MelaVerdeBio

Organic market analyst Ecovia Intelligence has revealed that it expects to see increasing consolidation in the organic retail market as the European market for organic products continues to mature.

The company highlighted the recent examples of Carrefour in France and Natplus in Italy.

Last month, Carrefour purchased So.bio, which operates eight organic beauty stores in the southwest of France, with two more outlets set to open in the coming months.

The acquisition fits in with Carrefour’s 2022 Transformation Plan, which aims to boost the retailer’s sales from organics to €5bn.

In Italy, Natplus, which operates the NaturPlus chain, comprising 24 stores, now plans to further expand its network with the acquisition of 16 MelaVerdeBio stores.

The company revealed plans to continue developing synergies between the online channel and its physical stores.

According to Mauro Bruno, founder and managing director of Natplus, the deal will bring multiple advantages, including centralised marketing, state-of-the-art management software and the marketing of 200 exclusive products under the NaturPlus private label brand.

Meanwhile, the group’s central purchasing unit will enable it to deliver more than 3,000 products within 48 hours.

“With over thousands of organic food shops, the European retail sector is ripe for consolidation,” Ecovia stated. “There are many chain of organic and health food shops in Europe, however few have developed a significant presence outside their home markets.

'As the European organic food industry starts to mature, expect to see more such consolidation. The question is whether the retail sector will be controlled by large groups like Carrefour and Amazon or dedicated organic/green enterprises.”