France: retail is focusing on organic

French organic retailer committed to supporting organic farming and responsible consumption Biocoop has ended 2015 with a 17% increase in turnover, to 768 million Euros and 383 stores, according to Retail Analysis. Biocoop, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, opened 33 new stores in 2015 and plans to open 40 additional in 2016 in order to hit the 400 mark..

Carrefour is speeding up expansion

Carrefour is also putting more focus on organic stores and speeding up their expansion. It has opened five Carrefour Bio stores since 2013 and a sixth will debut in Paris at the end of this month. The store network could reach 10 by the end of the year, as Carrefour plans to take the concept to other large French cities. The retailer is already revamping some of its existing stores, changing the color scheme and expanding some lines in both food and non-food. On the 20th March, Carrefour launched its first TV advertising campaign dedicated to organic, highlighting its offer across food, textiles and cosmetics.

Also retailers in other countries are benefiting from shoppers' growing awareness of health and wellness issues by improving and widening their ranges, with many using private label to differentiate themselves. In Italy, Crai launched an organic range, Pam opened an organic shop-in-shop and Selex is seeing rising sales of organic and healthy ranges. In Denmark, Dagrofa has partnered with a dietician and health expert while Germany's Rewe relaunched its free from ranges.