It is a great leap forward that the bulk sector should experience in the coming years with the Climate and Resilience bill.
This text presented on Wednesday to the Council of Ministers provides that food brands of more than 400 square meters devote 20% of their sales area to this mode of distribution.
Or for example 1,060 square meters for a store of 5,300 square meters, the average size of a hypermarket in France.
However, bulk today "represents between 2 to 8 square meters for a supermarket, and 5 to 11 square meters for a hypermarket", points out Célia Rennesson, president of Réseau Vrac which brings together all the professionals of the sector.
At Auchan, "it is not even 1% of the surface on average", specifies José Da Silva Neves, group leader for "organic, dietetic, bulk and self-discount products".
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If this mode of distribution has developed strongly in France in recent years, it is therefore still light years away from the objective set by this text.
The market today weighs 1.3 billion euros, half of which comes from the bulk section of large-scale retailers.
The health crisis has certainly impacted the sector: growth was only 8% in 2020 against 40% in 2019. In particular: the closure of these spaces during the first confinement in a large part of the stores.
“In particular, there has been an unfair hygiene lawsuit when products sold in bulk are no more handled than the packet of rice you buy.
On the contrary, ”sighs Franck Bonfils, president of the Juste bio brand, specialist in organic bulk in supermarkets.
But once deconfined, followers quickly revived this mode of consumption which convinces above all for its ecological virtues (to reduce packaging) but also for its "economic" side, especially in organic where the products are often less expensive than their own. packaged equivalent, as revealed by an investigation by the Parisian.
The bill remains unclear on the products concerned
So many reasons that allow us to be optimistic about the development of the sector.
"We think that the market will be at 3.2 billion euros next year: there are more and more stores equipped and players who are getting started, including major brands," says Célia. Rennesson.
Grocery products (nuts, pasta, rice, etc.) are popular.
But the non-food sector (cosmetics, detergents, laundry, etc.) is also making a breakthrough.
Franprix, one of the leading brands in this sector, therefore offers groceries of course but also dishwashing liquid, shower gel, shampoo, olive oil, wine and even vodka.
Is that enough to reach that 20% target in nine years?
"It is an ambitious project", recognizes the sign which specifies that "certain types of products do not lend themselves to the sale in bulk.
"
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It is also uncertain what the bill means by "bulk".
“If it concerns all the products sold without packaging, be it fruits and vegetables but also, for example, cut products (cheese dairy, caterer, etc.) for which we can use our own containers, this objective 20% is realistic.
Otherwise, it will be complicated, ”announces Célia Rennesson.
In Auchan, if we include the fruit and vegetable department, “we thus go up to around 6% of a store's surface area”, emphasizes José da Silva Neves.
Spokes that require specific maintenance
Beyond the type of product, there is also the question of the profitability of such a space which “is not easy to manage for the brands.
There is cleaning, filling ...: this requires a lot more logistics and personnel than for a traditional department ”, explains Ludovic Sourbe, director of the Innovation Pole of Sitour, an SME in Val-d'Oise which manufactures all the equipment. useful for bulk marketing.
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“Maintenance is costly while products such as pasta or rice are not highly valued.
There are few possible margins, ”adds Franck Bonfils of Juste bio.
Without forgetting the "significant losses - two to three times more than for packaged products - with those who consume on the spot, those who make the wrong products, those who drop them", assures the group leader Auchan.
Even if "bulk is the hot topic of the moment", smiles Ludovic Sourbe, complying with this provision will therefore require "enormous support", affirms Franck Bonfils.
“Perhaps we should have started educating consumers in bulk rather than imposing a surface on signs,” he says.
Because if the customer does not agree, it will be useless.
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