingredients, making it subject to drug legislation.
• NOTE: Dietary supplements are subject to strict labelling requirements. These should be correctly labelled with additional information on the name and conditions of use of the item.
• When the product attribute ‘Type of herb or plant’ is filled in with ‘CBD’, it is mandatory to fill in the product attribute ‘THC content’ with a percentage.

CBD for animal consumption

For the safety of pets of our joint customers, it is important to comply with the following conditions:

• Only approved varieties of hemp are allowed in CBD articles for animals. See more information on this legislation here.
• It is mandatory to enter the full ingredients of the item in the product attribute provided. These should correspond to the actual content of the item.

The European Quality Mark for Organic (Skal)

To ensure that our customers receive verified organic items, and we comply with the laws and regulations concerning organic items, we have set up a number of additional guidelines for the use of the Skal seal. 

What is SKAL and what does it mean for sales of organic items? 

SKAL is an independent administrative body that ensures that the production, processing and trading of organic items is done in a controlled and registered way. 

Within the food, food supplements, animal food, plants and flower bulbs product groups, the term organic is a protected term. It may only be used for items that have been evaluated. You can recognise these items by the European Quality Mark for Organic, also known as the green leaf. The quality marks Agriculture Biologique, Demeter and EKO also meet SKAL’s requirements. The quality marks, therefore, may also display the green leaf on items. Any company that offers these products to our customers through our platform will have to register. Bol may only offer and trade in demonstrably certified organic items. This means that both the middleman and the producer must be certified. 

Items must comply with: 

1. EU organic regulation
2. Dutch agricultural quality legislation
3. The regulations and bases of SKAL Bio control