Food retail

Frais d’ici, Bistrot d’ici and Bio&Co: buy local  

The mood of the moment is about looking for direct contact with consumers, traceability and food safety, and for alternatives to large retail chains. InVivo has flagged its intention to become a leading player in food retail with the creation of the brands Frais d’ici, Bistrot d'ici, Bio&Co and So France. InVivo Retail aims to promote buying local, encourage short supply chains and make organic products accessible to all.  

• InVivo’s positioning became established in 2014 with Frais d’ici, an innovative concept promoting an 80% local offer. Frais d’Ici is generating an increase in garden centre footfall and a rise in profitability per m². On average, the increase in garden centre business was 4% and the turnover of a Frais d’Ici store was between €1.2M and €1.5M;
• Bistrot d’ici extends the Frais d’ici concept by creating on-site cooking with regional products sold in the stores;
• The acquisition of Bio&Co confirms InVivo’s commitment to provide wider access to organic products. With particular emphasis on fruit and vegetables, preferably regional, Bio&Co is also developing grocery and butchery sections and has space for nutritional supplements, hygiene and beauty that is experiencing very strong growth. Bio&Co has 6 sales outlets in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Its annual turnover is around €22M.

Frais d'ici, at the crossroads of new French consumer trends and the development of agricultural cooperation

While 80% of the French say they buy local products and 40% of consumers claim they might be encouraged to consume more of them if there were more outlet, Frais d'ici, with its range of fresh, local products, is establishing itself as an authentic and convenient brand that embodies the spirit of innovation at work in French agricultural cooperation.