“Eighteen months and still here, alive and well, more motivated than ever. » It is in these terms that Scarabée Biocoop, the Rennes basin cooperative which operates nine stores, two restaurants and a hairdressing salon, announced on its website on May 23 the lifting of its judicial recovery period, in which it was entry in October 2022. The next day, Les Comptoirs de la Bio, the organic brand of the Les Mousquetaires group, announced exclusive negotiations with NaturéO, a network in safeguard procedure since May 2023, to bring together its thirty points of sale in France.
Is this finally the end of the tunnel for brands specializing in the sale of organic products after three difficult years marked by the crisis in purchasing power, competition from hypermarkets and that of other labels (HVE, No pesticides, etc.)?
Certainly, in 2023, according to data compiled by the analysis firm Biotopia – formerly Bio à la Une –, specialized networks saw their turnover decrease by 1.5%, after having plunged by 10% in 2022 and 6% in 2021. And nearly three hundred organic stores have still gone out of business, according to the magazine’s count Bio Linear. However, “the organic market is regaining color and begins the year 2024 with growth”, highlighted the La Vie claire brand (340 points of sale) by announcing an increase in its turnover of 7.6% in the first quarter. Turnover, average basket, store attendance… everything has progressed since the start of 2024, affirms this specialized network.
“Ohas stopped the decline that began in 2021”
“After three years of decline, the specialized market returned to growth in value in the first quarter of 2024 (+ 7% over one year, and + 12% over two years)”, confirms Alexandre Fantuz Lemoine, co-founder of panelist Biotopia. At Biocoop, leader in specialized brands with 44% of the market, activity has even increased by 10% since the start of 2024. The recovery has been felt from 2023. “The year was reassuring, because we stopped the decline that began in 2021”summarizes Frédéric Faure, the vice-president of this network of 740 stores.
Mr. Faure saw it coming “new customers”but above all the return of former faithful who had given in to the lure of low prices offered by hypermarkets, “and which we see coming back, because they no longer find the same offer”. Because, according to him, the rebound in sales is mainly explained by the withdrawal of large general stores, which capture around 60% of organic sales in France. The Carrefours and others who had rushed into the niche carrying the ” eat well “ with organic products at attractive prices, had sucked away part of the customer base from specialized brands.
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