Bio-Planet: food retailer’s subsidiary an important player in Belgium

In April 2015, Bio-Planet’s fifteenth organic supermarket was opened in Halle, 20 km south-west of Brussels. 14 years ago in 2001, the first Bio-Planet store was launched in Kortrijk. In May 2002, a second outlet, also with around 1000m² of retail space, was established in Gent. This was followed by a three-year hiatus until in 2005 the third store opened in Dilbeek. Another three years passed before their fourth store opened its doors in Turnhout. Since 2009, a new store has been opened every three years, and since 2014 the figure has been two to three a year. Although none of the organic supermarkets was in Brussels itself, there are now five stores (between 550 and 1,100 m²) in the vicinity of the Belgium capital.

“We sell exclusively 100 % organic products, including a gluten-free range in our 7,000 article offer,” says a proud Lynn Verreydt. She is responsible for advising the management teams in their own stores and for providing assistance when new stores open. The last five were opened in Nossigem (November 2014), Grimbergen (650 m², December 2014), Nivelles (550 m², January 2015), and in April 2015 in Groot Bijgaarden (650 m²) and Halle (580 m²). Three years ago, the head of Bio-Planet changed and the company’s CEO is now Pieter Ceuleers.

In the first ten years, experimenting and trying things out were high on the agenda, but the market was regarded as still not ready for a roll-out. Now, however, the time has arrived for implementation. In the first two stores organic restaurants were an important part of the concept. Later the first restaurant (Kortrijk) was closed and only the one in Gent was kept open. When new stores followed, they did not have integrated restaurants. Also, non-food including eco textiles was significantly reduced, although they still offer a wide range of products apart from food. Whereas the first stores with around 1000 m² of retail area were generously proportioned, the more recent stores have plus/minus 650 m² at their disposal. As Lynn Verreydt reports, what has remained the same is the fact that the locations are in commercial districts that are easily accessed by car. “That’s the reason the reason why we don’t yet have a presence in Brussels itself with its high rents.” What did not prove to be a success was their excursion into Holland: the store in Eindhoven was closed after one year.

“Our catchment area is 40-50 km round our stores,” says retailer adviser Verreydt, who also calls herself a commercial coach for Bio-Planet stores. A big car park is, therefore, essential, because only a few customers come on foot or by bicycle. In consequence, the average spend at about 50 euros is much higher than is usually found. The product range, with over 7,000 articles, includes not only what you usually find – vegetables, bread, meat, noodles and beverages – but also an extensive non-food range of cosmetics, household goods, cleaners, gardening items, pet food and books. Customers find the loyalty card, introduced a good two years ago, is a very practical addition: several stickers with a barcode mean that all members of a family can stick it on a different card and so don’t have to exchange cards. As an advertising initiative, a 20-page A5 booklet is issued 13 times a year, telling customers about the 60-70 products on special offer at reduced prices. Illustrated recipes supply ideas for preparing appealing organic dishes at home. Customers with a loyalty card also enjoy the benefit every month of a further 24 discounted products.

In 1998, Colruyt  introduced its own organic “Bio-time” brand in its conventional stores (Colruyt and Okay). The range consists of over 200 articles from fresh fruit and vegetables to dairy products, sausages products, fish, bakery goods, frozen food, conserves, dry goods, snacks, chocolate, appetizers, crisps, confectionery, biscuits, baby food and beverages. A small range of 25 Bio-time products is stocked by Bio-Planet.  In the food sector the Colruyt Group operates Colruyt and Okay stores

In the non-food sector, Colruyt operates 40 DreamLand and DreamBaby outlets. In total, they have around 470 stores of their own and about 500 stores that are supplied as contract partners. The Colruyt Group employs 27,000 people who produced turnover of 8.7 billion euros in 2013/14. They also run an online shop (http://www.bioplanet.be/bio/fr/home) covering the wide product range. The internet offering consists of several thousand articles.

Over the years, there has been little change in the appearance of the stores inside and outside. A big blue logo with the Earth within its orbit is displayed near or on the entrance door. In most cases, the facade has been kept simple. As a result, all the more impressive are the fresh food, sausage and cheese counters and the walk-in fruit and vegetable departments, that in contrast to the comparable chilled rooms at Basic also offer dairy products. These fresh food departments have plenty of space for shopping with a big trolley and an above-average range of products.

In 2011, Bio-Planet took over a store in Leuven, 20 km to the east of Brussels – at that time, its seventh outlet. Reconstructed to incorporate low energy use, the company has taken a further step in the direction of sustainability. Over 100,000 euros were invested by the Colruyt Group in studies and research to meet the requirements of ecological construction standards. The knowledge gained from this project has since then been applied the other stores.

In Leuven, for example, they also made greater use of timber for construction. A green roof on the warehouse ensures that the temperature is kept low. A photovoltaic array on the roof provides 90 % of the electricity used to operate the store. Sunlight shining through transparent sections of the roof provides illumination and supplements light coming through the windows. By means of various measures, like LED lights, the Leuven store consumes half the energy used by the other already low-energy stores.

“The green ideas come from the Colruyt family,” Lynn Verreydt explains. She says that new approaches are being put into practice all the time. Currently they are working on a plan to reduce palm oil in order to restrict the expansion of plantations to the detriment of the forests in south-east Asia.

Since Bio-Planet occupies premises mainly in the Flemish part of Belgium, it is assumed that expansion in the years ahead will be principally to the south and south- east of the country in the direction of Wallonia. The plan is for two to four stores a year, so that in the next five years there will probably be a doubling of the number of stores from the current 15 to 30.

All photos by Kai Kreuzer

More informaion: Homepage of Bio-Planet http://www.bioplanet.be/bio/fr/home