Italy: concentration in the natural food wholesale sector

With the acquisition of the Bologna-based natural food wholesaler Baule Volante and with shares of the wholesaler Fior di Loto, the Ecor-NaturaSì group has strengthened their Number One Position on the Italian natural food market. The concentration in the sector therewith grows. The acquisition brings various advantages for the group, which is overlapping various trade levels. The name Baule Volante will be kept; the company will continue to act independently and will develop its private brand into a premium brand.

All pictures: Picture library of AssoBio

The merger between Italy’s largest natural wholesaler Ecor and the organic supermarket chain NaturaSì (picture) took effect in July 2006 and united two of the top-selling Italian natural food companies with a two-way share of 49 % of the minority equity. At the beginning of 2008, Elisabeth Kröss, co-founder of Baule Volante, decided to sell her shares to the Ecor-NaturaSì group. Before that, in autumn 2007, Lorenzo Saredo, partner of Ms. Kröss and co-founder of Baule Volante, had decided to sell his shares to the Ecor group and retired after 20 years of business in his company. The transactions were realized in February and March respectively.

Elisabeth Kröss continues to manage the company with currently 50 employees and a turnover of ten million Euros and remains executive director after the fusion. Despite the sale to the Ecor-NaturaSì group, Baule Volante will continue to work independently, and the entire staff will stay employed. The new company policy aims at strengthening the private brand, which consists of some hundred items, continuously at their customers’ locations, which are smaller health food stores, erboristerie (special stores for health products) and conventional retailers with a range of organic products, and at positioning their brand more clearly. Some items of the well-established Baule Volante brand will be developed into a premium brand. (picture: Corporate building of Baule Volante in Bologna)

The sale to the Ecor-NaturaSì group was not an emotionally easy decision for Ms. Kröss. She is convinced, however, that this step is the right one regarding future prospect, to give the best answers to the necessities of the market and to the increasing competition. She counts on strengthening the productivity and profitability of the company as well as a better starting position to cope with ecological challenges together. The first positive result for the Baule Volante brand after the fusion was the listing of 100 products in all 56 NaturaSì stores. (picture: NaturaSì)

To Ecor (picture), the fusion means an expansion of the supremacy on the Italian market. Through the acquisition of Baule Volante, the market penetration increases considerably, since the Bologna-based company is widely disseminated and especially supplies classical, small-scaled specialized stores. Baule Volante is represented in more than 2,000 stores all over Italy. The assortment consists of about 1,000 products, with a high share of the high-quality private brand.

Part of the range comes from brand manufacturers in Germany, France and the Netherlands. This is due to the fact that during the founding era more than 20 years ago - Elisabeth Kröss and Lorenzo Saredo started their business as importers for health food (Rapunzel, Allos ect.). Since the mid-90s, Baule Volante has been introducing a large range of their own branded products and started having traditional Italian specialities produced in organic quality. Within the past years, export to countries of the European Union (Greece, Spain, Portugal) has been established as well as to countries overseas, like Australia and Dubai. For the future, foreign operation is planned to be expanded continuously.

Italy’s largest natural wholesaler Ecor has a range of about 3,600 items on stock and mainly delivers to large stores. This also includes 250 partner stores, which are affiliated to the marketing concept B’io. Turnover is at 82 million Euros; and Ecor has about 150 employees. The company is located at San Vendiamo near Treviso in the province Venetia, and was founded through a union of various wholesalers in 1998. The chief executive Fabio Brescanin was already head of a small natural wholesale business in 1987.

NaturaSì was founded as one of the first organic supermarket chains in Europe in 1992. Currently, there are 56 NaturaSì stores in Italy and three in Spain (Madrid, NaturaSì – El Supermercado Natural). NaturaSì is based in Verona, where various stores, a large restaurant (180 seats) and a wellness center (BenesserSì close to Verona) are located. The standard range in the stores, which have a size between 300 and 600 square meters, consists of about 4,000 items. Turnover rose above 70 million Euros in 2007.

As a motivation for the matrimony of these two large companies two years ago – like for the annexation of Baule Volante – financial reasons and a common strategy to strengthen the whole food trade were mentioned. Felice Lasalvia Di Clemente, president of NaturaSì and Fabio Brescacin of Ecor (picture) agreed back then that the partnership would allow a bundling of forces and a further professionalizing, which would serve the development of the organic market and organic agriculture.

At the end of January, Ecor/NaturaSì additionally bought a share of 20 % from the wholesaler Il Fior di Loto, based in Grugliasco near Turin, according to the management consultant Roberto Pinton. Il Fior di Loto was founded by Riccardo Maschio in 1972. Currently, his son Roberto Maschio is head of the company. The company’s range consists of about 750 items and is specialized on macrobiotics and allergen-free products. Whole food stores, erboristerie and health stores are supplied. The accretion is currently mainly achieved through the pharmacy and drug store market, which increasingly order the special products.

Altogether, the Italian health food market can look back on a successful year 2007. According to numbers of Ismea/Nielsen, turnover of organic food increased by 9.7 % from January 2007 to September 2007 (compared with the previous year).

www.baulevolante.it
www.b-io.it
www.naturasi.it
www.fiordiloto.it