As an employer, SPAR places great importance on valuing its colleagues: it does not only provide them with competitive income and fringe benefits, but also pays special attention to building a community of colleagues and recognising them.

In addition to the quality of customer service, SPAR treats employee satisfaction as a priority area. By 2025, the number of employees working under the SPAR brand had increased to 17,000 people. Thanks to events that build community and recognise hard work, the company’s management meets thousands of colleagues in person every year.

Top Seller, SPAR Master and SPAR Master Pro trainings and awards

The training opportunities provided by the employer greatly contribute to employee satisfaction.  With this in mind, the company operates numerous programmes, one of which, the Top Seller training programme celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2024. The aim of the programme is to train professionals who are well-versed in fresh goods and store operations, and whose knowledge acquired during the training course provides a good basis for their further development, as well as helping them to advance within SPAR and support their career path. Over the past 10 years, more than 400 employees have obtained the Top Seller title which is proof of the success of the training programme. SPAR management presents the graduates with their certificates during a gala ceremony where they also commend those who have completed the SPAR Master and SPAR Master Pro trainings.

Retirement Farewell and Anniversary Celebration

Colleagues with 15, 25 and 40 years of service, as well as those retiring in the current year, are recognised every year by the company’s management and invited to a gala, where they can meet each other during a celebration and lunch.

Professionals of the Year Competition and Awards Gala

For many decades, the company has been rewarding colleagues in the logistics and food production departments who have outstanding professional knowledge and whose work is recognized by managers and employees, i.e. those who can be held up as role models to the community. Every year, SPAR announces the “Logistician of the Year” competition in 14 categories and the “Food Production Professional of the Year” competition in 11 categories. The awards are presented to the winners by the company’s managers during a gala event.

Golden Fir Competition and Gala

The company’s largest internal event is the Golden Fir Gala, to which the managers of nearly 350 self-operated stores (SPAR, City SPAR, INTERSPAR) are invited, as well as all employees working in the sales area. Awards are presented to the employees in customer service, the best of the SPAR online shop, and the most successful stores at a gala. Colleagues who perform their work outstandingly and precisely are the ones awarded. The stores also compete with each other in their respective store type categories, and the employees of the winning units receive a cash prize. This event is an excellent opportunity for exchanging experiences, the direct transfer of information, and team building.

Golden Fir Franchise Competition and Gala

SPAR is not only recognising the performance of its own stores. For years, it has also been reviewing the performance of franchise units through mystery shopping research and, based on additional objective data they select the best SPAR partner and SPAR market stores. They also reward the colleagues of the stores with the highest sales growth. The announcement of the results of the competition takes place in a ceremonial setting, where all franchise store owners can meet each other and the company management, as well as colleagues who play an important role in nurturing bilateral relations.

Family days in logistics centres

Family days, which attract large numbers of employees and feature a rich programme, are a huge success among colleagues, to which they can also bring their relatives and friends.

Team building for local communities

SPAR also supports direct collaboration between communities within the company by providing opportunities and financial support for team building activities among co-workers. Every year, employees can sign up for a number of sports, scientific or artistic trips. In addition to relaxation, these opportunities also strengthen the mental and physical health of employees.

At the beginning of the new year, many people decide to change their lifestyle, but research shows that it takes an average of 66 days to change habits. However, more than half of people don’t keep their New Year resolutions. The most common reasons for this include setting too high expectations or not knowing how to fulfil them.

Nestlé and SPAR have launched their joint year-long education campaign to encourage customers to adopt a sustainable and health-conscious lifestyle. The campaign is based on a digital Year Planner that guides consumers with inspiring stories, useful tips and practical advice month by month.

“Conscious change requires small but consistent steps. The Nestlé and SPAR annual planner can help people with everyday decisions and choices, whether it’s planning ahead, preparing meals that support a healthy lifestyle, or developing new habits,” explains Diána Sárga, a dietitian at Nestlé Hungária, who will also support the learning of new habits with expert videos.

“Creating a healthy lifestyle that is also sustainable is not always about making perfect decisions, but about consciously moving in a more sustainable direction, taking small steps,” says psychologist Bianka Fuller who is speaking about the mental side of changing habits in the joint Nestlé and SPAR Year Planner campaign. The expert added: “Self-reflection is key to making conscious progress, as it helps us understand why we make certain decisions, what motivates us and where we get stuck.  Taking the time to regularly look back on our progress can not only help us set more realistic goals, but also teaches us to appreciate the small steps we have taken. Self-reflection helps us recognize which habits are working well and which ones are worth changing, thereby we are not only strengthening our lifestyle change but also our perseverance.”

Healthy lifestyle month by month

As part of the campaign, a seasonal, easily available, and budget-friendly ingredients is the focus in the Year Planner each month, from which exciting dishes can be prepared using the recipes that are based on Nestlé and SPAR products. In addition to the recipes, sustainability and dietary tips, as well as shopping lists help customers to put together dishes in line with the monthly theme. An important element of the program is also a monthly habit monitor, which encourages consumers to regularly evaluate their own progress. In addition to dietician Diána Sárga and psychologist Bianka Fuller, Nestlé PURINA’s veterinarian, Dr. Kinga Márton will publish short videos on social media platforms throughout the year to provide those concerned with useful advice on how to support the well-being of their pets as well as their own.

This year, the Planner will be available exclusively in digital format, supported by the My SPAR mobile application, SPAR and Nestlé newsletters, and various social media channels. The recipes and expert videos linked to the campaign will also be available on these platforms. In addition to this, the contents of the Planner will be easily accessible by scanning the QR code in stores. The two companies will encourage customers to get to know the Planner in detail with two prize drawings during the year.

Shared responsibility

“It is important for SPAR to support initiatives that provide real help to our customers in developing a health-conscious lifestyle. This campaign both educates and inspires at the same time, while providing practical advice for everyday life,” emphasised Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

Nestlé and SPAR have been supporting their customers with different educational campaigns for several years. In recent years, they have worked together to promote sorted waste collection and to prevent food waste.

The joint Year Planner of Nestlé and SPAR is available at: the following link: Nestlé and SPAR joint Annual Planner | Nestlé Hungary

The solar panel system installed at the INTERSPAR hypermarket in Pécs, with an investment of around 80 million HUF, saves a month’s worth of energy annually.

“For SPAR, environmental sustainability is extremely important, and as a major energy consumer, our priority is to achieve the most efficient use of energy possible. The largest share, more than 60 percent, is the electricity consumption of our stores, logistics centres, food production plants and offices. With the investments in improving energy-efficiency, in 2023, the company’s total energy consumption was cut by more than 5.5% compared to the year before. And last year, we have already installed solar systems in our stores in Szeged, Dorog, Pécs and  Göd,” explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

SPAR Hungary’s annual renewable electricity production in 2023 was 779 GJ (216 419 kWh) which came from the production of solar systems installed in the stores. This amount is roughly equivalent to the total electricity consumption of 70 average residential houses. In the case of each investment, the company assesses the possibility of effectively operating a solar panel system to help serve the electricity needs of the unit.

As part of a pilot project with a 80 million HUF investment in the INTERSPAR hypermarket in Pécs, a solar power system and battery storage with smart control to reduce the simultaneous power consumption from the grid has been installed. This solution allows the stored electricity to be used when peak consumption is detected. There are several advantages to using this system: on the one hand, the building only needs less power supply from the grid, and on the other hand, the monthly charges for the generated power are also saved. Experience over the last almost two years has shown that the peak period is in July, with the lowest production of the system detected in January. A comparison of actual production and consumption data shows that the hypermarket saves 1 month of its 12 monthly energy consumption with the system installed.