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Summary of our market study
The French fruit and vegetable market exceeds €28 billion
The value of global fruit and vegetable production has increased by 23% in ten years. The market is mainly focused on vegetables, with Asian regions, particularly China, dominating production.
The French segment of this market has seen notable expansion, with sales in specialist stores reaching 4.67 billion euros by 2022.
Consumers prefer seasonal and locally sourced produce.
The early produce sector in France is highly fragmented. The major food retail chains hold most of the market share.
France is an importer of early produce. The share of imports in consumption has been stable since 2020.
Consumer preferences in the French fruit and vegetable market
Sustained demand for fresh produce has propelled the early produce segment to maintain a strong market presence. This dynamic segment, which includes stores specializing in fresh fruit and vegetables, capitalizes on consumers' constant desire for freshness.
While consumption by value rose by around 10%, the volume consumed fell slightly, as consumers are prepared to spend more for less. Rising prices have also affected consumption.
Seasonality and provenance are important purchasing criteria for 64% of consumers
After a period of steady growth, the market for organic products is set to decline by 5.19% in 2021, and even more in 2022.
Organic products are also gaining ground, with modest but steady growth in the segment, despite a slight reversal in recent years. The desire for a diet that is more respectful of health and the environment can be found in all socio-professional categories, with a particularly strong trend in the upper classes, where around 85% of those questioned said they were ready to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Every French household buys between 80 and 86 kg of fruit and vegetables a year, spending in excess of 460 euros.
Despite fluctuations in consumption volume and a slight decline in the consumption of organic produce, the size of the market is estimated at around €1.8 billion.
Retail sales of fruit and vegetables in specialized stores total around €4.7 billion.
Early produce market players
- Auchan, Carrefour, Leclerc Intermarché Super U. These food retail giants offer consumers a wide range of fruit and vegetables.
- Grand Frais, a franchise that has succeeded in carving out a place for itself by emphasizing the freshness and quality of its products.
- France Primeurs, Laurance Primeurs, SAPAM and Chrono Primeurs, just some of the many wholesalers who supply the market.
- Potager City and La Ruche Qui Dit Oui , specialists in short distribution circuits These networks have won over a growing segment of consumers eager to consume products whose origins are known and whose travel distances are kept to a minimum.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Presentation and definition
The early produce market covers the production, harvesting and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables. Early marketers market fruit and vegetables sourced from wholesalers or local growers.
Les primeurs are the third-largest fruit and vegetable distribution channel in France, and account for a tiny share of market sales, far behind supermarkets. Out-of-home consumption and producers' own consumption round out the sources of fruit and vegetable consumption in France.
The early produce business appears to be on a very positive trend, with sales almost doubling in eight years. This dynamic is all the more impressive given that the French fruit and vegetable market is not following quite the same trend.
France imports a significant proportion of its fruit and vegetables, not only to compensate for a climate that is not conducive to the cultivation of certain foods, but also to meet a diverse demand.
On average, French households buy around 80 kg of fresh fruit and 86 kg of fresh vegetables each year, for a budget of over 460 euros per household. French households, concerned about food quality and environmental issues, are buying more of their fruit and vegetables from the greengrocer, which is helping the channel to gain market share.
Highly fragmented and highly competitive, the early produce market is still dominated by a handful of wholesalers in its distribution segment, with nearly half of all fresh fruit and vegetables distributed in France by wholesalers on and off the market.
The early produce market remains intrinsically subject to the vagaries of climate and weather, which explains the occasional surge in prices, not to mention the international economic situation, the price of raw materials and fuel, and so on. Players in the early produce market are seeking to position themselves in the organic sector, which has now become an essential part of the food sector.
1.2 The world early produce market: current situation and main characteristics
Trends in the value of global fruit and vegetable production World, ****-**** FAO
the value of fruit and vegetable production has risen by **% in ** years.
The early produce market comprises two segments: the sale of fresh fruit in specialized stores and the sale of fresh vegetables in specialized stores. According to ...
1.3 Growth in the fruit and vegetable market and dynamism in the fresh produce business
Fruit and vegetable production has increased significantly in value in recent years, while production volume has fallen slightly. Despite this downward quantitative trend, the value of produce remains high, reflecting sustained market demand. In this context, early produce seems to benefit from this dynamic, capitalizing on the constant demand for fresh ...
1.4 Foreign trade: France remains a net importer
France is a net importer of fruit and vegetables, with a coverage rate that tends to remain remarkably stable. Despite the richness of its agricultural terroir, growing demand throughout the year and the diversity of food preferences among French consumers have led the country to depend in part on imports to ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Fruit and vegetable consumption
Purchasing criteria for fresh fruit and vegetables France, ****, in percent Franceagrimer
The seasonality of the product seems to remain the main criterion for buying fresh fruit and vegetables for the French, with **%, although it is closely followed by provenance with **%. These are major issues for consumers, not least as a result ...
2.2 Booming consumption of organic products
Agence Bio reports on a survey of French consumers of organic produce. This survey, which we'll be using throughout the application section, concerns all organic products, but it shows that **% of regular organic consumers (***) consume organic fruit and vegetables, so the more general results of this survey, reported here, remain very ...
2.3 Lower consumption of animal proteins
A drop in French meat consumption partly due to awareness-raising campaigns
While **% of proteins consumed in France are of animal origin, the trend is clearly downward. French eating and consumption habits are changing. By ****, **% of French people are ready to reduce the amount of animal protein they consume [***]. In addition, actions ...
3 Market structure
3.1 The role of greengrocers in the fruit and vegetable sector
The fruit and vegetable sales sector is organized around the following players:
Producers Wholesalers and traders Local networks and short distribution channels Specialized distributors and greengrocers Mass retailers (***)
Specialized fruit and vegetable distribution value chain
3.2 Les primeurs, France's third-largest fruit and vegetable distribution channel
In terms of sales of fresh fruit and vegetables, the early produce sector lags far behind supermarket distribution. In fact, supermarkets, hypermarkets and own-brand supermarkets(***) alone will account for over **% of sales in ****.
Breakdown of household fruit and vegetable consumption by distribution channel France, ****, in Franceagrimer
Early produce accounts for *% of ...
3.3 The primeur market is highly fragmented
The primeur market is made up of two types of players: independents and primeurs operating under the same banner. The independents make up the bulk of the retail fabric, and are often found in city centers. However, fresh produce superstores are a real threat, as they enjoy both a good image ...
3.4 Geographical distribution of primeurs in France
[***]
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Breakdown of production and products preferred by the French
French fruit and vegetable production
According to FranceAgriMer, France produced *,***,*** tonnes of vegetables in ****, from a cultivated area of ***,*** hectares divided into ***** farms, and *,***,*** tonnes of fruit grown on ***,*** hectares.
Breakdown by volume of most consumed vegetables France, ****, % (***) Source: ****
Fruits most popular with French consumers France, ****, % Source: FranceAgriMer LSA and Toluna Potatoes ...
4.2 Organic and conventional fruit and vegetable prices
Every year, the Familles rurales association conducts a survey on the price and consumption of fruit and vegetables in France. TheObservatoire du prix des fruits et légumes à l'été **** provides us with very precise information, some of which will be relayed in this section.
Fruit prices:
The table below reports ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Hygiene package and sanitary supervision
There's no diploma required to work as a greengrocer, although training courses such as the CAP primeur and Certificats de Qualification Professionnelle are available. Essential skills include in-depth knowledge of distribution channels, products and customer preferences, as well as rigorous order and stock management. Good interpersonal skills, availability and excellent health ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation
- E.Leclerc
- SAPAM
- Carrefour Bio
- Terroirs d'Avenir
- La Vie Claire
- Les Comptoirs de la Bio
- Casino Groupe
- Auchan groupe
- Grand Frais (Prosol)
- Potager City
- La Ruche Qui Dit Oui (Equanum)
List of charts presented in this market study
- Trends in world fresh vegetable production
- Trends in world fresh fruit production
- The world's largest fruit producers
- The world's largest vegetable producers
- Trends in the value of world fruit and vegetable production
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Latest news
Casino CEO Philippe Palazzi takes over Monoprix and Naturalia - 24/09/2024
- Monoprix sales: 4.3 billion euros.
- Total number of Monoprix stores: 861, including 338 integrated.
- Total number of Naturalia stores: 232, including 170 integrated and 62 franchised.
- Share of Monoprix sales in the new Casino: 50% of the total (4.3 billion euros out of 9 billion euros at December 31, 2023).
Prosol strengthens its presence at Grand Frais - 02/07/2024
- -Prosol (distribution company) was created in 1992 and is based in Chaponnay, south of Lyon (Rhône).
- - Novoviande, Ile-de-France's leading network of traditional retail butchers, was acquired by Prosol.
- - Novoviande operates in 39 Grand Frais in the Paris region.
- - Novoviande also operates as a wholesaler on the Rungis market and has a 2,400 m² logistics platform.
- - Prosol's main shareholder is the Ardian fund.
- - According to "LSA" estimates, Grand Frais has sales of over 3 billion euros.
- - With the acquisition of Novoviande, Prosol intends to strengthen its butchery sector.
- - Prior to the acquisition, Prosol already operated butchers in 9 Grand Frais and 52 Fresh stores.
- - Prosol manages a total of 350 stores, including Grand Frais, Mon-marché.fr, some Boulangerie du Marché and the Banco Fresco chain in Italy.
- - Prosol accounts for around 60% of Grand Frais' business
- - The strategy includes the integration of the various sectors (fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat, fish) within Grand Frais
Jean-Paul Mochet takes over as Chairman of Prosol (Grand Frais) - 30/03/2024
- - Prosol** sourcing share: 60% for the 305 Grand Frais stores.
- - Sales in 2023: 3.1 billion euros, up 10%.
- - Annual store opening target: 40 to 50, distributed as follows - 25 Grand Frais stores and 10 to 15 Fresh stores.
- - Number of French producers working with Prosol: 700.
Auchan faces another "difficult" year in 2023 - 22/02/2024
- -Auchan net loss in 2023: 379 million euros
- - Previous year's profit: 33 million euros
- - Auchan's position in the French retail sector: 5th
- - Revenue in 2023: down 1.7% to 32.9 billion euros
- - Share of hypermarkets in Auchan's store base: 21%
- - Acquisition of Casino stores by Auchan and Intermarché: 70 supermarkets, 26 hypermarkets, including five larger than 9,000 m2, and two drives
Casino: Intermarché and Auchan win the bid - 18/12/2023
- Casino: Intermarché, which had joined forces with Auchan to buy the 320 stores, finally won the bid.
- The value of the transaction would be close to 1.6 billion euros, or 37% of the sales taken over (3.6 billion euros).
- A social issue
- In addition to the takeover of dozens of supermarkets and hypermarkets, Carrefour PROPOSED to take over 7,000 convenience stores under the Petit Casino, Vival and other banners. This possibility was rejected by Casino and its receivers
- Intermarché has opened up its internal rules for independent groups to franchising, to accommodate the 60 Casino franchisees.
- Intermarché and Auchan will share the 313 outlets sold in roughly equal parts, with Auchan taking over almost all of the 42 hypermarkets.
- Monoprix and Franprix will remain under Groupe Casino control
Auchan: New Beginnings - 06/12/2023
- Gérard Mulliez founded Auchan in 1961.
- Auchan hypermarkets account for 80% of the company's sales.
- Auchan's market share has fallen from over 10% five years ago to 8.4% today.
- Failed attempt by the Mulliez family to take over Carrefour in October 2021.
- Auchan and Intermarché are looking to form a product purchasing alliance, which would give them a combined market share of 30%.
- Auchan and Intermarché have been trying to share nearly 300 hypers and supermarkets that Casino is due to sell.
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the greengrocer's market | France
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