Funder partnerships

We move markets. We're looking for partners who want to back that movement.

Questionmark independently benchmarks, educates, and advises Europe's largest food retailers, turning data into measurable change across three domains: health, environmental sustainability, and human rights.

From a benchmark to European authority

Questionmark started in 2012 with a benchmark on health for Dutch supermarkets. Since 2020, that's grown into Superlist, our benchmarking programme now spanning nine European countries. Along the way, Questionmark became one of the few organisations working across all three domains that determine the future of food: health, environmental sustainability, and human rights. Most organisations focus on one. We assess all three domains, across the same retailers, which is exactly what lets us see where progress in one domain can inspire work on another domain as well.

Every research cycle feeds into three pathways to change:

• Race to the top: we benchmark Europe's largest retailers and combine research with civil society campaigns and strategic media exposure to spark competition
• Collaborative action: we bring retailers, suppliers, and market authorities together to exchange insights and work toward shared sector agreements
• Institutionalisation: we advocate for government monitoring and a level playing field through public debate and direct policy advice

That combination is only credible because of how we're funded.

Independence, by design

Our research runs on philanthropic foundations, grants, and donations. That independence is exactly why retailers, governments, and media trust our findings enough to act on them.

• No commercial ties to the sector we assess
• Transparent on fund allocation
• Catalyst, not accuser

A track record, not a pitch

Since 2012, Questionmark has assessed retailers on what actually matters. Not opinion, but data that ministries and parliament by now treat as a policy baseline.

What this looks like in practice
We consulted on the Netherlands' national Sustainability Dashboard for Supermarkets, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature and built jointly with Wageningen Economic Research.

And there is more:

• Our findings contributed first to an expansion of the national Supermarket Dashboard, then, in 2026, to a dedicated government monitor for healthy supermarket sales
• Albert Heijn became the first supermarket worldwide to report methane emissions, following our environmental assessment
• Jumbo committed to a living income for all private-label cocoa products by 2029
• Our 2026 research on unhealthy food marketed to children made headlines across major Dutch outlets

Four examples. One pattern.

What started as a Dutch initiative is now a European one, expanding to Germany in 2025, and to a 27-retailer pan-European benchmark in 2026. Since 2025, we've held our scope steady at 35 retailers across 9 countries, while our influence kept growing: from 15 to 17 publications, and from 189 to 220 media hits so far (August, 2026).

Trusted by

Questionmark is funded by a mix of public and private partners, including the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the European Union, and philanthropic foundations such as Triodos, Laudes, Noaber, Gieskes-Strijbis, and Turing.

That trust extends into a wider network: more than 25 partners and ambassadors across 9 European countries. Most work within a single domain, climate, human rights, or public health. Questionmark connects those causes to the point where 65 to 70% of everyday food purchases happen: the supermarket shelf. That trust is exactly what makes this the right moment to grow it further.

Why now

A few developments are converging right now, making this an exceptional opportunity for strategic investment.

Momentum around food. Food has become one of the defining issues of this moment. A new generation of consumers cares more about what ends up on their plate, and expects the organisations they trust to lead on it.

Questionmark at an inflection point. Twelve years of proven, self-built growth have given Questionmark a scalable, recognised research and advocacy program, along with the team, governance, and network to take the next step. What's missing isn't the ability or the ambition to grow, it's the capacity to grow more sustainable, and the right institutional funder is what makes that difference. Foundations that invest at this stage don't just finance research; they fund the moment an organisation crosses from proven to structural.

A closing window. Across all three of our themes, national and international deadlines are approaching fast. The EU aims to cut emissions 55% by 2030, and the Dutch government wants 50% of protein consumption to be plant-based by the same year, with several major retailers already committing to 60% plant-based protein sales. New rules are landing too, from the EU deforestation regulation to the packaging directive taking effect this year. And as EU due diligence legislation on human rights has just been scaled back, the need for an independent party to keep tracking supply chain accountability only grows. With 2030 approaching fast, Questionmark's role in measuring progress and keeping retailers and governments accountable, across all three themes at once, becomes more urgent by the year.

How partnership works

Your contribution funds the entire chain of change: research and benchmarking, the retailer education and collaboration that turn findings into shared action, the policy engagement that makes change structural, and the communications that keep the conversation going. 

In return, you get:

• A direct line to our team, not a call centre
• Full transparency on fund allocation
• Your choice of theme: health, environment, or human rights
• Multi-year projects not one-off publications
• 12 years of experience and proven results to build on
• A tailored impact summary, invitations to closed events, and visible recognition as a partner in our publications, on our website, and in media coverage of our work.

A detailed financial breakdown is available in our annual report.

Governance

Questionmark is ANBI-registered and governed by an independent board. You can find our full [board and organisational structure], [annual reports], and [integrity policy] for a closer look at how we work and how funds are allocated.