Over the last years, Colruyt has achieved a 3.6 billion euro turnover (+2.7%). The driver of such growth was the performance of the three brands, which together recorded an 11% increase, for a total of 415 million euro. This upward trend stems primarily from the sale of organic food, the premium offer, and, indeed, fresh products. This growth could also foster new partnerships with Italian suppliers, thus expanding the range of Italian food, which is already well-represented on the shelves of the Belgian retailer, and well appreciated by its shoppers. Italianfood.net met at Marca 2017, one of the largest European trade fairs for the private label industry held in Bologna last week, Patrick Hellemans, coordinator of international buying at Colruyt that explained the high potential of Italian Food in the retail Belgian market.
LOOKING FOR ORGANIC AND HEALTHY FOOD – “Currently, Italy’s top sellers are pizza and all types of pasta,” explains Patrick Hellemans, coordinator of international buying at Colruyt (see interview below), “Meanwhile, similarly to the rest of Europe, our consumers constantly show their appreciation for organic and healthy food. For this reason, we are particularly interested in vegetables and grains. We have found several Italian suppliers offering wide assortments that are difficult to find elsewhere. Indeed, at the heart of our plans for the Belgian market are healthy food and, therefore, the development of Bio-Planet stores, which offer only organic food. Despite Amazon, we believe that the retail channel will always keep its importance market share.”