Greek products find their way to French shelves
Greek food has been looking for a place in French supermarkets, which is expected to happen this fall
Greek food is looking for a place on the shelves of French supermarkets, which is expected to happen this fall, and indeed in the chain with the largest market share in France, the E.Leclerc cooperative.
At the same time, Greek food industries are entering into agreements to supply restaurant chains as well as other food outlets, such as delicatessens. The relevant agreements were concluded during the recent business mission to Paris with the participation of 14 Greek food and beverage industries.
It was organized by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the Our Greece initiative.
The agreement with the E.Leclerc chain, whose market share, according to Kantar, rose to 23.9% in 2023, provides for the promotion of Greek products in two phases: During the first phase, lasting two weeks, Greek products will be placed on the chain’s shelves so that the French consumer public can get to know them and become familiar with them. In the second phase, a Greek corner will be created and gradually Greek products will be added to shelves with products from foreign countries.
Representatives of the French chain emphasized that in addition to the high quality that the products should have, a necessary condition for access is also a low price, i.e. a price that is compatible with the pricing policy applied by the group. It should be stressed that the group in question is a cooperative, with the stores having semi-autonomous status.
The group’s sales in 2022 amounted to 43.9 billion euros, while its network has more than 750 stores. A few months ago, moreover, it acquired some Louis Delhaize Group stores in Luxembourg.
The 14 Greek companies also had meetings with representatives of the second largest French chain, Carrefour, without any agreement, however, because the chain mainly prefers French products, as well as products from neighboring countries, where transport costs are comparatively lower in relation to the cost of transport from Greece.
Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that during the contacts an agreement was reached between the pasta industry “Helios” and the French restaurant chain “Gallika à la grecque.” According to information, the chain in question had meetings with two other companies that participated in the business mission, specifically dairy industry “Mandrekas,” and “Geodi”, which produces jams, sauces and spreads. The latter even had a meeting with representatives of the Darriah Company, a food import-export company.
The companies that participated in the mission were the following: Agrino, Lux, Zymarika Ilios, Evoiki Zymi, Hellenic Eclecta Elaia, Mandrekas, Plomari Distillery Isidoros Arvanitis, Krokos Kozanis, Geodi, Koukakis Farm, Menelaos Fresh, Tsanos, Jannis and MEVGAL.
Greek exports to France amount to around €1.7 billion per annum and the top 20 exported products include cheese, farmed fish, yogurt and peaches.
