Image by: IGD
Fresh produce, which includes in France fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, seafood, cheese and fresh ready meal sold at the counter as well as fresh bakery, is one of the categories that receives the most attention from multiple retailers, especially in a context where fresh specialist retailers such as Grand Frais are quickly expanding, as mentioned in a previous Food Alert.
According to Kantar, this category represents a total purchase of €1,184 per year per household and these products are consumed on average 8 times a week per each French consumer. 69% of French consumers weekly shopping contains at least one product from this category; however, fresh produce are suffering from an aging of its consumer base : weekly penetration rate and weekly consumption rate are the highest with consumers over 50 years old, who are more likely to cook from scratch.
This explains multiple retailer’s appetite for revitalizing this section, which is also one of the most promising to improve in-store shoppers experience and create interaction between retailer’s staff and shoppers, differentiating it from the online experience and giving brick and mortar stores a clear competitive advantage. They are looking at offering more ready-to eat fresh dishes to attract younger consumers in order to counter the pre-packed aisle and offer more advice and recipe ideas to use when preparing he products sold in that aisle.
This is what Intermarché have done in their new supermarket opened this week near the Swiss border, with is their pilot concept that should be rolled out in their other stores over the next four years. They have extended the fresh produce area which covers 45% of the store surface and 60% of its turnover. They also created a ready-to-go meal counter called “En Cuisine”, reinforcing the in-store theatre through their four chefs cooking on-site every day, as detailed by retail specialist Olivier Dauvers.
Carrefour is also focusing on fresh produce in its new hypermarket concept Carrefour Next in Dijon, through the premiumisation of its fresh offer and the strengthening of in-store experience through 7 dine-in stands offering fresh fruits and veg curs or sushis, managed by external suppliers.
Suppliers able to offer multiple retailers ideas on how to revitalize the fresh produce sections, through examples of what is done in other markets or innovative ready-to-cook product offer for younger consumers, can therefore be positively perceived by French retail buyers.
Image by: IGD
For more information on the French retail market, please contact stephanie.lahad@bordbia.ie