A very dark 2022 financial year. After years of growth and the apotheosis of the 2020 confinement episodes, organic food brands were quickly disillusioned. Shaken by the fall in the food budget and by the war in Ukraine, the sector has been shunned by some of its customers. For the past two years, the decline in turnover for brands has been estimated at -7 or even -10% per year. The consequences were as sudden as they were violent for employees and customers alike. Everywhere in France, organic brands have closed their doors. According to estimates, more than 240 stores disappeared, all brands combined. An emblematic brand in the sector, Biocoop has not been spared. In 2022, the cooperative with the blue logo had to close around forty of its 700 points of sale. Will she recover? His defenders hope so even if they expect a complicated year 2023.
Welcome to Rennes, a dynamic metropolis of more than 200,000 inhabitants. Here, in 2022, there were thirteen Scarabée stores. Founded in 1983, this cooperative society of collective interest was one of the pioneers of organic in France. It largely contributed to the birth of the Biocoop cooperative network, which it joined from its birth in 1986. In recent years, Scarabée has seen its turnover increase every year. To support growing demand, it even opened four new stores in less than two years. But hell. Since then, they have all closed and the structure has been placed in receivership. “We have closed four stores, but there will not be one more,” says Isabelle Baur. before conceding. “We know that 2023 will be complicated, but I have confidence. »
If the president of the management board wants to be so optimistic, it is because she noted “a beginning of recovery” and turnover “which goes back” in the stores. Against all odds, organic seems to benefit from an unlikely ally: inflation. “It is more than 11% in the conventional. It’s much more than on our organic products [+5 %]. The price gap is narrowing,” assures Isabelle Saur.
The bulk holds the house
Faced with soaring prices, the cooperative relies on its bulk products offered at a more attractive price. On unprocessed products, the margin is lower, making the price more accessible to the consumer. “We have seen our clientele change. The people who came from time to time or out of curiosity, we no longer see them. Those who stay are mostly regulars who have a militant side, ”says Gwenvael Saout, employee of Scarabée and CGT delegate. At the time of the social plan, his union criticized the cooperative’s lack of anticipation, arguing that the signs of a decline in the organic market were visible. “There was also a fashion effect. And for some, it happened. »
At the exit of the Cleunay store, west of Rennes, Elisa puts her basket on her bike. Despite the inflation, she continues to come here to shop. “The Biocoop remains my main source of food. For me, it’s a commitment and I don’t want to go back on it. But I understand that some people turn away from it. Because it has a cost, ”explains this regular customer. This testimony alone says why the great organic brand can be confident for the future. Unlike other brands, it can count on the loyalty of its committed customers. “Our whole project meets the expectations of society. When we talk about short circuits, food sovereignty, reduced packaging, water restrictions. People are sensitive to it. All these things, we have always taken them into account at Biocoop, ”assures Isabelle Saur.
The president of the executive board pleads for the cooperative network to “keep its DNA” and not abandon its ideals, which have been battered by the crisis. “It is industrial-type organic that is suffering and that has disrupted consumer perception, that of products that come from afar, from seas of plastic, with out-of-season fruits and vegetables, not necessarily very good,” said recently explained Pierrick De Ronne to our colleagues from LSA. Like the president of Biocoop, many of them beg the cooperative not to change its specifications and to remain faithful to its values. “I saw that some competitors were going to get their organic label to diversify. I think that’s a mistake. We must stay on course, remain clear and legible for our customers. “And cross your fingers that 2023 is not a remake of the dark past year.